|
|
|
02.10.03 - 1:27 am Dear Mr. Jordan Noe, My name is Erin and I?m a student at -------------------. �I'm writing a research paper on reality TV, and I would like to add your thoughts to my research. �If you could take a few moments to give your opinion on the following questions, it would be greatly appreciated. �I'm on a tight schedule, so if you could respond as soon as available, it would help me tremendously. �Thank you for your time and consideration. Sincerely, Erin Questions 1. �Does reality television give the viewer something more than other TV programs? � 2. �What draws viewers into reality television programs? 3. �Compared to reality experiments, such as the famous Stanford experiment in 1971, does reality TV offer unbiased behavioral insight? 4. �From your observations, what are the most popular trends in reality TV programs right now? 5. �Do you think the public can learn anything about themselves and their behavior from watching reality TV programs? 6. �Do you think reality TV programs will become the future of television programming? �Do you think they will become more extreme to draw in viewers? 7. �Do you think the psychology world can benefit, if they have not already, from analyzing reality TV shows? 8. �Do some reality TV shows have more potential than others to help people understand their behavior? 9. �If reality experiments, like the Stanford experiment in 1971, were placed on the air, do you think they would have ratings as high as a regular reality show? � 10. �Do you think people want insights into their behavior shown to them? ------------------------------------------------------ 1. i think what draws audiences to these shows is the impression they give of sincere human qualities. genuine emotions and the like. where as other dramas and comedies merely....replicate. 2. audiences are drawn to what they feel is truth being presented. while its hard to say what is actually scripted or staged, the impression of being so candid is what interests people, theyre not interested in false presentations of every day life or adventure, they want to see whats going on with other people just like we all want to look at the horrible car accident on the side of the free way. its a sick pleasure that some people are ashamed of, because they have this desire to spy, to gossip, to know what they normally wouldnt know due to privacy or tact. 3. i cant say for sure. i have a hard time believing what im supposed to. reality series are supposed to be unbiased, and unscripted and life as they happen. well, for ratings sake, theres no telling what a production company would do to up rating or guarantee them to attract more attention. so to say that what we are seeing on tv is actual and the truth is giving complete trust to a tv show thats only purpose is to bring in viewers to a particular station, and thus bring in a significant amount of more revenue than a competeting station. 4. marriages. i dont know why, but there seems to be many shows with the intent of bringing two people together who shouldnt be. tossing love and marriage around like its some sort of temporary endeavour based on wealth or lust. 5. they wont learn about themselves from what the other people do, but if they sit back and realize exactly what theyre watching and their reasons for doing so, theyll learn just what primal drives have surfaced and how wicked we can be. 6. they will become more and more outrageous and extreme, not to attract more viewers, but to hold the attention of people during this phase of entertainment. eventually the trend will wane, and they, the television companies, will have to do more and more to keep the attention, and to prolong the trend as long as they can....strictly for financial reasons of course. 7. there may be certain aspects that can bring understanding of the human psyche from these shows, but i cant really see what they would be. i could only see us gaining an understanding of why we are so drawn to reality, adventure and danger, and at the same time car accidents on freeways, mass murders, media, terrorist attacks. and i just think the world is a boring repeatitive place, and without such events being highly televised, no matter how relatively trivial they are, as long as they are exclaimed with importance, we can project our own boring lives into the scene of adventure or excitement, and thus, make our life more....exciting. 8. the shows that push peoples limits, either physically or psychologically i think will benefit more to researchers in that they show just how far people will go to gain fame or fortune. their desperation and the levels of will theyre willing to bring themselves to. 9. no. i think people need to see the physical reactions of others to feel anything from it. they need to see their faces cringe, they need to feel like they (the viewer) is right along side the person on tv, going through what they are, and relying soley on audio wouldnt be enough for them to experience with just that sense. 10. yes. i think people want to know themselves. but i dont think they would believe it right off. if a viewer was being presented with explanations and evidence and proof as to why they watch reality television shows, i dont think it would be believable to them at first. to them it might just seem like one more reality series. actually i have no idea how to answer this. its 1:27 in the morning and i just dont know what im trying to say anymore. hope some of that helps. jordan noe
|