Entertainment has the ability to provide escapism from reality, and television is no exception.
Fantastical elements abound across hundreds of shows on countless channels. Even when they aren’t supposed to, fiction makes its way to shows and heightens their elements in order to achieve more interest.
So, when reality television shows are broadcasted, they simulate a typical experience but are dramatized at almost every step of the way.
“House Hunters” simulates the reality of buying a house but is formatted so that the main process is already over and done with while the buyers act and give their impressions. “The Bachelor” and its spin-offs, alongside “Love Island,” attempt to portray finding love, but the drama is heightened by the producers to the point that it tramples any form of subtlety. The veneer of “reality” to a reality show is sheared off completely.
So, that kind of defeats the purpose, right? Not exactly.
Some reality TV series like “The Amazing Race” have garnered genuine passion, but the genre has found a home in the “guilty pleasure” market.
The way in which shows like “Love Island” are conceived is perplexing. “Love Island” isn’t like a TLC show that makes you feel sorry for its subjects, who often suffer from issues such as obesity or mental illness, as the issues reality TV stars have are mostly less severe. It also helps that most of these people are vain, which can help justify making light of their problems.
A lot of life’s problems regarding other people, like trying to find love and balancing your own desires with the needs of the people around you, can weigh heavily on the conscience.
Watching people deal with the same issues in a magnified setting helps to diminish the problems you could be facing. In a way, seeing people who are obviously less self-conscious helps in making others question their own decisions and promotes self-awareness.
Now, that doesn’t mean reality television will benefit all people, as it could easily give a more gullible person the idea that a lot of the behavior on these shows are widely acceptable or great qualities.
These shows make for good material to draw comedy from and something to lambast with other people. After all, not all television is great, so once in a while, I find it beneficial to learn from material that is both good and bad.
