Unrealistic Reality

The Unreal Reality of Women

Every time a person turns on their television, there are numerous of things on, whether it is a movie, a commercial, or an episode of a television show. Television shows has been around for decades but throughout the years, there has been a new addition to television shows, “Reality Shows”. Reality shows are based on real people living their own life and being constantly videotaped to form a television show. There are a number of reality shows in our culture that have developed into different categories such as entertainment, drama or shows revolving around self-improvement. Some common reality shows are Survivor, American Idol, Big Brother, America’s Next Top Model, and Real Housewives of Orange County. Without people realizing it, a reality show can have both positive and negative effects on them. Shows like Oprah or Dr. Phil have made a positive influence on people in society but shows like Americas Next Top Model or The Swan can lead to a negative effect in society. The negative aspects reality shows display are constant partying and violence in some shows, the unrealistic portrayal of women, and the pressure to be thin and beautiful. However, throughout this paper it will illustrate that reality shows are depicting women on screen and causing women both on and off screen to feel insecure and vulnerable both emotionally and psychologically because of the unrealistic views in women through their body and beauty. The widespread exposure to this stereotype of the “perfect body” has led women in our society to develop eating disorders and an urge to get a quick fix under the knife.

Reality television first started in the fifties with the shows Candid Camera and Truth or Consequence which actually was filmed by using secret cameras (Slocum). In the late 1970’s, early 1980’s, the first show to finally use cameras outside the studio was Real People. Real People was a show that was aired in front of live audiences and was a popular...