Nowadays, television networks are becoming more realistic in creating television shows for the general viewing public. It seems that people now are entertained by seeing other ordinary people doing extraordinary stuff on air! For the past few years, reality shows has been a hit among viewers around the world. Reality shows are these one hour long programs wherein one can watch several contestants in an unscripted situation battling for something, or showing actual events featuring ordinary people as the cast. There are several classifications under reality shows. TV networks came up with documentary style programs, elimination or game shows, makeovers or self-improvement, renovation, hoaxes, hidden cameras, talk shows, and dating shows.
In watching these seemingly tireless programs, we often see new faces in TV. Since ordinary people are commonly participating in these reality shows, these people are not too comfortable with the camera. More often than not, viewers can get a glimpse of their anxiety as they compete with the other contestants. An example of such would be The Amazing Race. This show is focused on a set of contestants that travels around the world and racing each other in beating several clues that would bring them closer to the monetary prize. Anxiety is seen as they try hard in running through airports, getting flight schedules, understanding a different language, and beating all the other contestants. This kind of scenario makes the show more realistic, since showing anxiety is not a common thing for actors, and that this somehow connects us to being somewhat real.
For a more adventurous show, we watch the popular reality show Fear Factor. Here we see a group of contestants that compete each other by doing something that can be very scary for some, but fairly easy for others. Contestants in this show face fear and anxiety in ways no one can imagine. Eating live insects, jumping off a helicopter roving around three hundred feet in the air, getting locked in a coffin with snakes are just a few of the scariest antics they have. By showing fear and anxiety in the show, it boosts its popularity among viewers, and at the same time makes sense of the whole concept itself.
Entertainment is really evolving into a totally different era. Being real in television is already considered as enjoyment for other people. A sense of fear and anxiety can really hype up the viewing audience. By watching reality shows such as these, it would give us the impression of what's real and what's not. Popcorn, anyone?
