Reality TV – Does it fuel prejudice and inequality?

Television is a major part of all our lives and can both entertain and educate but are we seeing an increase in negativity?

I have written before about the manner in which disabled people are often portrayed and the lack of disabled presenters on our mainstream television. There has been positive changes in this with the introduction of more disabled characters in our soaps and I hope this will continue particularly with the news this week that Channel 4 is well on its way to selecting its presenters for The London Paralympics 2012 – all of which will be disabled. However, I am becoming particularly concerned about the number of reality TV programmes there are on our screens and the way they portray people. Don’t get me wrong I am not saying for one moment that they should all be banned but I like television and I know what genres of programmes I enjoy and tend to steer clear of those that I know will probably not interest me and many of the reality TV programmes fall into that category. My main issue is the manner in which they edit themselves. Yes I know they want to be entertaining but it would appear that the producers of these shows feel that the only way to achieve that is to shock us with the extremes. There is no doubt that reality TV is big business at the moment but are the way they portraying people creating a negativity that could increase prejudice and inequality? I believe so.

On many occasions, these programmes appear to be full of misconceptions and biased editing to only show the extremes. Take for instance “My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding” – for many this is highly entertaining offering a level of hilarity and horror. The promotion of the programme has led us to believe that we will learn something about the traditions of the “Gypsy” community. Unfortunately, it is my opinion that they are misleading the viewing public and in turn fuelling a unwarranted prejudice.

Historically, there has been a long standing discrimination against “Gypsy” communities and, like many minority groups, everyone is lumped under one umbrella. The producers of this programme could have taken a very different route and allowed the viewers a true insight in the lives and traditions of these communities thereby educating us more and dispelling the myths. However, for “entertainment” value they chose to do otherwise.

Little has truly been learned about these communities. The very title of the programme is misleading. To date, they have failed to distinguish between two very different groups namely Romany Gypsys and Irish Travellers. So far, they have solely concentrated on Irish Travellers. Why is this important I hear you cry? Fundamentally, they are two different groups of people with different traditions and customs. Imagine if you will an ice-cream and sorbet – yes there are similarities but they are unique in their own way.

It is a shame that the programme has yet to show the true differences and so far neither culture has been seen in a positive light. It is my opinion that the programme has achieved nothing except put up even more barriers between these cultures and our own. What you see on television is the extremes of a travelling community and a media hype at its very worse.

History, traditions and values of all communities can be beautiful, respectful and interesting. It is a shame that the producers feel that this would not make “good” television.

It would be terribly naive of us all to judge on this programme format alone and allow an irresponsible representation of any group be our sole educator. Prejudice is born from ignorance and unfortunately reality TV does little to remove this. Producers have to start taking responsibility for their programme making otherwise we will see steps backwards instead of forward in our search for true equality for all.