It’s okay to admit it; sometimes we just need to indulge in some tawdry, messy, and mind-numbing TV.
And you know what? Me too.
Reality TV, an entertainment genre that focuses on ordinary people in real situations, is experiencing a revival. With the newfound wave of popularity for Love Island since season 6, the recognition of The Traitors, and the ongoing production of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, there’s been a surge in unscripted shows.
According to Samba TV, a software platform for smart televisions, dramas and limited series have dominated the entertainment conversation for the past two years. Something about a well-rounded storyline, the presence of big-name actors, and a short and sweet ribbon tied on the last episode really seals the deal for viewers.
But I’ve recently found myself, along with many others, sitting and stuck on reality TV for the past few months. I’m currently on season 8 of Vanderpump Rules and just recently finished the newest season of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, and it had me thinking: what does reality TV reveal that scripted series don’t?
These Relationships Get Messy
There’s no doubt about it: relationships fuel reality entertainment- friendships, marriages, business partnerships, family, and furthermore. There’s an extremely wide and inclusive variety of dynamics, which all get interwoven with trust, betrayal, and perseverance.
Compared to scripted series, where interactions between characters are deliberately paced and fit into an overall theme, reality TV showcases people in quick, explosive states, not thinking twice to reveal any unconventional or disagreeable actions.
And these actions cause drama, drama, drama. So much drama to the point it makes you want to throw your fist into the digital faces of who you’re watching. Why would you sleep with your best friend’s boyfriend? Throw a chair with your child in the house? Marry your step-grandfather?
The ups and downs in these reality stars’ relationships seem to repeat in patterns.
Someone makes a mistake, suffers the consequences, makes a life change, just to make the same mistake again. An argument breaks out, they resolve the problem, just to bring it back up again during another altercation. The list goes on and on.
As viewers, it’s difficult to place ourselves in these exact positions. We understand the reasons, pick our favorite sides, but it’s a common effect on reality TV audiences to still see outrageous conversations on our screens and think to ourselves, what are you doing?!
It’s Our Mess
So what makes us want to watch it? After all, we don’t know these people personally.
But we feel like we do.
As I’m watching Vanderpump Rules, seeing Stassi throw a tantrum about her birthday, Kristen falling on the floor, and Katie rage-texting, I find myself just as aggravated. Often ranting to the screen, giving advice, and lecturing as if they can hear me. But even though it makes my blood boil, I never pause to turn it off.
By seeing and hearing these figures on our screens, possibly for multiple hours at a time (if you binge-watch as I do), we feel like we’re slowly dipping into their lives with them: having the same conversations, crying the same tears, and laughing at the same jokes.
Parasocial bonds are formed.
We learn to connect ourselves with these reality stars, our minds creating illusions that we truly know them.
And just like any other relationships, we put ourselves into the picture. How would I have reacted to that? I would never say something like that. I would know better.
I even find myself thinking that way, somehow more superior than the figures on my Peacock just because I feel I would’ve acted smarter.
But if you think about it, all the repetitive bad mistakes, the ups and downs of friendships, the humor that comes from ludicrous behavior, are all magnified situations in which we all handle and struggle.
We might not be filmed by a crew for all the nation to see, but we each have our own mess to participate in.
Life is full of misunderstandings, missteps, and recoveries. And it’s each person’s responsibility to handle these challenges and dynamics in their own way, all while keeping courage and grace.
But sometimes, it sure is nice to just sit back and watch someone else’s problems unfold.