This week's reading was based on the book "Convergence Culture" by Henry Jenkins, which discusses the fusion of old and new media in today's society. In chapter 2, entitled " Buying into American Idol : How we are being sold on reality television," Jenkins discusses the reality tv craze that has come about in the late 90s all throughout the past decade, and the incredibly popularity that has come about from the American Idol phenomenon.
This craze for fan picked, audience selected stardom turned out to be a huge hit, and it disproved many media theorists that claimed that America doesn't want to interact with television so much as kick back and zone out while watching. This is because these star search shows stress the idea of communal voting as opposed to individual participation. On page 60, Jenkins discusses an interesting fact about the mass success of these reality tv shows. "And, as importantly, reality television has been a savior as broadcast networks try to resist cable television's attempts to siphon away their core audience. In 2002, for the first time, the cable networks' combined shared outstripped that of the broadcast networks. No given cable channel has had the power and reach of CBS, NBC, or ABC, but year by year broadcast networks become less central to their viewership " (Jenkins 60).
I think the reality television show craze that just won't seem to let up the past few years, and seems to be growing more popular exponentially, is due to the voyeauristic fascination people have with other people just like them. I think that poorly acted dramas or cheesy gameshows that were once popular seemed to grow old and outdone, ready to be replaced by the newest, freshest idea in entertainment, which seems to be the average joe put in extenuating circumstances. People feel like they can relate to the characters more because they are supposed to be real. It is interesting that the cheap and easy reality tv show has become a weapon for many cable networks, who obviously caught on to the thirst for reality televison, thus straying the core audience of broadcast televsion, perhaps one day making the option of cable more ordinary, and giving less power to the main media companies.