2

My own opinion is that "reality tv" is a misnomer and I would feel better if I had a more accurate term. I'm unable personally to come up with anything better than pseudo-reality tv. Has anyone come across a good term for it? It should be self-explanatory. I don't want to have to explain the term or get into a discussion whenever I use it with a new person.

Improve this question
8
  • I would probably say "faux-reality". The shows are, of course, highly "staged".
    – Hot Licks
    Commented Mar 6, 2017 at 18:58
  • 1
    @HotLicks - a "faux-reality" show? Come on!!!
    – user66974
    Commented Mar 6, 2017 at 18:59
  • 1
    Alternate-reality TV
    – Cascabel_StandWithUkraine_
    Commented Mar 6, 2017 at 19:00
  • 3
    The slightly more accurate phrase "unscripted" TV is sometimes used. Some folks try to make a distinction between "unscripted" and "reality" (one is really just letting cameras roll on reality, the other has an outline and agenda, basically everything shy of an actual script of dialogue) but the distinction is very fuzzy and it's not consistent which is which so I think you could probably just use it as a very near synonym.
    – 1006a
    Commented Mar 6, 2017 at 19:24
  • 1
    @1006a - are realities unscripted? I do doubt it, but people love to believe it.
    – user66974
    Commented Mar 6, 2017 at 19:53

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
2

The expression is very popular and generally understood to refer the kind of TV programmes explained below. The expression is present also in dictionaries. Probably a similar expression would not be more helpful.

Note that one of the meanings of reality is:

resemblance to what is real.

Reality TV: noun [ U ] UK ​ ​

  • television programmes about ordinary people who are filmed in real situations, rather than actors

(Cambridge Dictionaries)

Reality television:

  • a genre of television programming in which "real life" people are followed in a situation, game, etc.; also called reality TV, reality programming.

(Dictionary.com)

Improve this answer
0
0

Reality television is neither reality or unscripted. It is, like every other show, filler to run amid content (ads). Consumers "tune in" because in dramatic sports there is a false perception that anything might happen. What does happen is vulgarity is naturalized, glory is bestowed on the untalented (however briefly) while situations are staged and circumstances are canned. Contestants are coached. What we have is a conceptual simulation of the real - what if unknown strangers lived together or competed in kitschy challenges? The answer: nothing that would make national headlines on its own: more ephemera to lose or delete in 80-100 years. Therefore, I propose to label what is known as "reality show" with the term "simulated reality". With this term, we can explain the phenomenon more succinctly and in more cases.

Improve this answer
2
  • Simulated reality does not distinguish such programmes from outright fiction.
    – jsw29
    Commented Sep 27, 2021 at 17:10
  • How do you mean? Of course, fiction could be described as simulated reality by itself. But, that is not what the term means. The term will come to mean what we now call reality television or reality show. Then, the distinction will be well-understood by that time, in my view anyway, for what it is worth.
    – Keeping Tabs
    Commented Sep 27, 2021 at 21:28
0

There is "fly-on-the-wall". This describes TV programs that are usually about the daily life of people in their own homes or workplaces. There is no presenter or reporter - the camera simply follows the people:

OED

1.i fly on the wall:

(a) an unperceived observer; one who is able to overhear discussions, etc., without being observed or involved;

(b) Cinematography a film-making technique in which events are presented realistically by observing rather than by directing the action; frequently attributive; cf. cinéma vérité n. and adj.

1949 N. Mitford Love in Cold Climate i. vi. 61 I had been throwing an occasional glance in their direction, wondering what it could all be about and wishing I could be a fly on the wall to hear them.

1971 A. Sampson New Anat. Brit. xii. 239 I spent a week inside the department, overhearing committees and meetings as a fly on the wall.

1986 City Limits 12 June 23 This is a film that has tried hard not to impinge its identity on its subject, using a fly on the wall approach.

Improve this answer

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .