Reality TV - Grace Dowden

How does Hill define reality TV? Describe his definitions in the context of a contemporary Reality TV show.

The reality TV show ‘Keeping up with the Kardashian’s’ is an American reality television series that has airs on E! channel and focuses on the personal and professional lives of the Kardashian-Jenner family. The series mainly focuses on sisters Kim, Kourtney and Khloe Kardashian. It additionally places emphasis on their parents Kris and Caitlyn Jenner (previously known as Bruce), their half sisters Kendall and Kylie Jenner and brother Rob Kardashian as well as significant others of the Kardashian clan. Hill (2005) says that more recently reality TV is associated with anything and everything form people to pets, from birth to death. Since we are able to view every little detail of the Kardashian's lives - even their dogs. But their aim of the show was so everyone could try and relate their lives to them in some way. The programme proves its successful due to the millions of people who watch it. The soap opera and observational documentary came together in the creation of docu-soaps that in turn dominated peaktime schedules in the USA (Hill, 2005). Keeping up with the Kardashian’s took off in 2007, whereby the family thought the series would be a failure. However they now say they are shocked by the success it has gained. The members of the family are now seen as celebrities even though they are not actresses or singers which are the norm celebrity jobs. However they have actually gained fame through their reality show and by this their businesses have become more and more successful as time as gone on. Under the genre of popular factual television included celebrity profiles whereby the family members have gained celebrity success through being rich, famous and successful business persons (Hill, 2005).

Television audiences may define reality TV shows as ‘people programmes’; ‘documentaries of the real life’; ‘public real life sort of thing’ (Hill, 2005). These statements are all true, because the Kardashian's is not sugar coated to anything different. What we see, it really what occurs. Reality TV has become more popular over the years and it has been prevlent that people tend to watch reality TV first, before they watch the news (Hill, 2005). This is due to the entertainment factor and that it seems more interesting then what is actually going on in the world around them at the time (Hill, 2005). This is a sad thing to say, but it is the truth. People choose to watch reality TV series because they appeal to broad ranges of occasional viewers. I am one of these people who watch reality TV and agree that I find them a lot more interesting than the 6’o’clock news. I will continue to watch them, and so will everybody else because it lets you escape to another part of the country/world, its like a little holiday.

References:

Hill, A. (2005) The reality genre. In A. Hill, Reality TV: Audiences and
Popular Factual Television. (pp. 14 – 40). Oxon: Routledge.