My Topic: Reality TV

Alongside most modern media platforms and their content, reality tv has the main purpose of entertaining an audience. Whether that be with adventurous missions as seen on shows such as “The Great Race Australia” and “Survivor”, or with the suspense of dating scenes on “Love Island” and “The Bachelorette”, Australian audiences are always captivated, even if it is to laugh at the shows’ antics. Reality TV adopts a similar approach to attracting audiences as YouTube and TikTok for example, in using clickbait and heavy advertising to promote viewer interaction. Reality TV advertises the extravagant and dramatic moments from a single episode or the entire show to shock audiences and tries to gain a reaction, regardless of whether it is positive or negative.

Reality TV has a reputation of selecting a very particular group of contestants for most of its platforms and shows. Most of the time, producers are looking for people who can bring drama, excitement and energy to a show to make the show entertaining. However, the show's main purpose is not strictly to entertain an audience. In a lot of cases, reality shows present its contestants with opportunities; including to find love, or a life-long partner, to overcome a fear, win a prize or money, or just to attract attention.

Reality TV has successfully captured the attention of many Australian audiences. It does so by presenting an exciting and chaotic presentation in its advertising themes; for example, in ‘Beauty and the Geek’ and ‘Love Island’, bright neon colours of blues and pinks dominate the screen for aesthetic effect and keep me watching more. For someone with such a limited attention span, this sense of chaos is perfect for keeping me entertained. Reality TV shows typically introduce a wide variety of characters to create a complicated string of sub-plots and character development, which can sometimes be difficult to follow. Introducing this structure to reality shows implements a human element to the viewing, in the sense that audiences can grow connected to a wide variety of different personalities and characters. Through interviews and private screening sessions, contestants of reality tv shows typically reveal their heavy opinions and feelings in front of a camera, giving the impression of having a personal, direct conversation with an audience member. This way, audiences become hooked on the plot of a show easily as they are eager to discover the contestants’ new journeys and experiences.

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