Blog #8

 To extend the discussion that took place in class on Thursday comparing American Idol to “The Hunger Games”…

Our society puts an extremely strong emphasis on competition.  Competition is seen in sports, education, and in reality tv.  One example of reality tv that emphasizes competition that is most similar to “The Hunger Games” is American Idol.  American Idol has been airing for as long as I can remember.  The contestants are picked from all around the United States.  The producers of American Idol air the most horrendous contestants, the most talented contestants, and the contestants that have the most touching story of how they became singers to gain empathy from the viewers.  The ones who perform the best, are the most attractive, or the ones that have a story to attach the viewers with gain votes from the viewers.  This is similar to “The Hunger Games” when the tributes would receive gifts that were needed for their survival.  The contestants of American Idol and the tributes of the Games are treated the same way; they are dressed up and made a spectacle of, they are eliminated, and their future depends on their likability.  Once the winner is the last one in the competition, they are made into a hero.  People look to them as an idol, and they receive an incredible amount of money.  The tribute that wins the Games receives food for the rest of their lives.  They no longer have to worry about getting by. The only difference, the most important difference, is that American Idol is by choice, unlike the Games which are mandatory.

Blog #7

I feel that the viewers of reality television see the shows as entertaining, because they see their own lives as boring or average.  The most dramatic scenes that are caught amongst the reality stars are the only scenes that are played for the viewer.  In essence, reality shows are lying to us. They hide the moments that we can relate to the most, the most real scenes, because let’s face it… Who wants to watch what we can do ourselves?  That would not bring in the best ratings, which is the only thing that the producers are interested in.  They do not care that these “stars” are looked at as role models by the young adolescents that are watching their shows.  All they care about is getting the adolescents to watch the show.  When the “stars” act like fools on their show it creates higher ratings because viewers find what the “stars” do funny. The way the viewer influences the reality shows is through viewing.  As long as the ratings are high, the shows will still be produced.  One example would be Jersey Shore.  Jersey Shore was only supposed to air for one season with the cast that it is known for.  However, because the ratings were so high, they kept on the original cast for 4 seasons (a 5^th one on the way).  Another example would be Real World.  Real World has been airing for as long as I can remember.  It will keep airing until people become bored and stop viewing.  But because viewers need that drama to make their lives more interesting, they will continue to view the reality shows. 
I think that everything in the reality show business is tweaked to show what really happen in the most dramatic way possible.  The clip that I chose depicts how obscene reality television can become.

Don’t get me wrong, I watch some reality television, and I am not bashing it… I just think that we should take a step back and really look at who we are letting the future generations look up to as role models.