Ron Burgundy, 9/10/09

This Thursday’s class discussion was led on the reading done on Lyotard and realism. Although I found the reading very hard to grasp at first, Dr. Rog’s lecture in class helped to shed some light on the topic. He talked about the emergence of realism in theater and other arts and how it was meant to be as “realistic” as possible. This idea of realism and portraying the “realistic” is extremely interesting to me. Currently in our society, specifically in the media, there is a rising trend of the programming called “reality TV”. Whether it is reality competitions, documentaries, or reality sitcom type of shows, this genre of television programming has become increasingly popular in the 21st century. This genre of television is meant to portray people in the real world, facing real problems, and showing real emotions. When I first began watching these types of programming I fell for their promises of “real people in real situations” and took the events and interactions that happened as reality. In a sense, this was the new “realism” in art, attempting to show the world the truth about society/reality. Having seen these programs for years I now know that the greater majority of these types of programming are in fact fabricated, and in no way show any type of reality. Although I am enlightened in this aspect, many people who watch this type of programming still believe that these types of programs reflect society and the reality of the world that we live in. In my opinion this fabricated realism is extremely dangerous for our society as people may attempt to have their lives imitate those seen in reality TV. Most people in these “reality shows” live extravagant lifestyles that are only able to have the luxuries they are afforded because of their participation in such programming. When people try to imitate this type of behaviors it can prove to be extremely dangerous.