The Emotion Work of Reality Television

Television producers of reality shows are responsible for guaranteeing that over the course of filming there will be dramatic and emotional encounters to become the core of an on-screen story. Grindstaff says that the normal route of manipulated situations to create a more stressful interaction is problematic because there are limits as to what contestants would be willing to do and they always have the ability to quit during production. Instead, producers must create an emotional connection and build a relationship with each guest or contestant on their show.

 Grindstaff explains that, in general, most females and men in lower economic classes use ‘emotion work’ – meaning they use emotions to not only build relationships but also provoke desired reactions from their peers. These slight manipulations are often used to maintain normalcy, but can be used by producers to inspire more emotionally charged reactions from individuals on reality or talk shows.

Personally, I am unsure how necessary this tool of emotional manipulation is. I believe it is important for producers to build good relationships with the contestants so that everyone feels comfortable during the filming process, but I do believe that the situations themselves create high levels of stress and therefore heated reactions from the contestants. However, in a talk show or a confessional situation, it is important for the producers to know how to bring down emotional walls. By this point, the participants will have emotional guards in place about what is being discussed and producers have to build a trusting relationship to break through.

While I do believe these types of relationships are useful in creating dramatic reality television, I wonder how ethical they are. Contestants know to question the tasks they are assigned and their fellow competitors when they agree to appear on a reality how. However, most do not think to question the production staff of the show – the producers are supposed to be on their side. While I do feel somewhat uneasy about the imbalanced relationship if contestants are aware of their situation and lack of power, and producers do not overly abuse it these emotional connections help create good reality television.

Questions:

-How do producers approach the participants of a reality-competition show differently than an average reality show?

-Is the main goal in creating a show always to create the most dramatic story or is there a benefit to creating a simpler and more realistic plot line?

-How much do contestants personalities versus talent influence their ability to join or remain on a reality-competition show?

Tapping into the Human Psyche

When looking at how to develop good television with ordinary people in "Self-Serve Celebrity," Laura Grindstaff believes there must be a delicate balance. As we have seen on the most popular reality television programs, conflict has seemingly become the most interesting part of the show. For one reason or another, reality television audiences are ecstatic at the thought of somewhat controlled violence and verbal/emotional abuse. The delicate balance that Grindstaff believes needs to be met is the level and control of that violence, as she says conflict can create "production problems if participants quit or become too unruly to manage" (76). More broadly, what Grindstaff is trying to convey is that good television shows with ordinary people must draw on the emotions of the audience, to which she gives the name "emotion work" (77).

Many of the daytime talk shows seem to have this a lot easier than reality television shows. A good amount of them are geared towards conflict, think Jerry Springer, Maury Povich, and others. The conflict is boiling inside the bodies of the guests, just waiting for the host to coax it out. Other talk shows, like Oprah, draw on the compassion of the television and live audience, because the shows bring in those whose stories began with misfortunes and/or disadvantages and tell the tale of how those individuals turned their situations around. Talk show producers are looking tap into the human psyche and create an emotional connection that will leave the audience wanting more.

While it seems that talk show hosts may have it easier, reality television producers have it fairly easy too. Many reality shows bring together a group of people that have never before met and expect them to live together for an extended period of time in search of a certain reward. This nearly guarantees some form of conflict, because the individuals will undoubtedly split off into separate cliques with the ultimate hope of being the only person left at the end of the show without a knife in his/her back. Other reality shows attempt to provide a glimpse into a certain sect of society. However, there is always some form of competition within each show, whether it be to prove that they party harder than anyone anywhere or that they are more classy and sophisticated than the rest of the world. This competition-aspect normally always leads audiences to a feeling of envy or provides a ridiculously hilarious and embarrassing program.

I feel that Grindstaff is right on the money with her points and her insight. Especially with talk shows, you don't really think about what the producers are trying to manipulate the audience to think about or feel, because people tend to be compassionate and try to identify with others as best they can. But with reality television, it is fairly apparent that conflict will run rampant throughout the program. When alcohol is thrown into the equation, the conflict tends to heighten, poor decisions are made, and the show can become even funnier or slightly scary.

QUESTIONS FOR CHRISTIAN HOMLISH

1) From your perspective, how much of reality television is scripted? Is there a difference in this area between competition-driven reality TV and reality TV more about lifestyle.

2) What do you think is the more important factor in determining the success of a reality television show, total revenues or total profit?

3) How much time is spent when selecting a cast for a reality television show? What are the most important factors in a cast member?