Surviving reality television : an honors thesis (HONRS 499)

This paper covers a brief history and explanation of reality television programming by attempting to answer questions like the following: Where did reality television start? What are the basic elements of reality television programming?The body of the paper includes an evaluation of the summer 2000 reality television show Survivor, including a breakdown of the ratings for Survivor, ratings for other popular television series, and an analysis of the producer's promotional approach for the show.The following topics are also addressed: Who are the characters in Survivor and how were they portrayed? What post-production, editing techniques were used in Survivor and what purpose did they serve? What messages were communicated? In what ways is Survivor an accurate representation of reality? In what ways is Survivor a distortion of reality? Finally, this paper offers an explanation for the popularity of reality television programming and an evaluation of the impact of reality television.Honors CollegeThesis (B.S.