The reality television format, which is made of the overall concept and branding of a program, is transplantable. These programs involve lifestyle shows, game shows, dating shows, and talent shows. Reality TV imitates ‘real life’, and documents ‘real people’, focusing on ‘peak realism’, and the extraordinary events of these ordinary people, whereas Lifestyle TV revolves around ideas like gardening or interior decorating (which is harmless, fuelled by small talk). These programs are invested in the heightened sense of real life, with some ground roots in reality, but typically produce a product with a dramatic background and lens with which we view the show.
Reality television and it’s adaptations crosses borders by relating to international, universal themes. The audiences of these programs relate to the human factors and environments that the participants experience. Reality television is inherently based on life, which is appealing to audiences who enjoy seeing their society mirrored, and real facets of life being documented or explored. People are interested in renovations, garden improvements, the Kardashians’ sisterly bickering, and The Voice: Kids stars smashing out Adele songs. Some programs mimic an idealised community.
Successful, culturally neutralised formats, are easily transplanted into other places and localised. It is an advantage here, that popular Reality TV is relatively cheap to produce, with local cast and crew. Emergence of regional media hubs e.g Mexico, Hong Kong, Dubai and Bollywood for specific language and culture based shows, (instead of a traditional American circulation, in an only English-speaking landscape) has been significant for the transition over borders. These shows embrace local culture as a central part of the translation, for example, Drag Race Espana. In adapting from the U.S Drag Race, Drag Race Espana adapted language and incorporated intricacies of Spanish culture including food and dress. The most successful reality shows that have transitioned across borders, are those that are able to open up areas to discussion, while transmitting the cultural values of the original. Local and global talent-based reality shows are successful when they negotiate their own socio-cultural identities, and identify their role in the globalisation of television formats e.g So You Can Think You Can Dance India. Universal themes that humankind share, explain why international adaptations of reality shows compete successfully overseas – there is a great demand for dance, cooking, lifestyle and game shows, anywhere the idea is a central part of life.
As opposed to just American TV series dominating the global media space, the modern media environment is vastly more specialised and individual across many countries production hubs. Instead of finished products being shipped elsewhere, shell programs or versions of a show are produced locally instead. Live tweeting, voting from home and the idea of ‘fan labor’ further engulfs a media audience, and makes the audience real, active collaborators; a part of the show. Reality TV brings forth social justice issues of the day, and stimulates positive discussions towards, and representations of groups. The importation and adaptations of international shows, helps a global media audience to recognise their own identities (national, personal or global). The ‘Survivor’ show has 45 remakes outside of its original American birth, and is understood globally by themes of – you guessed it – survival games and tasks in a rough-living/camping/hunting/jungle-surviving context. The modern media environment is ever expanding and has transitioned a long way from only American TV shows in the early 2000’s. Emerging international hubs are producing content for a global media community, with a massive production presence across the non-English speaking world. This is so important for creating a diverse, multicultural, multi-language media landscape that promotes accessibility.
References:
Darling-Wolf, F., 2021. Imagining the Global:Transnational Media and Popular Culture Beyond East and West.
ScienceDirect. 2021. Similarities in adaptations of scripted television formats: The global and the local in transnational television culture. [online] Available at: <https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304422X20302783?dgcid=rss_sd_all> [Accessed 9 August 2021].
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