As our 3rd Critic on the Spot, we welcome Matthew Gilbert, television critic for the Boston Globe. Among the shrines at which he has worshipped during his tenure: The Sopranos, Freaks and Geeks, Six Feet Under, Scrubs, Lost and The Office. He has written celebrity and author interviews for the Globe, served as literary and managing editor at Boston Review, clerked at a number of local bookstores, and gotten his MA in Literature. He has had other jobs and assignments, too, but he can no longer remember them because TV has destroyed his brain. Our first two questions—both on Reality TV—come from Gary Garrison and Marissa Danielle Duricko.
Gary's Q:
Is reality television (Top Chef, Project Runway, Flipping Out, etc.) a reaction to uninspired traditional programming or a reflection of a larger, bored, splintered culture? Or both?
A:
I think a whole mess of factors have added up to reality TV. One big factor: People wanting to be famous -- something Andy Warhol understood about the modern world -- and people wanting to see other ordinary people become famous. Somehow, we think that fame will heal us. The internet, where we can all post our lives and give ourselves an audience, has fed the hunger for reality TV.
I also think people want to enjoy other people’s humiliation -- the gladiatorial approach to entertainment. It makes them feel better about their choices.
And then there‘s the low cost of reality shows, and TV’s need to fill many, many, MANY channels with new content on an ongoing basis. TV executives can throw together reality show very quickly, and very cheaply, and get a decent-enough audience made of a very specific, marketable viewership.
It all comes together in a kind of reality TV plot against those of us who aren‘t fans of the genre. But I do think, as discussed above, there is a counter-movement of excellent TV storytelling going on. Now, the creators of quality TV don’t have to create products that appeal to everyone at once; they are free to develop shows that may not have anything to offer, say, a reality TV fanatic.
Marissa's Q:
Do you think the "Reality TV Epidemic" will have a long-term impact on the careers of actors, writers, and others of "scripted" entertainment (whether it be television, stage or screen)? What do you see years down the road from now?
A:
Oy. I see reality TV sticking around for a long time. Game shows are nothing new, and they will continue into the future. And the new style of reality show -- the competitions the D-list spectacles, the roommate experiments -- will continue to draw viewers. There’s so much media space right now, and reality TV is an easy way for TV channels to fill it.
BUT I don’t think they will ever eclipse scripted TV. There are so many outlets for writers and actors on TV, so many more than ever before. I just can’t imagine that number going down much further, but what do I know? I like to think that, bottom line, audience like to be told stories, which is why reality narratives now have arcs imposed onto them; but ultimately, the reality tales do not do the trick. Fingers crossed.
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