Omo… at this point, is any reality TV show realistic? There are a lot of them out there that are good for people. For now, with the kind of shows that are popular today, the most realistic show at the moment that I know about is Big Brother Naija. Because, despite its flaws, the main basis of putting it together is to get a bunch of young people together in a room, have them play games, and win huge amounts of money.
That’s the gist of the whole thing, and anyone who puts their mind to it can actually do it and do it well. It doesn’t take a genius to be a contestant on the show. However, anything after that, it becomes more and more realistic for the average person. Especially, as the topic description pointed out, when you have to deal with beauty, wealth, and relationships. It’s never easy.
Many times, just for the shows to be popular and stay relevant, the producers take things to the extreme, and it always takes a toll on the cast of such shows. Also, those who follow such teachings to the letter will most likely fail if they don’t seek expert help.
I remember writing a documentary once about a show host in the US. The show was about fixing vehicles and machines. And one of the reasons the host quit was that they had to squeeze in procedures that usually took two to three days to finish, they had to squeeze them all into thirty minutes of screen time. Now, you can imagine how much would have been missed out just because they had to work with a time limit in mind.
I watched another documentary that was about farmers and the art of farming. When it came out, it was all about farming, farm produce, and whatnot. As the show got more popular, the producers wanted to draw more crowds, and they did this by making it mainly about drama and not farming. So, instead of the farmers to be farming, they were either fighting over tools, debating things and all that. And at the end of the episode, nothing tangible was achieved.
There used to be a creator on TikTok, all he focused on was going into the bush and forests to build homes. He used sand and dug holes in the ground, fashioning them into a self-sustaining paradise. On the outside, all we’d see is a man using nature to his advantage, using natural tools to build a home, all alone. But when I watched the BTS of one of such shows, I was shocked.
They used bulldozers, trucks, heavy duty machinery just to get the work done. There was nothing natural or self-sustaining about such jobs. But then, that’s media for you. You only know what they show you, you never can really tell what happens beyond the scope of the camera.
Reality TV is one of the most unrealistic parts of entertainment, because it tricks the audience on just how easy or difficult some things are. A show about fashion designing will make you think that you can design and sew up a dress in a few days, whereas for some it could take weeks, especially if you’re the only one doing it. What about bodybuilding and the gym? They’re all in the same group chat.
But then, should these things be scrapped? I wouldn’t say so. Because while they have insane beauty standards and the things they portray are not really available to the common man, they make for good content. And for one reality show, there are about a thousand people who rely on it to make a living. So, I can’t ask for it to be banned. I just hope that it will be infused with more realism, because people need things that they can emulate and learn from. If we simply wanted to be entertained, we’d watch movies. It’s not that hard.
