Day 1: Flip It and Reverse It

The very first day of class, MAY 10, was a bit of an eye opener for me. It challenged me to see Reality television in another light. Before the first day, I loved Reality television and it's whacky concepts that took away most of my boredom. The fact that I could sit down and watch Tool Academy, Model City, RuPaul's Drag Race, and many others and actual have pure enjoyment and be entertain is ridiculous.

When Eric Dunning came in to speak to us about the demographics behind reality tv, I was shocked non-the-least to know how much editors play a role in the actual production of the shows. He told us that the reason Reality Tv first started in the 40s with the show Candid Camera was because it was cheaper than making an actual sitcom show. Now, since Reality television is so popular, it has become way more expensive. He said that to make a reality show of my own that I should be looking to have a budget of around $800,000-$1,000,000 dollars. WOW! To make a traditional sitcom it only would cost me $500,000 dollars. That is ludacris to me. The fact that it cost more to make an unscripted, twisted perspective show with real people whose lives have been distorted by editors is more expensive than a scripted television show with real actors and a production team makes no sense. Robert also said that the problem with Reality tv is that it has unreal environments, misleading editing, restaging, and premeditated scripting and acting. He said that the key to casting a reality tv show is to find people with a clash of social, religious, sexual, economic, and racial norms. The people most have attitude, psychological issues, determination, and be able to work hard. You got to be crazy to be on a reality tv show.
After you have found your actors, you must think about your Treatment for the show. The treatment included the concept, like what type of reality show you want to have; then you have to think of a creative title to fit the show. After you have formulated your title, think a log-line that will be a brief synapsis, like a catch line, for the show. Then you're ready to sit down and write out your concept, the charcters and the first two or three episodes. Albeit it might seem like a lot, it's all worth it because at the end you come out with a show like Jershey Shore that everyone watches which gets you sequels.

While the first day of classes was coming to an end, I thougt about a word Eric used in his presentation that was interesting to me, Schadenfreude. Schadenfreude is a German word which means spectacle of humiliation. Reference to reality tv, schadenfreude is the taking of delight in the humiliation if others. It made me wonder why I watch reality tv. Was it for schandenfreude or something else? Either way, from now on, even if I was watching it for schadenfreude, my relationship with Reality Tv will change after taking this interim class. Hopefully, I can still enjoy watching the shows without trying to dissect them too much.

Christian Stewart-Jonhson