How much of reality TV is scripted and how much is real?

[Velocity]

I really like Face Off. I like the artistic abilities of the competitors and how they help each other instead of trying to sabotage the competition. I do suspect that they often have help, at least with costuming, but that isn't important to me. Also, the show changes in some way every season and is always very creative. Seeing how make-up is done for movies and how each contestant approaches the given challenge is very interesting.

 

[publiusr]

That's one of my favorite tv programs right now.

A lot of things are scripted. With the proper eye, one can cut through. Many years ago, I was watching wrestling. One of the moves went wrong. One wrestler bent over his "opponent, " an aging masked luchador, to check on him.

I felt ashamed.

I haven't watched it since.

 

[Burning Hearts of Qo'nos]

I use to live with this guy that was a 'character' on Tori Spelling's reality TV series. He was her 'biggest fan'. His explanation of how this happened was that he was having lunch with his friend and just being himself (he's a really big guy, both physically and in personality, super flamboyant) and he was approached by her and was asked if he'd like to be on her show. He is/was an aspiring actor so he jumped on the chance. Basically, whenever she wanted, he would 'run into her' at certain events and gush over her. All of this was scheduled, but not necessarily scripted. He just needed to be himself, but play a guy that was in love with her and everything she did. He didn't even know who she was beforehand, I believe.

 

[lurok]

Some RTV is structurally pre-scripted to a greater or lesser degree, some not. Some/many documentaries (especially non-observational) are structurally pre-scripted, some less so.

So not all reality TV is scripted (I assume this means pre-plotted and determined?), anymore than all movies have a complete script before shooting. Or some movies are created from improvisation (usually with a core narrative and character profiles in place). The best film/TV will always like to retain the possibility of an element of surprise.

So by scripted do we mean follows a predictable pattern/formula until a manipulated finale? Yes, some (possibly many) RTV shows are like that. What do we mean by 'real'? Authenticity? Participants not playing a 'role'? Even in classic verite/fly-on-the-wall documentaries such as the Maysles Brothes these are interesting questions.

The general attitude in TV contemporary production having opened Pandora's Box seems to be that RTV doesn't even attempt to hide or excuse the fact that it's manipulative and structured; hybrid documentary/drama/soap opera/gameshow. It's proven and gets huge audiences.

So-called 'classical' observational documentary (unless it genuinely is as such) still likes to pretend that it's authentic, unstructured, non-manipulative.

(ex-TV/film)