Reality TV Mirror Vicky Zeamer

People often describe reality TV as a guilty pleasure. We feel guilty for wanting to escape the woes of our daily lives in a way that isn't necessarily "productive." This escapism takes many forms, from getting sucked into someone's pursuit of vaginal rejuvenation to rooting for a villain to break social expectations. In this episode, we talk through how we get pleasure from watching people exist in a world removed from some of the rules that make our lives burdensome, such as financial pressures or social contracts.

When many people think about the over 20 years-running franchise Survivor, they think about starving people on a beach trying to light fires and sweating in grueling challenges. But for some fans of the show, they pulled into a partially fictional but ever-evolving real world of character mythologies and social strategies. In this episode, we dig into how this show provides a venue for audiences to reflect on their own inner motivations of how they make decisions and form relationships in the real world. 

Soap operas have a lot in common with reality TV, and not just because they often depict people fighting dramatically. In this episode, we break down why we love reality TV through the lens of soap operas. I speak with media researcher and future innovator Sam Ford, who spent most of his academic career looking at all of those things through the lens of Soap Operas and WWE and now works with brands and media companies to experiment with storytelling, audience engagement, and media formats. We dig into what soap operas and reality TV as a television format, expansive character universes, and an evolving viewing experience. 

What is this podcast all about? All I wanted is to talk to my friends all day about the joy, grief, and curiosity I got from watching Reality TV. I wanted to figure out why we got sucked into storylines we knew may not be 100% "real", or why we followed the lives of people we never met in real life. That's what this podcast is all about-- finding what it is about Reality TV that adds a spark to our own lives. I hope you'll join us on this journey.