Reality TV Show： Cultural Hidden Trouble Behind the Noise and Sensation

　　[concern]

　　From the party program represented by super variety show to the game program represented by Happy Camp; From the educational programs represented by Happy Dictionary to the talent show represented by super girls, China’s TV variety shows have come all the way, and now the reality show is in the absolute majority. In recent years, all kinds of reality shows have appeared in turn, making the audience dazzled by the trend of "dominating the screen". Generally speaking, a reality show refers to a TV program made by ordinary people (non-actors) in a specified situation, in accordance with the predetermined rules of the game, for a clear purpose, and at the same time recorded. Its charm lies in the use of virtual procedures and documentary techniques to show the personality traits or technical talents of participants in a real situation. In the new communication pattern, the competitive pressure inside and outside the industry makes the reality show seek a breakthrough through introducing mode or independent innovation, on the other hand, it also exposes the deviation of some production concept and the emptiness of value core in the process.

　　What is the priority between documentary and drama?

　　In terms of expression, reality show should take objective truth as the first sign. However, in the face of the massive information, rich audio-visual content and high-frequency mobile audience’s reception habits in the Internet ecology, many reality show creators choose to deliberately implant various dramatic bridges in the program to achieve the purpose of attracting attention for a long time. As a result, the reality show with reality as its life is more and more like a film and television drama with fiction as its core, with distinct interpretations of various "roles" and a "plot" structure full of dramatic contradictions and conflict tension, and even at the end of each issue, it shows the suspense and continuity of "If you want to know what will happen next time, listen to the next decomposition". No matter the fierce confrontation caused by "small tasks" and "chasing battles" in Running Man, or the comedy effect brought by participants experiencing different careers in "The Ultimate Challenge"; No matter the contrast of character in the team travel of "Flower Boys" or the strong affection in the intergenerational interaction of "A Whirlwind du tiful son", it is the application of typical dramatic techniques and the implication of dramatic strategies. And "Creative Reality Game Show", "Full Staff Acceleration" and "Historical Experience Reality Show" and "Let’s Go Through" employ professional directors and screenwriters to elaborate "stories".The program flow is integrated into multiple time and space such as history, plot, science fiction and games, and the content and form are similar to those of film and television dramas.

　　This dramatic treatment from the inside out does enhance the appreciation and communication of the program, but for the reality show, is such deliberate subjective intervention somewhat presumptuous or putting the cart before the horse, and will it blur its essential attributes and consume its development potential in the long run? Reality shows do not exclude drama, but we should be alert to the "artificial" drama. High-quality reality shows should subtly hide the dramatic effect in objective documentary images, instead of piling up heavy drama paradigms and situations in advance when planning programs. For example, the most typical narrative mode at present is to assign tasks to each participant or each group in the form of "task cards", in which the links are set for the purpose of causing fierce confrontation, and the turning point strives to achieve the effect of "last-minute rescue". It is true that the aesthetic confluence with film and television dramas may temporarily improve the ratings of reality shows by u sing elements, paragraphs and clues similar to "characters" and "plots", but in the long run, it is likely to overdraw its unique aesthetic personality and eventually make it difficult to become "this one" in the TV variety gallery independently.

　　How to play the "star" card well

　　Nowadays, a large number of reality shows are closely linked with "stars". Due to the lure of sky-high remuneration and ultra-high exposure, many out-of-date actors and popular stars flock to the production of reality shows. Not only do they get another hit during the broadcast of the show, but even their families become popular overnight and their prices soar. It can be said that some reality shows are no longer dream platforms and interactive spaces for ordinary people, but have evolved into vanity fairs that create all kinds of entertainment gossip and lure stars to compete.

　　In July 2015 and March 2016, the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television successively issued the Notice on Strengthening the Management of Reality Show Programs and the Notice on Further Strengthening th e Management of TV Satellite Integrated Channels, demanding that reality show programs "should be abandoned ‘ Watch by star blog ’ Misunderstanding, correct the tendency of relying solely on stars, and not turn the program into a place to fight for stars and show off wealth. ""Strictly control minors’ participation in reality shows, and they are not allowed to publicize and speculate on star children in entertainment reports and other programs. " This has largely curbed the previo us excessive star-studded momentum of such programs. However, the recent reality show has added stars with some whimsy, such as Come Champion, which brings together sports stars, The King of Cross-border Songs, which makes movie stars cross-sing, and Familiar Taste focuses on the growth experience of stars in the name of "food love". In addition, there are also some phenomena that hide people’s eyes and ears in the name of the program. For example, the original "Flower Boys" was renamed as "Flower Boys", and the second season of "Idol Comes" was renamed as "Here We Come". At first glance, it seems to weaken the star effect, but the content is changed, even worse than before.

　　Indeed, "star" is a part of popular culture, and healthy "idolize" is also a normal social phenomenon. As a TV program type covering the whole society, reality show obviously can’t shield the "star" element, but its creators should be cautious in this issue: First, they should not rely too much on stars as the whole point of view of the program, nor should they spend a lot of money to invite so-called "big names" and "big coffees" to encourage the extravagant comparison of program production; Second, we should not limit our vision to performing stars. There are many people from all walks of life who are famous for their honest work. If the star ind ividuals with more diverse identities can be integrated with the program content, it may better highlight the inspirational spirit and the truth, goodness and beauty of human nature. Third, we should devote ourselves to building civilian stars, provide a stage for the millions of ordinary people in Qian Qian to display their talents, and upgrade the quality level with humanistic feelings. After the programs such as The Voice of China, Music Master Class and the legendary swordsman used the mode of "star tutor+common people students", I want to sing with you made some innovative explorations on the interaction between stars and ordinary people. The most touching thing is that ordinar y people uploaded videos that sang with star singers in the same frame through the mobile Internet APP, and the happy scene of "singing by the whole people" in the program had a strong sense of closeness, substitution and resonance for the audience.In a word, the star in the reality show is "use" rather than "body", "technique" rather than "Tao", so we must not give up the basics.

　　How to pay attention to nutrition in entertainment

　　Obviously, the reality show can’t survive without entertainment, but if it stops at entertainment or even "entertainment to death", it will be empty and shallow, and it will inevitably lead to quick birth and quick death. For a TV program, it is really difficult to make the audience really feel "interesting"; It is even more difficult for the audience to realize "meaning" on the basis of feeling "interesting". This requires the responsibility and innovative wisdom of TV people.

　　There are several programs on the screen recently — — CCTV’s Chinese Poetry Conference, Beijing Satellite TV’s Inheritor, and Shanxi Satellite TV’s Wang Zhongwang the Linger are worthy of attention. These programs with the characteristics of typical reality shows may not be as good as some of the cases mentioned above in ratings, and there is still room for improvement in content production and process design, but they have two precious things in common: first, the spiritual core of the programs lies in spreading the essence of national culture, whether poetry, drama or intangible cultural heritage, they are carried forward through the "show" of "real people" competitions; Secondly, although there are stars in several programs, they focus on the cultural accomplishment and artistic quality of stars in many fields. As far as the stars themselves are concerned, they are in a subordinate and auxiliary position, completely serving the meaningful production of the programs.

　　Of course, the "nutrients" and "energy" of reality show are not limited to the traditional cultural dimension, and all the value orientations that inspire and guide people to be upward, kind and beautiful can be taken as the theme connotation of the program. The key is to explore the feasible path of seamless connection between spirit ual cultivation and audio-visual pleasure, that is, the ingenious creativity of entertaining, reasoning and touching the scene. For example, travel reality shows combine the display of exotic customs with the tempering of interpersonal communication; Experience reality show brings life enlightenment through dramatic identity transposition; Competitive reality shows show the courage to challenge and team spirit when showing superb skills; Song and dance reality shows bring audience audio-visual aesthetic enjoyment in tense events. All these show the ingenuity of the main creation and shi ne with the humanistic light of the program. In today’s internet communication environment, the content is varied and the quality is uneven. Some network variety shows do not hesitate to break through the moral bottom line or even the legal b oundary in order to earn eyeballs. At this time, the TV reality show can not only be influenced by it, but also lower the lower quality limit, and guide the viewing taste with sincere and nutritious creativity and production, and optimize the communication ecology.

　　(The author is editor of China Television Arts Committee)