Reality Show(s)?

Abstract

In the media age, reality is an act of writing. This, however, does not consist in an author’s writing a text addressed to some readers; rather, writing consists in a sort of almost anonymous “engraving” on the visual framework, an almost automatic writing that comes from the ether. Reality becomes the result of an agreement made through negotiation processes. Media have helped the access to reality precisely by including feedback in the process of the transmission of signals. Entertainment represents the core of television language, melting together sensations and perceptions, feelings and rational paths. The web makes reality wider and it denies its reliability. The web works in the background by attempting to show that the TV screen is pervaded by deceiving presences. In the same time, television wants to be thought as a medium conveying reality. All these remarks confirm that we are dealing with a recurring issue, namely: In the TV media, does anything exist that remains independent from the idea we build around it?