INTRODUCTION
Since its beginnings back in 1948 with Candid Camera, reality television has only grown in popularity. Spawning different subgenres and subcategories within each subgenre, reality television has become a behemoth that dominates a large portion of today’s programming schedule. When most people think “reality television” they think of ordinary people doing crazy things, such as living in a house together, competing to win a record deal, or eating weird insects. But, reality television is actually much larger than many people think, with shows such as COPS, Jerry Springer, and Jeopardy also fitting into the reality television genre.
As reality television becomes more and more popular, a disturbing trend has emerged in the way the participants of the shows are portrayed. Many reality television programs use different techniques to portray “characters” that are made to be stereotypes of a certain demographic. Race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, and many other characteristics that make up a person have been and are being stereotyped in reality television programs. In some cases, people are cast to be in the show because they satisfy a certain stereotype. In other cases, people are made to be more exaggerated representations of their demographic through editing and instructions from producers on how to act while in front of the cameras. This study will try to determine the reasons behind this phenomenon.

REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE Many reality television program producers have admitted to selecting certain people out of the large number of possible candidates to fill certain roles (Roscoe, 2004). Some producers cast one person to cause conflict and drama with another person on the show. This could be through conflicting personality types, where both person A and person B have Type A personalities, causing them to both want to be in control and resulting in fighting between them. Another strategy is to cast a person who is outspoken about their aversion of a certain demographic and match them with a person from said demographic. Producers also simply use one person’s ignorance of a certain demographic, and the stereotypes they might hold about this demographic, and couple this person with a member of said demographic. Although the Civil Rights Act was passed four decades ago, there is still racism prevalent in modern television programming. Some shows, like The Cosby Show, have managed to avoid using stereotypes when creating characters (Havens, 2004). But, a large amount of television shows still use stereotypes as a part of their writing. Representations of the world as they are shown on television are social representations, meaning they are existent in the social realm and held to be true (D’acci, 2004). Thus, a vicious cycle is started, where stereotypes are prevalent in society. They are then represented as such on television and other media. Society absorbs these media, and with them, the stereotypes that have been instilled within, and the cycle begins again. The only way to completely remove these stereotypes is to make an effort to work them out of television programming and raise public awareness on the issue.
One genre has especially stooped to using stereotypes and the answer probably surprises most people: reality television. The one genre that claims to be “real” with “real people” actually casts or writes characters that will fulfill the stereotype of their corresponding demographic. The reasoning behind this phenomenon is that viewers are mostly aware of common stereotypes and even use them to judge people of different demographic backgrounds. By taking real people and casting them or editing them to fulfill a certain stereotype, producers are guaranteed with a show that will be easy to understand and relate to for viewers. Stereotyped characters can negatively influence the way viewers perceive real people in society (Shebolski, 2001). If children are exposed to stereotypes at a young age, it can permanently affect the way the child perceives members of different races and cultures around them. Many scholars understand that reality television programs should not be used for developing an understanding of what goes on in the world (Fetveit, 2004). But, many viewers do not understand that reality television is not as real as they would like to think.

METHODOLOGY The theoretical basis of this study is the notion that The Real World, and many other reality television programs, use and reinforce different demographic stereotypes in order to gain more audience members. The theory that was the base inspiration for this study was established by Jane Roscoe in her article Big Brother Australia: Performing the “real” twenty-four-seven, in which she reveals that many producers of reality television programs cast certain people to fill specific pre-designed roles. She also showed how producers, through editing techniques and actual verbal commands, are able to depict reality television program cast members in a manner that they did not necessarily behave or would not normally behave. Producers can make two people fight about something, or make another two people have a scandalous relationship, while in reality these things did not actually occur.
The reality television program that was chosen for this study is The Real World. This show has been at the center of attention for many controversial topics for over a decade. The show is based around seven strangers that are selected to live in a house together while stationary cameras and mobile camera teams film their every move and word. The Real World was originally developed by executive producers Mary-Ellis Bunim and Jonathan Murray. Originally, the show was supposed to have a script, and the seven strangers would attempt to reenact the story arcs for their characters. However, at the last minute, Bunim and Murray decided to pull the concept and cast before the show began filming. Bunim and Murray stated that they felt seven strangers would have enough to talk about and be able to interact with each other without having to use a script. Thus, the show that is now casting its twentieth season was born.
The Real World is immensely popular, especially for young adults in the 13 year old to 25 year old age range. It is similar to a soap opera, but the “actors” are normal, everyday human beings. This is part of the show’s appeal, allowing viewers to relate to cast members, or even imagine being a cast member themselves and speculate on how they might handle a situation differently. The show is often accused of being overly sexualized and for glorifying having multiple sexual partners, which stems as a result from real and created sexual relationships between cast members on the show. The Real World has also been accused of “not being real”, with some cast members revealing that they were instructed to say certain things, fight with certain people, and even drink certain drinks for product placement. Activists have also protested that the show reinforces stereotypes, especially those concerning minority groups such as blacks, Latinos, and gays. But, despite these controversies, the show is still going strong.
For the textual analysis, a list of every season of The Real World was compiled, and three seasons were selected at random from the list. The seasons selected were The Real World: Los Angeles (Season 2), The Real World: San Francisco (Season 3), and The Real World: Seattle (Season 7). Copies of these seasons were obtained on DVD, which removed the issue of not being able to watch the program live and also made it easier for detailed analysis. From the three seasons chosen, episodes were screened briefly for the most conflict, and two conflict abundant episodes from each season were selected. These episodes were determined by the number of fights that occurred in the episode and the severity of the fights that did occur. The episodes were then screened, and a note was made each time an important conflict occurred. These conflicts were deemed important because they either involved a large number of the housemates or the conflict was between two housemates and was very serious, to the point of yelling, name calling, etc. The circumstances surrounding each conflict were noted to determine the cause or reasons behind the conflict. A description of the participants in each conflict was also included, comprised of a break down of their demographic classification. Finally, the conflicts were analyzed to determine if the fight was a result of stereotyping by a cast member, or if the fight reinforced a stereotype to be perceived by the viewer audience.

