A collection of eight essays that parse out the seemingly unprecedented rise of reality television
The Apprentice. Project Runway. The Bachelor. My Life on the D-list. Extreme Makeover. American Idol. It is virtually impossible to turn on a television without coming across some sort of reality programming. Yet, while this genre has rapidly moved from the fringes of television culture to its lucrative core, critical attention has not kept pace.
Beginning by unearthing its historical roots in early reality shows like Candid Camera and wending its way through An American Family and The Real World to the most recent crop of reality programs, Reality TV, now updated with eight new essays, is one of the first books to address the economic, visual, cultural, audience, and new media dimensions of reality television and has become the standard in the field. The essays provide a complex and comprehensive picture of how and why this genre emerged, what it means, how it differs from earlier television programming, and how it engages societies, industries, and individuals. Topics range from the blending of fact and fiction, to the uses of viewer labor and "interactivity," to issues of surveillance, gender performativity, hyper-commercialism, and generic parody.
By spanning reality television's origins in the late 1940s to its current overwhelming popularity, Reality TV demonstrates both the tenacity of the format and its enduring ability to speak to our changing political and social desires and anxieties.

Addresses the economic, visual, cultural, audience, and new media dimensions of reality television

About the Author
Susan Murray is Associate Professor of Media, Culture and Communication at New York University. She is the author of Hitch Your Antenna to the Stars: Early Television and Broadcast Stardom. Laurie Ouellette is Associate Professor at the University of Minnesota, where she teaches media and cultural studies. She writes about television, media culture, social theory, and consumer culture, and is the co-author of Better Living Through Reality TV: Television and Post-Welfare Citizenship and editor of A Companion to Reality Television, among other books.

Reviews
"Since reality television began to flood TV screens, we've had to deal with another phenomenon: a renewed debate about what is 'fun' versus what is 'good for you.' The essays in this volume enlighten that discussion and take us beyond it. They provide both the record of a strange moment in history and a contribution to contemporary cultural politics." -- Toby Miller,editor of Television & New Media
"The book explores the genre's institutional and sociopolitical development, its place in the cultural landscape, and how it serves as a source of meaning and pleasure." * NYU Today *
"Reality TV manages to cover a range of ideas and concepts about the genre . . . All watchers of reality TVeven those ashamed to admit itwould benefit from reading this text, if only to shake some of the preconceived ideas about the influence of Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie's The Simple Life" * M/C Reviews *
"Offers the most insightful and significant scholarly analysis to date of the changes taking place in the economic "globalization" of television production. A delight to read, laced with wit and humor." * Choice *



Book Information
ISBN 9780814757345
Author Susan Murray
Format Paperback
Page Count 400
Imprint New York University Press
Publisher New York University Press
Weight(grams) 522g