1. POPULAR CULTURE
REALITY TELEVISION

2. THE NATURE OF POPULAR CULTURE
Reality Television is a genre of television programming presented through real life and unscripted events. It generally documents humorous and dramatic situations faced by ordinary people. Reality television consists of genres such as:
Documentary-style
Competition/game show
Self-improvement/makeover
Renovation
Dating/Relationships
Social Experiment
Challenge/Fear

3. THE CREATION OF POPULAR CULTURE
Reality television originated in America in 1948 with the debut of Allen Funt’s series “Candid Camera”. The show consisted of practical jokes being played on everyday people, captured by hidden cameras.

4. THE CREATION OF POPULAR CULTURE

5. THE CREATION OF POPULAR CULTURE
Following this show more and more reality television shows were being created. Talent shows emerged such as Ted Mack’s “Original Amateur Hour” and Arthur Godfrey’s “Talent Scouts”. Many game shows such as “Beat The Clock” closely followed.
The 1960’s saw the first signs of global development with the first reality shows produced and broadcasted in the United Kingdom, Canada and throughout Europe.

6. THE CREATION OF POPULAR CULTURE
By the 2000’s reality television had a global outburst. Shows such as “Big Brother”, “American Idol”, “America’s Got Talent” and many more, had all gone global, having being adapted and aired in dozens of countries around the world. The variety of style and genres of reality television had also exploded and there were multiple networks that had devoted a whole channel to airing reality television.

7. THE CONSUMPTION OF POPULAR CULTURE
Throughout my primary research; a questionnaire sampled by 20 people, I found that 75% of people said they watch some type of program considered “reality television”. Also, breaking these results up according to gender; I found that women were more likely to watch reality programs than men. Younger people (over the age of 16) also seemed to consume reality television more than older people.
This graph shows the percentages of people of different ages and genders that frequently watch reality television in The United States.

8. THE CONSUMPTION OF POPULAR CULTURE
This graph shows the results from my primary research showing how people consume reality television. As we can see the main way of consuming reality TV is through free-to-air television. This is followed by DVDs of the series and Cable/Satellite television such as Austar and Foxtel. Internet Streaming Devices such as Telstra T-Boxes and Apple TVs were another way people consumed reality programs and only few people watched them though online sites.

9. THE CONSUMPTION OF POPULAR CULTURE
The heroes of reality television are tied up in mythologies; ultimately, drawing attention to reality programming.
The most popular reality characters named in my questionnaire were members of the Kardashian family and characters from Jersey shore.
There are also many mythologies surrounding these reality television characters. For example, there is a mythology surrounding Khloe Kardashian, with the idea that she is not a biological Kardashian.

10. THE CONSUMPTION OF POPULAR CULTURE
There is a lot of associated paraphernalia that consumers can access relating to the programs they watch. The following are some examples:
MasterChef cookware and utensils, cookbooks and a monthly magazine. They have also released a Junior MasterChef range of products.
The Biggest Loser has released weight loss foods and meal replacements, weight loss books, and even console games for Wii, PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo DS.
The Kardashian sisters from “Keeping up with the Kardashians” have released their own clothing line titled “Kardashian Kollection”

11. THE CONTROL OF POPULAR CULTURE
It can be considered that the ownership of reality television is the production companies that then sell the program and the right to air it on their television networks. The graph below shows the four major production companies of reality TV.
Production Company
Shows produced
Mark Burnett Productions
Survivor, The Apprentice, Celebrity Apprentice, The Voice and Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader
Bunim Murray Productions
Keeping Up With the Kardashian, Khloe & Lamar, Project Runway and The Simple Life
Fremantle Media Australia
The Biggest Loser, MasterChef, Australia’s Got Talent, The X Factor and The Farmer wants a Wife.
Endemol
Big Brother, Fear Factor, Deal or no Deal, Wheel of Fortune and Wipeout
Networks that then buy the rights to air the show consist of Free-to-air channels and Cable/Pay TV channels.

12. THE CONTROL OF POPULAR CULTURE
Television has quite severe restrictions on what content can be aired at what times. Free TV Australia introduced the Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice which deals with these issues of classification.
The program Jersey Shore contains coarse language, violence and sexual references and is therefore classified M. Therefore, the code of practice states it should only be allowed to air on Free-to-air television between the times of 8.30pm and 5.00am.

13. DIFFERENT PERCEPTIONS OF POPULAR CULTURE
For many reasons certain people in society will form a resistance to reality television. The following are examples of this.
Groups such as The Amish, Brethrens and Mormons will choose to resist television altogether based on their strict beliefs.
There is also the perception or stereotype that reality television is “trashy” and should only be appealing to lower class people.
The participation of children has also been seen to cause resistance towards reality television. “Jon & Kate Plus 8” has faced criticism about whether is it a suitable environment for children to be raised in.

14. DIFFERENT PERCEPTIONS OF POPULAR CULTURE
Reality television is generally a very accepted popular culture, mainly due to the acceptance of television in general. The following are reasons why people are accepting of reality television:
The entertainment factor and it is an escape from their own lives
There is the thought that it can give an individual an idea of an elevated status. It can make viewers feel as if they are better then the ordinary characters portrayed on the show
People may see the ordinary people on the show, just like themselves, and fantasize that they too could gain the status of a celebrity on a reality show

15. THE CONTRIBUTION OF POPULAR CULTURE TO SOCIAL CHANGE
Reality television has no doubt become an integral part of society and with this there have been negative and positive effects that have led to social change.
“Teen Mom” and “16 and Pregnant” are programs that are said to have positive effects on society. These shows are claimed to be the best options for teenage birth control by showing the daily struggles through life as teenage mothers. However there are also controversies over these programs saying they are glamorizing teenage pregnancies. With the fame and fortune associated with reality television and the instant celebrity effect on the characters could this lifestyle actually be appealing to young girls?
An American survey showed that 75% of young girls believed that reality shows were real and unscripted. So when young girls are watching an episode of “Jersey Shore” seeing Snooki falling down drunk in a gutter, flashing her body inappropriately and sleeping around with multiple guys they think this behavior is “real” and social accepted. These shows may be contributing to social change.

16. THE FUTURE
The future of reality television is so hard to predict considering the extent to which we have seen it change in the past. Here are some examples of what we could possibly see in the future.
Reality television may develop into the most watched genre of television in the world with more and more people tuning in and more channels dedicating more air time to reality programs.
Technological advancements may lead to enhanced viewer experience with better 3D TVs and other ways of watching
We may see more and more people become “instant celebrities” and simply become famous for no apparent reason but sharing their lives with the world