RESULTS AND ANALYSIS The Real World: Los Angeles was the first season that was used as a sample for textual analysis. It is also the second of twenty seasons, and the first season chronologically in the analysis sample. One of the biggest controversies that developed in this season was the conflict that occurred between cast members David Edwards, Tami Roman, and Beth Stolarczyk. On the night of the conflict, some of the cast members are hanging out in the girl’s bedroom. David began trying to pull the covers off of Tami’s bed, who screamed that she was not fully dressed. David continued to pull the covers off, despite both Tami and Beth holding on, and dragged both girls out into the hallway. Dominic, a male housemate, watched the altercation from across the hall and didn’t interject. Jon, another housemate, even slapped the floor like a wrestling referee. Tami ran into a bathroom in her underwear as David ran off with the bed covers. Tami came out of the bathroom in a bath robe, took David’s boots, placed them in the toilet, and poured mouthwash over them. She then searched for David, and after finding him hiding in a closet, she began kicking and slapping him. David was surprised at Tami’s anger, thinking they were just joking around. He claimed that she and Beth were laughing as he pulled off the blankets. Tami denied this and spent the night somewhere other than the house. Beth said that David’s reasoning was like a rapist saying their victim wanted to be raped, which David angrily denied. When David found his boots in the toilet, he was enraged and charged the girls’ bedroom, but he was eventually persuaded to calm down. When Tami returned the next day, she and Beth stated that if David did not leave the house, they would. David decided to move out, ending the conflict. This situation sparks controversy concerning racial stereotypes. David was a 21 year old black male at the time of The Real World: Los Angeles. Many argue that David’s portrayal in the show reinforces the stereotype that black men are all overly aggressive and out to do harm to young, helpless women. The whole bed cover situation is a bit exaggerated, especially the part where Beth likens David to a rapist. Textual analysis reinforces the fact that David was merely joking, and for Tami and Beth to say that they did not feel safe with him around, resulting in David moving out, was somewhat extreme. To Tami and Beth’s credit, David should have stopped when told to, but the girls overreacted, resulting in the fulfillment of David as a black male stereotype. But, one could also propose that Tami and Beth fulfill the stereotype of women who overreact and scream rape if a black man even looks at them. The second season that was used for textual analysis was The Real World: San Francisco. This season is the third of the twenty seasons so far, and the second season chronologically of the analysis sample. The main controversy of this season was an ongoing rivalry between Pedro Zamora, a 22 year old Cuban homosexual who had contracted AIDS, and David “Puck” Rainey, a 26 year old white male who made it his mission to make everyone in the house miserable. Pedro and Puck were as similar as black and white. Pedro was nice to all the housemates, educating them about HIV and AIDS and assuring them that they were safe. Puck had bad hygiene, insisted on dominating conversation, and just down right obnoxious. In the first episode, Puck ran into a car door while riding a bike for his bike messenger job, and was taken to jail for a previous drunk driving offence. In another episode, he wore a shirt with a swastika on it when he knew that another housemate, Judd, was Jewish. Puck singled out Pedro for most of his negative attention. He made fun of Pedro’s Cuban accent, said mocking remarks about homosexuals within earshot of Pedro, and basically tried to make things as uncomfortable as possible for him. Eventually, Pedro reached the point where he was no longer comfortable being in the house around Puck, so he told the other housemates that he was going to leave if Puck did not leave first. Puck, being his typical difficult self, refused to leave. So, the other housemates voted to kick him out. Puck continued to be offensive toward Pedro by calling the house’s phone and leaving anti-homosexual jokes and remarks on the answering machine. One of the stereotypes that are reinforced in The Real World: San Francisco season is that homosexual men all have AIDS. The prominence of HIV and AIDS in the gay community is a known fact, but that still doesn’t mean that every gay man has the virus. But, that doesn’t stop television and film from depicting them in this manner. Puck was also another reason this stereotype is strong. Throughout the whole season he was seen spouting anti-homosexual remarks and spreading lies about Pedro and gays around the household. He constantly berated Pedro, and for a while, most of the housemates even got along with him. Rachel, one of the female cast members, was even attracted to Puck and they kissed several times. Because of the other housemate’s tolerance of Puck, and Puck’s constant berating of Pedro, Pedro felt ostracized by the household, much like homosexuals are ostracized by society, which led to his threat to pack up and leave if Puck did not leave.
However, not all stereotypes are applicable to minorities in society. Another less obvious stereotype encouraged by this season of The Real World was one against white people. Puck was insensitive, dominating of conversations, and just plain rude. Being a white male, this reinforces the stereotype that white people are ignorant of other races and cultures, and do not bother trying to learn more about them because they are in the dominant majority position and are in control of many aspects of society. The third season that was used in the textual analysis was The Real World: Seattle. This was the seventh season that the show was on air, and the third season chronologically of the analysis sample, but that didn’t stop any controversies from brewing up. The relationship of two of the housemates, Stephen Williams and Irene McGee, grew steadily worse as the show progressed. Eventually, Irene decided to leave the show and go home. She initially stated that it was because she was suffering from a relapse of Lyme disease. Stephen, who thought she was going to try and humiliate him in some way before she moved out, hid her favorite stuffed animal, and denied knowing where it was as she was packing up her belongings. As she was leaving the house, Irene called David aside and told him that she thought he was a homosexual, all while laughing at him. Stephen then pulled out Irene’s stuffed animal, held it over the edge of the pier, and then threw it into the water. But, apparently this was not enough to even the score. As Irene was being driven away, Stephen ran up, stopped the car, opened the passenger door, and slapped Irene in the face. Later on, the rest of the housemates were shown the footage of the altercation and were shocked. They were given the option of voting to kick Stephen out, but instead decided to let him stay as long as he went to anger management counseling sessions. Once again, The Real World has shown viewers a stereotypical black man: angry, aggressive, and violent towards women. Stephen overreacted to Irene’s comment, and had no right to strike her, but it was most likely inevitable. Stephen and Irene’s reality feud started as soon as the producers had accepted both of them as housemates. It has been established time and again that reality television program producers cast people to create conflict. Things just went a little overboard on the Seattle season.

