Citation

Montemurro B. Sociol. Compass 2008; 2(1): 84-106.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1751-9020.2007.00064.x

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Reality television has become a standard genre of programming in the twenty-first century. The popularity of these unscripted programs merits investigation. Reality shows can be seen as significant cultural objects whose production and consumption reflect and reveal norms and ideologies of contemporary culture. Although what is currently conceived as the reality television genre is perceived as novel, this type of programming has a long history, with its foundations dating back to the early days of television. Despite the popularity of reality television and its solid roots in Western media, sociology has been underused in its analysis. In this essay, I review the research on reality television. Its definition, history, and issues of classification in the genre are addressed. Then, I summarize the major themes in the research: production; analysis of content, presentations of race, gender, and sexuality; and audience response and interaction. I conclude with a discussion of what sociology might add to the existing research.