Reality Check: Plain and simple, stop whining! 

By: Kyle Christensen
Features Editor

Raise your hand if you are sick of all of these pseudo-informational insider looks at the “shocking lies and secret” of reality TV that seem to enter into succession every few months when the networks run out of more in-depth scandalous topics to report upon. Let me tell ya, if I wasn’t busy typing away this article or holding my own copy of “The Courier” right now, my left hand would be stretched upward reaching to the clouds right now. It doesn’t take a Rhodes Scholar to know from reading my weekly column over these few months that I am obviously a fanatical follower of the rapturous modern craze for unscripted television programming. Yet this genre which I hold near and dear to my heart has become the main target at the shooting range for every bored and fickle online message board crusader, comic pundit and major face in mass media across the country, who all seem to surmise reality TV to be an evil predator lurking in sheep’s clothing. Or the rise of Satan, if the shoe fits.

There are countless nit-picky reasons (most of them unfounded) that all or more of those individuals listed above feel the need to get so carried away with what is only a tiny fiber of the overall tapestry of contemporary (pop) culture; you know, cause apparently nothing else is going on in the world that’s attracting their attention. I heard rumors about something going on in Iraq…

Well, to narrow it down a bit, the most common attacks that reality TV has had to shield itself against is the accusation that these shows A) manipulate the events on record through editing and reconfiguration of sound bytes and video to paint a vivid, melodramatic picture that is far from what really occurred while filming and B) are set out to victimize, embarrass and cause harm to a select few from its befuddled, and supposedly naïve, contestant pool.

Why it has taken so long for those worrywarts to draw these absurd conclusions, when it was right under their noses the whole time, is beyond me, but while I think there is some truth to these lobbied complaints, there is also a whole other angle to each of these blown-out-of-proportion criticisms. Yes, a clever arrangement of shots and scenes can heighten the suspense, even to the point of bordering on fictionalization, but like any form of entertainment, a great story is what sells. It may not be a pen to a pad of paper, but the craft of writing through character and plot construction can be prevalent even from the contributions of the camera lens. Think about it: one “Survivor” castaway griping at another about who snagged an extra bowl of dead rodents and soggy rice galore is not all that interesting in its virginal stage; but once it is ornamented with chilling background music, reaction shots and confessional babble from witnesses of the now epic-like showdown, it becomes a product worth unleashing on the public because they have something to take away from it, being their suspense in the moment or their satirical backtalk at the players who have ignited WWIII out of such trivial matters. Everyday confrontations and interpersonal battles need to seem larger than life on the small screen, otherwise the selective watchers can simply flip to the next channel and go on about their business, while the ratings plummet for a show that may have had the virtue of being an “honest” and “truthful” depiction of real life, but the vice of being, well, there’s no easy way to put this, a complete turd of a series.

The more serious accusation, though, is the one that tends to believe that reality TV is not formulated to simply conduct a season-long social experiment or give away million dollar checks, but is also pressured to create villains and monsters from their footage, and, in essence, make some contestants the punching bags of scornfulness and shame by society. In fact, some who believe this nonsense have actually chosen to elicit their own brand of vengeance. Stacey Stillman, an early reject on the first “Survivor” edition, attempted to sue CBS, believing that the show’s behind-the-scenes head honchos manipulated Stillman’s tribemates into giving her the boot in order to secure a spot for those they thought were developing more TV-friendly personalities. And, of course, the latter half of January alone was flooded with scathing editorials and backlash against “American Idol” for subjecting some of its talentless hopefuls to cruel and unusual emotional abuse by the trio of judges. But producers and the supporters for these reality shows all share the same sentiment, asking themselves repeatedly in their heads, Don’t these people ever read the contracts they sign?! If your image or name is to ever be broadcast, you must, by law, essentially sign away your identity while participating in any show (so to speak) and allow the executives to do whatever they want with you once they have enough rolls of film with your face imprinted on them. If you’re lucky, the show will air and you will be the most likeable chum the nation has ever encountered. Chances are pretty good, though, that you might be horrified with what makes it into the final cut. A contestant will get a glimpse of himself or herself at the absolute worst times he or she has experienced. He or she will see “The Apprentice”’s Donald Trump sneer at him or her before ever hearing that rare moment when Trump might let a compliment slip past his lips. Simon Cowell will dish out every harsh critique in the book on “American Idol,” while Paul Abdul’s sage and motherly advice will barely be highlighted. Young men and women vomiting up 100-year-old rhinoceros intestines will dominate most of a typical “Fear Factor” match-up, leaving only a few seconds of the winner’s moment of cheerfulness in the closing credit montage. A husband on “Trading Spouses” is probably going to receive someone the complete opposite of his honey bunch and not the “Stepford Wife” clone he’d been praying for. And the examples are endless.

These people know exactly what they are getting into. The rules and agreements are clearly printed out in black and white. Viewers should treat, in their minds, these reality casts with respect, but certainly not sympathy. They’re blue collar fame seekers, not martyrs who have made any kind of substantial sacrifice to be deserving of our pity. They voluntarily gave up their dignity, not for a divine purpose but to achieve fleeting stardom and nothing more. Contestants may not be in control of what goes on in the editing booth, but they are well aware of the powers that they alone possess, which nobody else can control-- the power, as former first lady Nancy Reagan put it poignantly, to just say “no.”