Does Reality TV Promote Dangerous Stereotypes?

The 21st century has watched reality TV transform into one of the tremendous phenomena of our time. At first, we started off with just black and white pictures with no regularly scheduled programming, just on special occasions announced long in advance, your TV set had to be within 1/2 mile of the transmitter tower, and it had to be the right kind of TV for that TV station or you wouldn’t get a signal. From “”Love and hip hop”” to “”Teen Mom,”” reality TV has worked itself into the daily scheme of many people’s lives.

These days, it appears producers are willing to turn almost anything into an hour-long, weekly series. I couldn’t help but think twice about reality TV when Bravo premiered its new hit show about ordinary families watching tv together while sitting on the couch recording their reaction. If they can make a reality show about that, then what’s next?

The important questions we should be asking is”” Does reality TV promote dangerous stereotypes””? Yes, we should be concern with the different kind of stereotypes it shows. Reality television is now focused on the “”Realness”” that it brings to viewers. When it brings negative stereotypes like racial profiling, gender stereotypes and cultures stereotypes. For example, take the show “”Teen Mom “”some view the show as a source of empowerment for struggling young mother worldwide who can relate to the young mother struggles. While other might see the show as a show is tell other young females that it’s ok if you get pregnant; you may struggle through life, but you can make it with the support of others. It has normalized teen pregnancy in our society instead of reinforcing that it’s probably not the best decision for someone so young. We can admit most 16-year-old girls’ pregnancies are unplanned, which can undoubtedly cause stress to both families involved and hurt chances of graduating high school.

Another growing concern that may indirectly promote stereotypes is the issue of privacy tv, reality show participant has openly admitted that giving the whole universe (aliens also) access to the most personal and valuable moments of their lives is nothing short of a daily battle and dollar sign at the end of a check. The biggest check slightest can or will have drastic repercussions on their daily life. For example, just recently in the hit series “”The People’s Couch,”” enters the living rooms of households and films real people watching and commenting on popular shows and news from the past week. As families/ friends lounged around the living room laughing, cry, talk, gasp, and scream at their TVs the city and state of their location is on the bottom of the screen. Sometime during the recording of the episode, the participants forget that their being recorded so they say important things like last names, jobs…. etc.

Other shows like “”Love and Hip Hop “”and “”Black Ink Crew “”promote stereotypes of today’s African American culture as ferocious, rambunctious, unattainable and reprehensible. With these shows, the issue of rich and famous in regular every day life and on the red carpet. Very true to the fact but many reality tv stars have seen the world give criticism on the person actions from their behavior on the television, it’s not uncommon to see them slowly drift away from the spotlight of reality tv. With the negative views of someone’s culture people are imitated to get involved with that person just because of the stereotype that person culture has. If people wouldn’t be scared of stereotypical vies of someone culture ,you will find and meet some wonderful people of different races and ethnics who can sometimes have the same beliefs as you.

Stereotypes are a very sensitive subject in the world today and it can even lead to a very heated debate among one another. The stereotypes that reality tv promote doesn’t show “”realness “” but it does show negative aspects of someone’s life, which leads to the person being stereotyped off of their behavior before you even get to know someone on a personal level.

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