Reality_Tv_and_the_Uk_Voting_System

Thesis Reality Television. “Audience are what make reality TV, they have the voting power to decide the outcome of the shows just like or similar to our democratic society” In this thesis I am trying to show how similar the voting system works in the television industry to the voting system in society. Audience of reality television shows have the power to decide the outcome of a show similar to a democratic society. Society in this world has a provides the voice of the public, they have the opportunity now to vote and have a say in what happens in our world today. The voting system in the UK and in many other countries has been put there for the public, to make things like voting for the political parties fair. There is no way or very little chance of cheating the system as everything is done in a professional and audited mechanisim. The voting system is done by using the first past the post “The UK uses a first-past-the-post system. To become an MP, a candidate simply has to win more votes than any rival in their constituency, not a majority of votes cast.” The "First past the post" and "single member plurality" describe the Canadian electoral system. In each electoral district or riding, the candidate with the most number of votes in an election wins a seat in the House of Commons, or the legislative assembly in provincial and territorial elections. The leader of the party which wins the highest number or seats, rather than the party with the highest percentage of the overall vote, is asked to form the government.” This is done in a slightly different way in television. The format is the same as they are voting for a winner, their favourite, but the difference is that on a reality show the audience/ Public is asked to phone in and vote. They either have a number to call for each contestant or have one number to call and then are ask to press one number on their phone which represents one of the constants. They voting system is very simple. The majority of the power lies within the audience in television and in society it lies with us; the nation/ public. Soon enough the people in the UK will be making a lot more decision by protesting against things they believe in that are wrong. Just like the student loan fees going up and there have been a number of protests to stop this and the political parties are now in two minds. This has also happen in one reality show where the audience had a very strong view on one constant who believe to be racist. This show was big brother and the show reviews went dramatically down. We as the public can make things happen in the world. There are a number of different aspect to reality shows; I will name 2 types that I will relate to in my thesis 1) Celibrities who have fallen by the side and need to resurrect their careers B, C listed celibrities. Rarely do we see A category listed celebrity’s I.E Superstars on Bif brother or do we' 2) Members of the general public who apply to appear on reality TV shows, who are vetted, meet the producers criteria, interviewed and selected for their potential to win or who have qualities that would make the show mpore interesting. Audiences on reality television shows are gradually getting bigger and bigger. A show cannot just be broadcast here in the UK; it’s all over the world. For example ‘I’m a celebrity get me out of here’ is broadcasted from Australia to the UK but has the Australian public as well as the UK public watching the show. Statics show that I’m Celebrity in the UK has attracted up to and over 50 per cent of the market share, which means more than half the population of television viewers tuned into these programmes. Other statics show that “ one marketing advantages of reality TV is that its exercise in envelope pushing generates its own hype, the fact that the genre itself reinvents conventions of prime-time programming provides a ready made media hook that encourages coverage’s of the latest and most outrageous formats.” In the UK general election there was a 65.1% turnout with 29,653,638 votes cast. This is a huge number of votes just like in a reality show. The outcome in both systems is what is important; people like the producers of a show rely on the audiences to make their show successful just like an MP will rely on the nation to vote for them and their parties. An MP has to canvase for votes, travel across the country, appear on national TV, have the likability factor, stay true to the party’s and his/her belief and perform every time on national TV; Politicians are celebrities after all! The audience, mainly external, are the measure of the success of TV reality shows, competition is fierce between TV channels battling for prime time TV slots. Shows like ‘Big Brother’, ‘I’m a celebrity get me out of here’ and ‘X Factor’ are successful products made by the audience with significant commercial and financial gains. It is also selective in terms of entermaintment, like many auditions are not seen and quirky people are put through for the entertainment factor yes or no. Reality shows are shown for the entertainment factor and financial gians, it has been known to put average working class people, selectively chosen, who potentially could become famous on that show. All people who wish to be on television want some sort of fame or financial reward, they do this to make themselves known. Not all reality shows are the same but they all come under the category ‘Reality’ the shows might not be the same but the format is similar,. All shows have their own target audience and have a duty to entertain the audience and make sure that the audience are benefiting from watching the show. Even if it’s just the pleasure of voting for someone they do not like. Just like in society the MP have to plead, show, demonstration what they can do to help us in society. MP have to prove to us they are worth our votes. Our opinion in society is very much important and is also very much respected. Reality shows have been on our screens for many years now and im am sure that there will be many more in the coming years. More and more ‘normal people’ are becoming celebrities because of reality shows and the power of the voting system and making their dreams come true. The audiences are making dramatically making life changing decisions for the ordinary person. What makes this true is there are many shows, for example ‘Big Brother’ that had 12 people put into a house doing different tasks and the audiences would vote for who they wanted to see come out. For people like Bryan Downing who won big brother his life has now change and he is known as a celebrity living his dream. Bibliography Websites http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/election_2010/8497014.stm http://canadaonline.about.com/cs/elections/g/firstpastpost.htm http://www.general-election-2010.co.uk/2010-general-election-results.html Books Reality TV the work of being watched: Chapter one pg4/ Mark Andrejevic