Reality Television Shows

Response 1

Reality is distorted in the shows known as “Reality Television”. If they are to be analyzed, very few things appear to be real in these television shows. An Example of such a show is “Cops”, which has been in air since 1989. In this particular show, a couple of people or person come over, disturb the peace in the neighborhood or a particular area, and then the cops turn up and “save” the day or help people be at peace. The fictional shows like ‘Law and Order’ or ‘CSI’ are better of than the reality shows. In a show like ‘Law and Order’, one person does the investigation, collects the evidence, takes it to the laboratory and examines the evidence. He/she comes up with the conclusion at the end of the day. In real life, this is not exactly what takes place. Each individual has his/her own role to play.

With the aim of attracting more viewers and becoming more interesting, these “reality shows” offer a loophole of encouraging criminal activities. For example, they offer different ways in which criminal activities are carried out and different ways in which the evidences are eliminated. In some cases, they give an impression that crime is a “cool thing” and being something that is supposed to be happening in real life, they do not portray good social character especially for the young people and the youth in general (Monk-Turner, Martinez, Holbrook & Harvey, 2007). On the other hand, the fictional shows such as ‘Law and Order’ have gained good popularity among the people. They have been credited by the community-based programs. This is because of the message(s) they send about the dangers of being in the criminal world. The cast also pose as good role models in real life as the young have people to emulate from concerning the dangers of being in crime and the advantages of being in the law-enforcing department (Monk-Turner et al, 2007).

Response 2

“Reality Television” distorts reality. Reality shows such as “Cops” and “Police videos” have a difference to the fictional shows such as “Law and Order” and “NYPD Blues”. Although both types of shows are used to entertain the viewer, they both portray a different aspect of police work. One thing they both have in common is that they portray police work as something that is entertaining. Although it might be interesting and entertaining depending on the case, it is not as easy as it is portrayed. It is also riskier and more unpredictable than it is portrayed in the shows. As much as they might be entertaining, these shows do not encourage criminal activities as such. Caramanika of New York Times reported the crime rates falling in the 1990s since the shows started airing in 1989 (2011). There had been perceptions that crime rate had increased due to the airing of these shows.

For this reasons, individuals started buying guns in fear of their own lives. Shows such as “Cops” are aired on television, a medium that is widely accessed and strongly influential. This medium mostly distorts reality and therefore creates a wrong impression to most viewers (Caramanika, 2011). This can be done by making the viewer perceive one side of a certain element until it looks real to them. For example, in the TV show known as ‘Cops”, the viewer gets to see one aspect of some “ugly” things in the society (Caramanika, 2011). It is mostly described as having a prosecutor just tell and defend his/her side of the story in court without giving the other side a chance to tell their story. A conclusion is then done from this one perspective. In my opinion, it would be ideal if we just had fictional shows. To begin with, the mind knows that it is an act from the word go. This would be better than having a show that is meant to be in real, only to find out that, it has been stage-managed and that the impact on the society is totally negative. Finally, a small percentage of the society ends up being wrongly influenced.

References

Caramanika, J., (Jan. 16, 2011). Squad Cars, Sirens and Gangs, and the Cameras That Love Them. New York Times. Pg. 1-2. Retrieved from

http://tv.nytimes.com/2011/01/17/arts/television/17crime.html

Monk-Turner, E., Martinez, H., Holbrook, J. & Harvey, N., (2007). Are Reality TV Crime Shows Continuing to Perpetuate Crime Myths. Microsoft Academic Search. Retrieved from http://academic.research.microsoft.com/Publication/14325300/are-reality-tv-crime-shows-continuing-to-perpetuate-crime-myths