MTV episodes possibly infomercials for activism

Reality television shows have been around for a while now in our culture. They are intriguing most to producers because they seem unpredictable to their audiences and are cost effective. When we were discussing reality television shows in class yesterday, we came to the agreement that some reality shows inspire their audiences, while others just poke fun for entertainment purposes, or so viewers can feel better about their performances as mother, fathers, healthy people, etc.

Being just one station, MTV has a rather large amount of reality shows. Real World, Tila Tequila, Road Rules, Paris Hilton’s Best Friend, Made, and True Life are just some of the reality shows that have aired for them. MTV claims them all to be unscripted and authentic. The reading assigned to class for Friday informs and critiques MTV’s reality shows, written by Lauren Weber for the Los Angeles Times. When brainstorming for themes of True Life, producers went looking for people who’d star in the episode, “I’m living off the grid.” Yet, usually those who don’t follow the norms and don’t want to live on “the grid,” also don’t like MTV and the culture it portrays, and even the television industry in general. This problem is almost humorous because MTV placed itself there; addressing only a specific culture lead to the loss of audiences who didn’t like that culture. “Producers had to find people who were rejecting the mainstream culture that MTV basically helped to create but who were also willing to star in an MTV show,” Weber wrote.

Another MTV show that is stirring up conversations is Exiled!. It takes people that were originally on My Super Sweet 16, and place them with host families in third world countries to live for the week. It’s supposed to be an eye-opening experience, but in many cases, what was being portrayed on the screen was the times during the week when the American is criticizing the culture of their hosts. In a New York Times article published in August, Elizabeth Jensen wrote about the hope producers have for this new show to be an “infomercial for activism.” They want to expose their pop-culture viewers to the world outside their bubble. Yet, it seems that the producers may not have thought about the impact of sending a spoiled 16 year old overseas. How does the host country view Americans if the only American they met was a Sweet Sixteener? Only time will tell if Exiled! and other MTV reality shows will positively impact our nation and its surroundings.