Weeks 11 and 12: Reality TV
1)How have the documentary genres ‘Direct Cinema’ or ‘cinéma vérité influenced reality TV and the presentation of the ‘real’? Discuss in the context of a contemporary reality TV show.
2)How does Hill define reality TV? Describe his definitions in the context of a contemporary Reality TV show.
3)What has the early docudrama (e.g. Cathy Come Home) contributed to the development of Reality TV? Discuss in the context of a contemporary reality TV show.
2)How does Hill define reality TV? Describe his definitions in the context of a contemporary Reality TV show.
3)What has the early docudrama (e.g. Cathy Come Home) contributed to the development of Reality TV? Discuss in the context of a contemporary reality TV show.
How does Hill define reality TV? Describe his definitions in the context of a contemporary Reality TV show.
ReplyDeleteHill (2005) looks at the different ways in which the television industry, scholars and audiences define reality TV and the terms associated with it. The spectrum of what can be considered reality television is extremely broad, from the classic association of shows like ‘Keeping Up With The Kardashians’ to game shows like ‘Survivor’ and competitions like the ‘X Factor’, the possibilities for TV producers are almost limitless. What Hill (2005) does conclude is that there is one shared value between all reality TV shows and that is, “the capacity to let viewers see for themselves.” This creates a platform for the audience to critically look at the show in a way that is unlike any other. Perhaps the distinct difference is the fact that a viewer can dislike a character on a scripted television show and it not have consequences for the actor. In terms of reality TV, the barrier between the person sitting at home and the person on the show is much slimmer, and the pseudo real world of the reality TV show has a greater impact on the lives of the audience. What is interesting is that documentaries are also a part of what can be considered reality TV, but there is generally a large disparity between them. For instance I looked at what was on television from 12pm today until 10pm on TVNZ One, TVNZ Two, Three and Bravo. Out of the 52 shows on in that 10 hour time period, 35 can be categorised as reality TV while only 17 are not. The 17 I considered ‘not’ are generally news shows, and news talk shows as well as dramas/soaps. This great proportion is not surprising considering Bravo is a whole channel dedicated to reality television programming. Many of us would say that we don’t really watch reality TV or that ‘it’s all trash TV’, but what this proportion shows is that we are probably more likely to watch a reality TV show one evening than any other. Take ‘Grand Designs’ for instance. We wouldn’t automatically associated it with the typical concept of reality TV, but it most definitely can be classed as a reality television show.
Hill, A. (2005) The reality genre. In A. Hill, Reality TV: Audiences and Popular Factual Television. (pp. 14 – 40). Oxon: Routledge.
Hi Megan :)
DeleteThat's a really interesting point. When we think of Reality TV we almost always associate it to shows like 'the bachelor' or 'Real House Wive of whatever". Failing to realise that shows like Police Ten 7 or Piha Rescue are also showing 'reality'. I realised this also when I was typing up my blog post trying hard to reference the first shows but realising that the later also fits the genre.
Blog Post 6: Reality TV
ReplyDeleteHow does Hill define reality TV? Describe his definitions in the context of a contemporary Reality TV show.
According to Annette Hill, reality TV can be said, although difficult to categorize, to have been developed from popular factual television which relate to areas of media such as tabloid journalism, documentary tv and popular entertainment.
Tabloid journalism has emerged from the interplay between ordinary people and celebrities or information and entertainment (Hill, 2005). She discuses John Fiskes’ views saying that its fluidity denies stylistic difference between fiction and documentary as its produced at the intersection between public and private life (Hill, 2005). It is evident that The Bachelor or The Bachelorette have this type of intersection.
The rise of reality TV in the UK can be related to the popularity of American tabloid TV and slow departure of documentary TV (Hill, 2005). Programmes such as Tonight provided a combination of news with amusing and entertaining stories (Hill, 2005). This was one of the contemporary popular televisions.
Documentary ‘escapes any tight generic specification’ (Hill, 2005). This means its’ interpretation is very broad as it defies the ‘norms’ and flows in a lot of different directions. This is just like Reality TV as they both challenge simple explanations (Hill, 2005). The realism askes the audience to observe real life (such as with hand held cameras) (Hill, 2005). They say it represents ‘real life’, however, it is either very far-fetched and or staged like in Big Brother.
