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BTN: Is reality TV 'real'?

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BTN: Is reality TV 'real'?

SUBJECTS:  Arts, English, Media Literacy

YEARS:  5–6


How real is 'reality TV'? Is what we see on a show like 'Masterchef' or 'The Biggest Loser' reality?

Or are these shows using a carefully contrived recipe to make us believe that what we are seeing is real?

Discover what really goes on behind the scenes of reality TV and how 'reality' can be changed by careful editing.


Things to think about

  1. 1.Do you watch any 'reality TV' shows? If so, what is it that you like about these shows? What don't you like about these shows?
  2. 2.Do you watch any 'reality TV' shows? If so, what is it that you like about these shows? What don't you like about these shows?
  3. 3.Make a simple checklist of the ingredients that make it a reality TV show. Add to your checklist some ways an editor can manipulate the footage to make the story more interesting and dramatic. Watch two reality TV shows and use your checklist to assess which of the ingredients it contains.
  4. 4.You are a TV producer. Develop a proposal for a new reality TV show. Use the recipe outlined in the clip to develop your proposal.



Date of broadcast: 17 May 2011


Copyright

Metadata © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia Ltd 2012 (except where otherwise indicated). Digital content © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). Video © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). All images copyright their respective owners. Text © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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