Can “reality” change the reality?

These days reality shows are a galore. I remember, the first reality show I saw, Indian Idol. It was more or less a national singing competition, but with a difference that anyone can participate, no qualification or eligibility required. That’s why it was called a reality show, where ordinary people participate, and ordinary people decide who wins the competition. This gives the show the required “reality” factor. You will be selected based on one factor your talent, that too in singing, nothing else. I adored the show right from the first episode to the last. The initial rounds involved culling, where some hooligans participated too. They just added to the laughter quotient of the show, people enjoyed it too. As the show progressed, seriousness and competition took precedence between those who qualified for the next round. I believe the show kept the whole nation glued to their television sets at the prime time. The show represented the true celebration of talent in our country. The show renewed the interest of many in singing. Many may have also punched in telephone numbers for professional trainings! It was great. Since then reality television has traveled a long journey.

Technically, reality television is a genre, where events are unscripted, dramatic, actual events are documented, usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, in a contest. The reality shows have provided a platform to the one who is underprivileged, who needs an opportunity to show his talent and make his career in the respective skill.

But these days we see reality shows filled with mere inanity, sensational events which satiate our taste buds and hunger for more myriad and sensational content which we won’t be able to see in reality? In today’s reality shows, children can be rented to be parented by other parents, people are locked in a house for days, marriages are arranged, parents are exchanged and couples’ relationships are pushed towards vulnerability so that more spicy and juicy content can be extracted from the resulting explosion of the relationship.

From talent, today we have reached at relationships going for a toss on reality television. Where will it stop, I have no answer. We like to see the hot, peppered and spicy masala stuff. Need a much real example. Imagine, if two people are fighting, we would sit aside and act as an audience to enjoy the altercation and the bad words and gestures exchanged by both the parties. You might have even performed such acts! But why is it that we enjoy/desire to see such bad things? I believe much of this is due to the lure of the darkness within. I heard somewhere that The negative attracts you easily and much faster. You tend to be pulled by the negative forces more easily than the good once. I am agreeing to it. It seems that we are vulnerable creatures. Can a better sense or taste evolve within us? May be.

Here’s a thought. Our taste buds identify our taste. Our inner sense grooms our taste buds and vice versa. A drunkard will like to have alcohol coz his taste buds demand it. The taste buds demand alcohol because the person’s character is such. Similarly, a gambler will enjoy gambling and enjoys watching and imitating gamblers. Similarly, we, watching a person on TV humiliating another person, making various gestures, watching the bitching (sorry for that word!), maligning and other things on television will develop our taste. This taste will translate to our inner sense. Our sense shapes us and ultimately our society. So are these reality shows shaping our behavior and character? It’s you to decide?

Let me point out, today, media plays an important role in shaping our society. Consider yourself a decade ago and you will notice the change you have come through. Considerable amount of credit goes to the media and entertainment that you consumed in these years. You try to imitate your film stars’ style and attitude. We just enjoy doing it. It is effect of media. But, I feel, in media, the reality television has more effect on us as it has the required reality factor in it which the films and drama serials lack. The reality television has “common” people like us, hence may prove more effective.

Returning back to our topic, to develop a taste you need to try that thing at least once or more than once (you may have experienced it!). Once you start enjoying or liking it you develop a taste for it, irrespective of, whether it is good for your health or not. For example, you cannot resist the fast food & junk food even after you know that it is unhealthy, its because you have developed a liking, a taste for it. As unhealthy food makes you unhealthy, unhealthy content makes your inner sense and character unhealthy. So are these reality shows turning us rude, dishonest, selfish, corrupt and immoral, and get spoilt? Again it’s you to decide. Some people may dismiss above argument by saying that these shows are just for entertainment. Consuming such shows may be like unknowingly you are consuming unhealthy food, and dismissing it as having negligible effect on your body. Unknowingly you are serving unhealthy content to your mind. But once you start serving such content to your mind, unknowingly you create a taste for such content, and such taste doesn’t stay restricted to receiving but you also start serving such stuff to others. Some believe the shows are purposely pepped up with sensational and dramatic events to up the viewership of the show. And people are falling in to this content. May be this is our weakness that the show runners are probably exploiting.

But, everything is not that dark too. We also have reality TV like the game shows and the talent hunt shows. These are the shows that must be used to get the best out of you. I am sure after the Dance India Dance show there would have been a lot of inquiries and admissions for dance classes. These shows drive and encourage you to learn something new or better it, which will evolve you in another way, grow you intellectually and unleash the hidden talent within yourself. And obviously you must spend your life “bettering” it and learning new things. Reality shows can be used as a tool to develop our society and drive our aspirations to greater heights. That way we can make this world a much better place to live.  But unfortunately, today’s reality is that we are surrounded with cheating, looting, scams, corruption, inefficient governance, etc. Can’t we do an Emotional Atyachaar on our corrupt babu by showing his family members/relatives and the world how he is earning that bad money? Can we have reality change the reality?