Docu-dramas’ have a fictional setting to show factual events (Hill, 2005). In addition, talk shows allow the celebrity interaction with the studio audience, such as the X factor which mix celebrity interaction with ordinary people, are both highly relevant for reality programming (Hill, 2005).
The development of these ideas over time has led to the reality TV as we know it today.
Hill, A. (2005) The rise of the reality TV. In A. Hill, Reality Popular Factual Television. (pp. 15-40). Oxon: Routledge.
Hi Shayen,
DeleteGood work with some examples of contemporary TV shows relate to Hill's quotes. You mentioned that The Bachelor or The Bachelorette has same type of intersection which produced between public and private life in the second paragraph, but can you give us an example of how exactly The Bachelor makes you think that way?
What has the early docudrama (e.g. Cathy Come Home) contributed to the development of Reality TV? Discuss in the context of a contemporary reality TV show.
ReplyDeleteDocudrama, in particular, enabled filmmakers to unite a political agenda and social comment with an engaging, watchable drama. The fresh new perspective afforded by these programs, on those often categorised as outside of respectable mainstream society, was contextualised within a social responsibility agenda. (Caughie 2000:103). Cathy Come Home caused a great impact on the society after its broadcast and drew people's attention of how serious is homelessness has grown around us. Catchy Come Home filmed in a gritty, realistic drama documentary style to reflect a real social issue that was happening in Britain.
Benefits Street is a British documentary series, it shows benefits claimants committing crimes, including a demonstration of how to shoplift, and portrays a situation in which people are dependent on welfare payments and lack the motivation to seek employment.
It is noticeable that Cathy Come Home somehow brought invisible influences on Benefits Street on some of the aspects. Two major points I'd like to talk about today. Firstly, their intention were both to complain a sort of social phenomenon/issue that were happening in the society and needed the governors also the ordinary people to be aware of. They reflected and critiqued the ignorance of the problems and raised significant public awareness afterwards. The biggest impact here to the contemporary reality TV here is Cathy Come Home brought them the idea of attracting social attention by TV and public media.
The hand-held camera could be another interesting feature to talk about, Cathy Come Home was revolutionary with Loach's use of a hand held 16mm camera……he fought and he eventually won. (Biressi & Nunn, 2012). The success of Cathy Come Home proved that this "shaky camera shooting" technique was widely accepted by public and also this technique was inherited and appeared again in Benefits Street.
Above are the two significant features I recoginsed from Cathy Come Home that have impact on the development of reality TV and be adopted in the contemporary RTV nowadays.
Reference
Biressi, A., Nunn, H. (2012) Reality TV: Realism and Revelation. Columbia University Press.
Blog Post weeks 11– 12
ReplyDeleteAlbert and David Maysles were well-known for developing direct cinema. With works such as Salesman (1969), and grey garden (1975). In direct cinema, directors do not plan a scene but rather let the camera role and let the scene unfold for itself. The documentarian becomes an objective observer and an “invisible passivist” (Line19) rather than a director or participant (Nam, 2015).
On the other hand, Cinéma vérité is a genre developed by a French film maker, Jean Rouch. In French, it means “film truth”. In this genre, we see the film makers actively participating in the film. They become a subjective observer; where necessary. This genre combines both observational and participatory filming. Essentially there is an awareness of the camera establishing a connection between the filmmaker/cameraman and individual/s being filmed (Nam, 2015).
I think contemporary reality TV shows use both forms of this genre. From shows such as “Police Ten 7” to “Keeping up with the Kardashian”. The camera is placed in an observing point of view to show the reality of the situation unfolding. Partnered with moments when the participants talk directly in to the camera. A great example would be Police Ten 7 which I believe utilises both genres. Direct cinema when we observe the police talking to the people they have stopped. This is showing the “real” event unfolding. It’s unpredictable and nobody knows what will happen next. Then we see Cinéma vérité when the camera men follow the police around while their on duty. We also see the police talking to the camera or when people they have stopped address the camera. i.e. Acknowledging the fact that they are on Police Ten 7.
Reference:
Nam, Y. (2015, November 20). cinema verite vs direct cinema [Article]. retrieved from https://www.nyfa.edu/student-resources/cinema-verite-vs-direct-cinema-an-introduction/