by Chrisanne Sikora

Created on: August 02, 2009

The premise is this: take a group of strangers and place them in a house outfitted with cameras and film their interactions 24/7. Or maybe instead of a house we abandon them in an exotic wilderness and film them competing with each other (and the elements) for a large cash prize. Or a rich family could agree to have a camera crew follow them around and preserve their daily squabbles with friends, family members, and neighbors all so the average person gets an idea of what it's like to live the privileged life. All three of these scenarios fall under the collective umbrella of "reality TV"; a category that is somewhat of a misnomer. Reality TV is characterized by shows that feature regular people rather than actors and plot lines that are mostly unscripted and unrehearsed. However, to say that reality TV is a true reflection of (for lack of a better term) reality is a bit of a stretch.

Disregarding the implausible set-ups like living in a house cut off from outside contact or roughing it in the Amazon while competing for food or money, the reality TV genre strays the farthest from portraying actual reality in the way cast members and their social dramas are depicted on screen. The people who agree to participate in these shows realize that they will be on television, their antics broadcast for the entire world to see. There is a natural tendency to "act up" or "perform" when you know someone is watching you, and a television camera multiplies that tendency a hundredfold. Knowing that the spotlight is on them, a fair number of participants will affect some type of "made for TV" persona. Sometimes this persona is simply a reflection of what that person thinks the audience will like, but it can also be an excuse to act in a way that differs to some degree from their normal behavior. In the case of shows like Survivor or Big Brother, which are always referred to as "games" in which lying, cheating and backstabbing are integral parts of game play, people who are normally honest and trusting are thrust into a situation where they must alter the way they normally behave in order to succeed in the game.

It is also important to recognize that these shows are heavily edited; what the audience sees is but a fraction of the hours of footage the camera crew has captured. Through the editing process, the producers present the participants in such a way as to create entertaining viewing. This is where you begin to hear things like the "hero edit" or the "villain

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