Another reason reality television is like soap operas
Posted by sarapryor on March 1, 2011
Last night I couldn’t sleep, so I flipped on MTV. Not to my surprise, the Jersey Shore was on. Now I’m definitely not a regular viewer by any means, although I do know who each person is, mainly through seeing them in the media all the time. What caught my attention though while watching was the fact that even thouh I can’t remember the last time I watched it, it didn’t take long for me to get caught up enough to understand what ws going on in all their lives.
This really made me start thinking about how we have talked many times in class about how someone can stop watching their favorite soap due to work, school, or just life in general, but still be able to connect all the dots the next time they DO tune in. This is just another reason why I think reality t.v. is soo much like soap operas.
samford said
Absolutely agreed. On the other hand, we could probably say that, on shows that have only been on for a few years like Jersey Shore, what is missing is the layers of additional depth knowing those characters daily for years brings to soap opera fans (although there are certainly several additional layers of depth of meaning a regular Jersey Shore viewer would have that you wouldn’t as someone casually tuning in).
jyoung1363 said
I agree with Sara here for sure! Although, now that I think about it, the producers of reality shows definitely make it a bit easier for the audience to clue in by showing flashbacks and sneak peeks, etc. I wonder if this is a device stolen from soaps (which I think was really the first genre to make use of flashbacks, right?) or just a creative tool for new or casual viewers…hmm. Oh well, LOL, at least we can stay caught up on Snooki’s antics that way.