April ConTExt Question
This month, we're facing the reality of America's favorite TV genre.
Every month presents a new question around culture—and the circumstances around it—that’s begging to be asked.
That’s where we find our ConTExt Questions: our monthly question series where we pose one timely question to the TEam to get some real (and extremely relatable) answers.
This April, our focus is on Reality TV. Amid a year where the juiciest betrayals, scandals, and, at times, crimes have come from these unscripted documentations of real life, it’s clear the show genre has reached a new era. But, when considering the wellness of both stars and spectators, boundaries of humanity, and societal sanity, we can’t help but wonder…
SHOULD REALITY TV BE CLIPPED?
“Absolutely not, reality shows are the backbone of American TV. We’re living in a hypermedia age, there are so many shows, so many movies. So we’re getting more variations of reality TV and all the different ways that Americans live. I’m not mad at it. I don’t watch it. I know someone does, you know, I’m sure at some point there will be something that’s even more appropriate for me in particular. I love Jersey Shore. I love Tila Tequila. I love Flavor of Love, Real Chance of Love. If you gave me a reissues of those, I’d be all in.” Miles, Strategy
“I think no, to be honest. I believe they really hold a mirror up to our own antics, behavior, humanity, empathy, and I think it’s needed to kind of have that reality check, so to speak. And I think we see representations of what a girl’s girl is. Paige Sorbo, for example. We see representations of what not a girl’s girl is, and just a mix of all of the different human experiences. So I think it’s very important to keep reality TV.” Devin, New Business
“I’m a huge reality TV girl. Been watching since literally the first thing I can remember… I do love some of the best people on our screens (aka Jax Taylor, New York, Gemma Collins, Dr. Will, let me also throw in there maybe Lisa Rinna and Brandi Glanville)... but all these people are incredibly mentally unwell sometimes. And watching it, I sometimes think, especially in older TV, it’s a cry for help rather than a [reason to] keep filming. So I think maybe we need to start really vetting people. That’s another thing, too. Casting directors, are you vetting folks? Here at Team Epiphany, we always vet our influencers… I do think it is time that we prioritize our mental health and prioritize the mental health of these other people so then we can just watch with a little less [of a therapist lens].” Gabby, Talent
“Reality TV serves as a proper breakaway from things that are highly curated, highly produced, and it gives people a true glimpse into what real life actually looks like and a true day-to-day from a variety of different perspectives. The only problem, I would say, is that typically they’re viewed in a negative connotation and typically it can get very messy, so perhaps we could have a shift away from that but still keep it still entertaining.” Walter, Accounts
“So, I feel like reality TV shouldn’t be clipped, but we just have to give the folks that are participating in these shows some more grace. They’re willing to put it all on front street when we’re not. So, I feel like holding them to a certain standard and not holding our friends and family to that same standard and taking away opportunities from them just because you saw something that you didn’t like that they did on the show. Yeah, I feel like we should ease up on them, and we shouldn’t cancel it, we shouldn’t clip it, because this is how people are making their ends meet. And I respect the hustle.” CJ, Production
“I think there just needs to be a serious reality check on reality TV. I think the past 15 or 20 years in the reality TV space has kind of brought upon our current political climate. I think it’s created unnecessary and unhealthy drama in the pop culture sphere. I think it’s given our society as a whole an unhealthy and parasocial relationship with celebrities and people who might not be healthily or actively contributing to culture in ways that I think we want our country and our society to do so. Instead of axing it completely, I think there needs to be an audit of reality TV and maybe what sort of parameters or rules we can take with reality TV moving forward if we want our culture as a country to move forward and grow healthily as well.” Cullen, Strategy
“This is a layered question for me only because I’m not the biggest reality TV fan, but I do enjoy certain types. So I think for the entertainment value and the fact that so many people love reality TV, no. Now, I will say my personal opinion is reality TV can be messy and not necessarily always representative of the truth or like actual realities, but, at the same time, it is an escape for some people and brings them joy. Give the people what they want. I personally don’t always watch reality TV, but I do have things that I also subscribe to, so I would say I’m 50/50, so not completely, but I do think some shows could be cut.” Janay, Accounts
“In my opinion, I think reality TV should be clipped just a little bit because I feel like it’s a little consuming for people. I feel like people spend a little too much time worrying about other people’s lives. And sometimes I feel like people get infatuated with thinking that could be their life instead of just appreciating their own life. So I don’t know. I feel like it sets unrealistic standards and I’m like, it’s not even real half the time, like a lot of it’s scripted. So I just think it’s not very healthy, especially with social media and how addicting it’s becoming.” Chazz, Talent
“I don’t think so. I love reality TV. I definitely think there’s an issue with production and the parasocial relationships that are coming out of a lot of these reality shows. And so I just wish that production would be a lot less involved and we would amp up the good casting and just make that more of the focal point of our reality TV today.” Kylah, Strategy
“Do I think reality TV should be cut? No…but I do think that we could probably benefit from a bit of a reassess or a little bit of a reset for two reasons, honestly. I feel like one, which is lighter and sillier. I feel like we kind of have just lost the plot with some of the concepts in reality TV. I embarrassingly just finished Age of Attraction, which was super trashy and basically is just about age gap relationships where they’re not privy to each other’s age. But I think in something like that, it just feels silly. Maybe we just go back to the real-world type concept of it all. I find that perfectly entertaining as is. Rather than forcing something that’s so contrived for entertainment purposes. And then secondly, which is a little bit darker, I feel like a lot of reality TV has…benefited off of a lot of scandals. A lot of cheating scandals, jail sentences, divorces, all sorts of things. And I guess part of me wonders what comes first now. Whether it’s a reality star who wants to stay relevant, therefore is willing to kind of like get messier than they normally would in the real world. Or if all of that is really like deriving from their actual reality and their life, I think sometimes the two get a little blurry.” Shelby, Production
“Overall, not being a fan of reality TV, I do think it should be cut overall, but I also feel like there’s an opportunity to reframe it. I feel like a lot of times reality TV does not shape, or it’s not framed to best highlight the characters or cast members in the best light. So I think there’s an opportunity to reframe that to be actually reality and not stage. So there’s an opportunity here for, you know, a resurgence or renaissance. But right now, I don’t have faith in it, so cut it.” Daniel, PR
“I believe that reality shows that don’t show, I think, depth and true human experience should be… I think we get wrapped up in sort of the fantasy of it all and things that are really just inauthentic. I think where we find value in reality shows is getting insight into real people and finding humanity with them, versus splitting them apart.” Sarah, Strategy