CONCLUSION After a detailed analysis of the textual elements, the conclusion has been reached that The Real World and reality television programs reinforce and require stereotypes in order to be successful. Would viewers have tuned in if David had not been forced to leave after “acting like a rapist”? Would The Real World still be popular if Puck had not pestered Pedro to the fullest of his ability? Would the show be filming its twentieth season if Stephen had not slapped Irene? It is a possibility, but these incidents did not hurt the program’s popularity. Sure, there have been protests by a wide variety of activist groups, and most of these groups have valid points. But, the majority of Americans enjoy watching conflict unfold between two people, and when these people are ordinary civilians like the ones sitting on the couch tuning in, the effect is amazing. Someone watching The Real World at home can say, “What would I do if I were in Stephen’s shoes?” or “Would I be able to put up with Puck?” By depicting the cast members as stereotypes of their corresponding demographic, the ability for the show to relate to viewers is that much stronger. Someone watching an episode sees Stephen slap Irene in the face and says, “Oh, that figures. He’s an angry black guy.”
In most cases however, the acceptance of the stereotyping on The Real World and other reality television programs is not done with the knowledge that it is happening. Most people accept these stereotypes subconsciously because they have been exposed to them all their lives. Stereotypes are abundant in all types of media formats and viewers are discretely molded to judge other races and cultures by the use of stereotypes. So, when a viewer turns on The Real World and sees an aggressive black man or a dumb “redneck” or a ditzy blonde girl, they do not question the depiction of these caricatures. The format is one that has been tried and proven many times, and as long as viewers keep tuning in, it will be used time and time again.

WORKS CITED
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