Anyone that owns at least one social media account must have been familiar with – or at least have heard – of the Kardashian-Jenner family. No stranger to the media, this multi-millionaire family also has their own reality TV show, Keeping Up with the Kardashians. First aired on mid-October of 2007, the show has been a major success and is now on its 16th season. To summarise, Keeping Up with the Kardashians focuses on the lives of the famous sisters and the problems they face. Occasionally, they address the rumours surrounding themselves by expressing their supposedly honest thoughts and opinions.

 

 

If I am going to be frank, I used to believe these reality shows shown on TV, I believed that they were telling the truth. However, these thoughts changed as I grow older and as I start to understand the process behind media production. Whether we like it or not, there is always a script behind these so-called reality shows because they needs to ensure that it is entertaining enough for its audience.  The producers know that in order to gain or maintain the viewers, these stars cannot simply have a life similar to that of  ‘normal people’. It needs to be something out of the ordinary for us to find it fun to watch. Therefore, the problems these stars face may not always necessarily be scripted, but their reactions could be exaggerated or perhaps even fake.

In addition, these reality shows are usually edited a certain way to direct the viewers to a certain perspective. For instance, it can be about how they want us to perceive one of these characters: a weak, pitiful female that we empathise with or a strong, independent female we look up to. With or without us realising it, the producers plays a powerful role in constructing our opinions.

 

 

I find it interesting how we continue watching these reality shows despite knowing the fact they are most likely to be scripted and have no educational value. A question that has always been in the back of my head while watching these shows is: just how real are these reality shows?