Reality TV: What Would You Do?

Mini-Project #1
by Gina Carrano

When I watch reality TV, I am forever wondering what drives people to put themselves out there in front of an audience of millions. Do they do it just to achieve their 15 minutes of fame, or are they trying to use reality TV as a stepping-stone for a more successful, respectable acting or singing career? Whatever their reasons, I have always looked at reality TV contestants as a completely alien group of people, dramatically different from myself or anyone I know. After all, no one I associate with would actually choose to make a spectacle of themselves on national television, would they? I was about to find out.

The first inquiry I made was to my boyfriend, Jeff. He is a musician, having played trumpet his whole life and guitar for about the past 15 years. He generally scoffs at the concept of reality TV; for instance, he says he'll never understand why I watch the "musically ignorant" judges and contestants on American Idol. However, ever since the concept of music-based reality shows have come about, he has often remarked that someone should make a reality show to find the best unsigned guitarists. Over the weekend, I asked him what he would do if someone were to start such a show. Would he compete in it?

As we discussed it, at first he seemed amenable to the idea. He said he still hasn't given up on finding an opportunity that would allow him to ditch his sales job and become a full-time musician, and perhaps competing on a reality show would help him do that. But the more we talked about it, the more against it he turned out to be. First of all, he'd rather be able to make a living off of music without having to deal with the fame aspect of it. He's always been a private person and wants to always remain that way, he said. But the final nail in the coffin of his hypothetical reality TV stardom was the idea that to appear on such a show, he might have to compromise his artistic integrity and (in his words) "play lame music." The idea of that was enough of a dealbreaker to make him never want to go on reality TV, he said.

I also called my stepsister in Los Angeles and asked for her thoughts. She recently got her first job out of college in the TV industry, and she often works weekend casting calls for smaller-scale reality programs, so she has to deal with wannabe reality stars all the time. Since she has such an insider's view on what people really have to go through to get on reality shows, I asked her if she would voluntarily subject herself to the same process.

The question wasn't even all the way out of my mouth before she answered with a resounding no. She elaborated by discussing how lengthy and invasive the screening process for a reality show is, and said she would never embarrass herself by answering some of the questions that prospective reality contestants have to answer. Furthermore, she said, reality producers often aim to find out the contestants' weaknesses before the show airs, so they can then use a little creative editing to exploit those weaknesses for drama and ratings. Appearing on reality TV is often a no-win situation, she said, and she wouldn't do it if you paid her!

The last person I posed this question to was my best friend, Delia. At first, she scoffed at the idea also, saying she didn't think much of reality TV and that its immense popularity was a sad commentary on society. But what if appearing on a reality TV show had a tangibly positive effect on her life?, I asked. She and her husband recently moved to a new house in Harrisburg, and they're in the process of renovating it. Redecorating is not cheap, and with a young son and a new baby on the way, every penny counts. What if some show like Extreme Makeover: Home Edition offered to redecorate her house for free? Would she really turn them down?

After being presented with that line of logic, she relented a bit. She said she'd consider going on a show like that; after all, if there was something in it for her, why not? But then on the other hand, she, too, enjoys her privacy, and was not sure she would want her interior design tastes and idiosyncracies broadcast on TV for the world to see. After some hemming and hawing, practicality won out and she said that although she'd not go on reality TV under any other circumstance, in this case she couldn't turn down the chance to have her house redecorated for free. She wasn't sure if her husband would agree to such a thing, however.

In conclusion, all three people I spoke to tend to look at reality TV stars somewhat like I do--as a completely seperate group of people with whom we have little in common. Going on a reality show definitely isn't a goal to which any of them aspire. There is always the chance they'll rethink their moral position if appearing on a show would be helpful to them, but even then, nobody was jumping out of their seat at the idea of achieving "reality TV fame," and nobody who WAS willing to consider it was doing so because they wanted to become famous.