Some people will do anything to be famous. Every day I hear more reports about people trying to get famous by doing something outrageous, unethical, immoral, and sometimes flat out illegal to get their own reality TV show. I hope that the general public recognizes that many of those shows are somewhat scripted and include altered living quarters often filled with extreme personalities placed in recurrently unrealistic situations.
Is the perception of reality to the point that it’s manipulated and fabricated to boost ratings? Is the only motive to get them to where they want to go for their 15 minutes of fame? If so, what does it actually say about them as a brand? Think about the implications of how these people are known publicly for years to come. From party-crashing to claiming your child is inside a homemade weather balloon; these are stunts people have pulled to prove to producers they have the right stuff for their own reality show. Public relations driven antics will only get you so far. As a disclaimer, I am not referring to the dance or singing shows in this case. You actually have to have real talent to keep the fame going beyond the ability to eat one pound of earthworms in under a minute.
What producers actually look for when selecting Reality TV Contestants:
“Also something to steer away from is rehearsing it too much. Go in knowing 3-4 things about you that make you interesting. At the end of the day, we are looking for the right personality for the show, not someone that just has gimmicks. We want to know about you, not how you compare to other characters from past seasons.” (Excerpt from www.jobmonkey.com/realitytv/selections/)
“Build your brand by utilizing hashtags so you’ll pop up in searches. Heck, when I worked on Bad Girls Club they even built an entire season around social media stars. If you’re at a trendy bar or club take group selfies with your friends and check-in, especially on Instagram. It’s not important to have a bunch of followers but using a platform like Instagram often will increase your chances of visibility. And don’t forget to leave an email address or contact number in your profile so producers can easily get in touch.” (Excerpt from a VH1 reality producer.)
The Reality TV genre has been seen as the “golden ticket” into fame and fortune, but at what cost to the personalities/contestants themselves and to others? Think of all of the thousands of tax dollars and man-hours spent looking for a lost boy that was at home the whole time. Sometimes people get caught up in themselves and fail to recognize the full implications of their actions. We are all human, we all make mistakes. But will these few actually learn from those mistakes? Only time will tell.
Please let me know your thoughts.
