“Reality TV may have a right to be fake”
The article given to me was entitled “reality tv may have a right to be fake,” concerning the popular show “Storage Wars” on A&E. A man by the name of David Hester, who was a participant in the first three seasons, filed a lawsuit against A&E claiming that the company “salts” storage units- fills them up with interesting and valuable things. He also complained about reality TV tricks, phony footage, scripted interviews and that his own decision to not salt his own lockers made him look “less competent than his colleagues and forced him to close his storefronts.”
After such complaining, he was terminated from A&E’s network and A&E acknowledged that he was just trying to be dramatic. Hester and his lawyers argued that the show was in violation of the Communication Act of 1934 which prohibits “ influencing, prearranging, or predetermining outcomes in contests of knowledge, skill, or chance” Long story short, a judge ruled against Hester saying that “Storage Wars” is covered by the First Amendment because it is not commercial speech, but “expressive free speech” so it has more latitude in what it does and says about itself.
I personally think Hester was just trying to get something out of this because he was upset that things didn’t go his way. I know that people will be people and in the business of reality TV people can be ruthless. Also, I’m not sure why this was being made out as such a big deal, as an audience, we all know that reality TV is scripted here and there and that not all of it is actual reality. This is pretty well known fact and obviously people don’t really care because we all keep watching it, even if we hate it- we watch.
In conclusion, I don’t think it’s that big of a deal if Storage Wars does salt the lockers- what show would we have if they didn’t? Oh hey guys look, it’s the third consecutive week and there’s nothing but bags of trash in these lockers! Obviously, that’s not interesting nor does it make for good airtime. People need to just accept the fact that reality TV is more of what we want to see to happen, not what would actually happen in real life. DUH. Reality TV is fake TV, it’s what we like to see because we either want more drama in our own boring lives, or we don’t, but like to see how crazy people act when they have it in theirs. The whole purpose is for entertainment! What do you guys think?
http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2013/08/30/real-housewives-reportedly-faked-scenes-is-anything-on-reality-tv-real/
ReplyDeleteI truly don’t feel like reality TV should be fake. However, these days it is becoming more scripted and even more fake. I found this article that discusses how many reality shows are fake. For example, texts were leaked that revealed that scenes in Real Housewives were scripted beforehand. People from Real Housewives claim that the show is their life and their reality, however this is not the case. Most of their scenes are scripted and they are told exactly what to say and do. This is not the only show to do this though. There are many shows that tell the actors exactly what is going to happen ahead of time. This should not be what reality TV is.
I think reality TV is doing what they have to do to keep the audience intrigued. I also don’t like how it is completely scripted, fake and lame but that’s how it is now. I don’t think there is any turning back either. When one show pushes the bounds on how dramatic something is another show has to counter that with something even better. If a show was produced and was completely real life they would fall flat of their competition and thus go under because it would be so boring compared to other shows. It also makes sense that shows are fake just because people want an escape from how they live their life. Some people watch shows like jersey shore just to feel better about their lives when put in comparison to shows with dumb people. Its sad to think that shows manipulate the viewers to make them think its all raw footage but it is also a necessity.
Deletehttp://jezebel.com/5946024/real-housewives-of-nj-producer-reveals-just-how-far-reality-tv-will-go-to-manufacture-drama
ReplyDeleteIn your post you mention that you don’t really think it was a big deal that Storage Wars “salted” the lockers, and I have to agree with you. That made me think of this article, basically talking about how all the cast members of the show Real Housewives of New Jersey felt like they were set up by another cast member when really it was the producers sending in somebody else to set them up. They were all shocked and enraged over the setup that occurred but honestly they’re on a reality TV show, I don’t know what else they expect. It doesn’t matter who set them up on the show, the producers are just trying to get a reaction, which is exactly what they got when the entire cast pointed fingers at another cast member rather than the producers themselves. I don’t see a problem with these setups that occur on reality TV; it’s what gets them views and it’s what keeps the viewers content. By this point most people understand that reality TV is hardly even real and the producers are the ones sparking all of the drama.
http://hellogiggles.com/fake-it-til-you-make-it-reality-tv
ReplyDeleteAs a producer it is important to think about what sells. Does boring, uneventful television shows catch the viewers attention? No. We at home like to watch something interesting that we don't see in our every day life. "Fake It 'Til You Make It" is a perfect name for this article that I linked above. Just the title draws my attention because it really sets in the idea that yes, producers fake scenarios to make money. It's what needs to happen in this day and age.
I agree that it is up to the producer to put out something viewers will want to watch even if it is scripted or fake. The viewers of these shows know that not every single thing that happens is "reality" and that is obviously not a big deal to them if they continue to watch these shows.
