FAKE REALITY
By Ruth MacGilp
When did it suddenly become so easy to get famous? It seems to me that the worrying amount of so-called celebs that are plastered across our TVs, laptops and magazines , are well-known for pretty much nothing. It's all money over matter and style over substance.
2010 was a year of big news: worldwide ash circulation from the Icelandic earthquake, the huge mining disaster in Chile, the enormous wiki-leaks scandal, and, oh, of course! TOWIE was introduced to our screens( That's 'The Only Way is Essex' to those living in a bubble). Fast-forward to 2013, and there are now endless reality series based around various regional stereo types and thousands of televised competitions. In fact, 15 of the 20 top rated programmes in America are reality shows.
To me, the most irritating aspect of these shows is that, while the basic story lines may be accurate,the majority of the dialogue is entirely scripted. Big Brother, Hell's Kitchen, Laguna Beach and Blind Date were all accused of 'frankenbiting' (re-ordering sequences and words), creating conflict, over-acting and putting scenes out of context, all for dramatic effect and popularity. These 'real people' that we are supposed to relate to are really just unqualified actors, hyped up on their short-lived celebrity status. Another example is that in the popular series 'Made In Chelsea' , producers admitted that none of the cast are actually members of the exclusive nightclub they are often filmed as attending. Many valid club members actually wrote in protest to complain about the fake socialites.
Statistics show that nearly ¾ of the UK population watch some form of reality television show. The main target audience for these programmes however is young people - girls in particular. What I think the producers don't consider is the negative impact on many teenagers;from harmless jealousy , like copycat clothing, to more serious effects, like extreme drinking, surgery and...