Is Reality TV Just A Guilty Pleasure?

Reality TV is a genre that has wormed its way into our screens, our culture, and—for many of us—our guilty pleasures. While some might dismiss these shows as frivolous entertainment (we’re using the term “entertainment” generously here), maybe there’s more to it than good old fashioned wife swapping, marrying strangers and surviving in the wild with nothing but a six-pack and an epic tan.

Perhaps reality TV is so popular because it holds up a mirror to society, showcasing the full spectrum of human emotions. Watching real people in real situations causes us to reflect on our own life choices and experiences. Or perhaps it’s all completely fake, scripted rubbish that makes the producers a hell of a lot of money. As a writer of The Simpsons, Dana Gould put it, reality TV is “people who aren’t actors working with people who aren’t writers in an amateur production of nothing.”

But how “real” is reality TV… really?

*CHAPTERS:*

00:00 Born In The Wild

07:30 Bet on Your Baby

11:06 How Real is Reality TV?

16:38 Release The Hounds

25:14 The Role of NDAs in Reality TV

29:14 The Naked Magazine Sweepstakes

30:21 Ethics and Consent in Reality TV

31:24 Who's Your Daddy?

33:59 Viewer Shame

37:11 When Reality TV Goes Too Far