DeleteWhether or not Hester had a legitimate case against A&E, he knew what he was getting into ahead of time when he got casted for the show. Like the article stated, we all are well aware that "reality tv" isn't very "real"these days. It seems to me he was just a guy who didn't get as much out of the show as he was hoping going into it, saw how big the show got after he was no longer a part of it, and then ultimately tried to get his revenge. This one is all on Mr. Hester for not playing the game too well.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with whats said in this post and the blog, not all reality tv shows are going to be 100 percent legit. Obviously some shows are going to rig the process in order to boost their ratings and make more money. In my opinion Mr. Hester just wanted to make more money by suing A&E when the show started to get more viewers. In my opinion he should have just kept on with the show and not have gotten greedy, he probably a good amount of money being on the show.
DeleteI couldn’t agree more. I mean from watching the show Storage Wars, Dave Hester made me mad every episode and tried to outsmart or out maneuver everyone in the sneakiest ways and I feel like this time he’s the one that got out maneuvered. It’s obvious that the storage units were salted because if they weren’t I don’t see how they would get any viewers being that all they would be doing majority of the time is looking at dirty old garbage that people didn’t want any more so they abandoned it in a storage locker. A&E I believe had every right to kick him off the network because even though it’s kind of known that the lockers were salted he, as stated, tried to give A&E a bad name and expose them of something that is commonly known.
DeleteI think in the beginning of storage wars a lot of the lockers were not purposely filled with interesting things but when the show took off they probably started fixing the lockers to make it more interesting. It has happened with many shows before storage wars. He knew what type of industry he was getting into and so he should have seen this coming. Everyone knows reality TV is fake but we choose to ignore it because the entertainment it brings us is so enjoyable. Like the blog mentioned it would have been boring if there were three episodes in a row that had nothing interesting in the locker. That goes for any reality show because the moment there is a couple boring episodes it causes the viewers to lose their interest in the show. These businesses that get involved with a new reality show should already know that there will be set ups and it is not going to be all real because like I and many others have said, reality shows are fake.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree! At first i'm sure the show was actually somewhat real and the lockers were just randomly chosen but once it got a lot of viewers naturally they needed to make it more interesting to keep gaining viewers. Producers of reality tv are smart because millions of people around the world continue to watch it and I don't see it changing anytime soon.
DeleteI agree that reality shows can basically do what they want because since it truly isn't "reality" and more of drama or comedy shows, they can do what the writers and the producers want to do. They could be putting really almost anything on TV and people would watch it because of the fake drama that comes on. I used to watch Storage wars and was a big fan of the show but it really did lose it's appeal after learning they rig the show but guess what i still watch it because it is entertaining and the producers know it. That's where the show has complete control because they know people will watch anything they put on. Even when people know the shows are set up and staged people still watch because it's like watching a soap opera and they like to soak in all the drama, even though they don't want drama in their lives.
DeleteHonestly, I used to watch Storage Wars all the time with my family, we each had our favorites and David Hester was never one of mine. I can imagine that A&E was tampering with the lockers in order to make the episodes more enjoyable, but after awhile it was always the SAME thing. The characters are introduced, they show up to the lockers, look around the lockers, on the side there is some smack being talked, and then the bidding starts. David Hester was definitely a show boater and always acted better then the other contestants, he even made his own "catch phrase" when it came to bidding instead of just raising his hand to bid he would shout a loud "YUUUP!". He tried to cling on to the little fame he had but as an avid Storage Wars watcher I can say that no one was sad to see him leave.
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ReplyDeleteI used to occasionally watch storage wars every now and then and always thought something was fixed during the show. It is just not possible to always find something extremely valuable in a abandoned storage unit. If someone abandoned their items in a storage unit then I am sure it is nothing that is worth value. But this is not surprising that the lockers were tampered with because these actions occur all over the entertainment industry. Producers know exactly how to keep the attention of their audience thats why they make so much money. Certain things have to be done against protocol to make the show successful. At the same time you have to realize that if they didn't tamper with the lockers then the show would not survive because the lockers would literally have nothing of value in them. David Hester fought a war he could not win but it opened up our eyes just a little more to the actions of directors.
ReplyDeletehttp://hellogiggles.com/fake-it-til-you-make-it-reality-tv
ReplyDeleteI agree with this post, if its such a bad thing that reality tv shows are staged then why do we all watch these shows daily but when its brought up we make fun of how fake these shows are. I honestly think people feed off of these reality shows, it gives people things to talk about and look forward to with upcoming shows. In this article, it explains how people bring reality tv shows into their everyday conversation and relate to them on a first name basis as if they actually know these people. It doesn’t seem to be a problem for people that love certain reality TV shows that they are fake so why is it a problem for people that don’t watch them? In other means most people state “I don’t watch that show, its fake” because they simply don’t like that show not because its fake. Almost all reality TV shows are staged so judging one out of the many isn’t even reasonable. And to say its fake is wrong because every television show is recorded so technically they’re all staged and is it even bad that some parts of a reality show is made up? I don’t believe so.