Ventre, Michael. “Just How Real Are Reality TV Shows?” today.msnbc.msn.com. Today, 14
April 2009. Web. 25 Sept. 2011.
Michael Ventre addresses the topic of whether reality TV shows are actually real or not. He explains how producers may be a large part in what is being done and said on the show. Ventre includes the words “rigged”, “manipulated”, and “scripted” in his article, all of which he believes can be used to explain reality shows. He directs his thoughts towards viewers of these shows, especially those who believe they are entirely “real”. His intent is to inform people of what they are actually watching. He hopes viewers will consider the fact that many of their favorite reality shows may be scripted. Being a producer himself, J. Rupert Thompson stated, “Certainly, reality TV is a very manipulated format where the basis of it is that real people are put into unreal situations to create a story.” He later voiced, “I think the educated viewer knows what reality TV is and what it has become.” Many believe that in certain reality shows, such as Dancing with the Stars and The Bachelor, specific decisions are made by the producers themselves in hopes of keeping viewers entertained and waiting in anticipation for the following week’s episode. Although Ventre’s article focuses mainly on how reality TV shows are not completely real, he does include comments from others regarding the fact that specific shows must include some reality. Lynette Rice stated a fact in regards to the hit reality show Dancing with the Stars. “…there aren’t producers out there manipulating Steve-O’s legs while he’s fox-trotting. He’s doing it all himself”, she said. Overall Ventre’s article was very interesting. He included many views from others, such as producers, and remained very focused as well. While he mainly supported the idea that reality TV shows are manipulated and not entirely real, he did manage to include how parts of them are. I feel that this is a good topic for me to further do research on. I believe that many reality TV shows, such as Jersey Shore, are extremely unrealistic. Although I do enjoy tuning in to several reality shows, I believe that MTV especially stretches the word “reality”. Reality TV has become extremely popular. Many teens enjoy a good drama filled show; therefore, many of my classmates may also find interest in this topic.
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