The Major Differences between Documentary and Reality TV Programmes - Essay Example

The basic assumption made by the current report is that both reality TV and documentaries are manipulative genres, which use objectivity (an impossibility in reality) as a way of excusing the purposeful arrangement of form and content to achieve a certain audience reaction. Certain other genres, including documentaries, may be said to be forerunners of reality TV. Among these are quiz shows, which had their peak of popularity in the 1950s and declined after a series of scandals. In these shows, average everyday individuals would compete against members of the scholarly and intelligence community for cash and other prizes by answering questions in a game-show format.

Part of the draw of these shows, as in other reality TV shows as well as documentaries, was that the viewer was not watching an actor delivering planned lines, but rather was watching an individual who was just like them in many ways. The genre of quiz shows became wildly popular, partly as a result of this, but faded after quiz show scandals revealed that many of the so-called average everyday people were actually actors, being coached and given lines by the shows’ producers. However, the genre of game shows, which is closely related to quiz shows, survived the scandals and kept its place on network television, especially during the morning and daytime hours.

“Various types of program are believed to impart greater knowledge and “broaden the mind”: in part political programs (which are not uniformly popular as a result of the disillusionment frequently expressed with respect to politics and politicians); to a greater extent magazine-style programs, debates, reports and documentaries on a series of topics including society, travel, foreign countries, nature” (Attitudes, 2010). People are interested in this form of entertainment, and therefore, it continues.  Documentaries and reality TV are important parts of today’s entertainment landscape, but any attempts at objectivity are highly suspect and must be subjected to critical inquiry.