Is charm school really all that charming?

For my third media format I chose Reality television. Some of the questions I had regarding this particular format include: Do the types of reality television show a diverse mix of women? Do certain channels tend to represent particular women of a given race, or class more so than another? How do channels target certain audiences? Does the targeted audience affect how differently women are portrayed with regard to race, class, and sexuality?

I originally was going to be comparing multiple channels with one another, however now I will just be discussing MTV/Vh1 along with the Food Network.

Some of the reality shows that air on networks such as MTV and Vh1 include: Rock of Love Charm School, Scream Queens, Real Chance of Love, Paris Hilton's My New BFF, The Hills, Sex... with Mom and Dad, and so on. As the years go on the so called reality continues to get more and more ridiculous. Networks such as MTV and Vh1 can run shows like the previously mentioned and rock their ratings because they are making shows that the network knows the targeted audience will enjoy. They main goal of networks such as these are to make reality entertainment for audiences ranging from 14-24. I suppose that people who are older would find our not so real reality shows mildly entertaining as well but the drama and the irony found in reality television these days is specifically for that targeted audience.

I think the one show on Vh1 I find the most hilarious is Rock of Love Charm School. It stars women from the two previous Rock of Love: with Bret Michaels seasons... and the objective of the show is to teach them manners. Overall the show is absolutely ridiculous. The women all lack any sort of intelligence and the hour is filled with catty arguments from the girls and obnoxious tasks given to them by none other than Sharon Osborne. This is the type of show most people would find pointless and mind numbing but that's literally what gives the show it's appeal. It is entertaining to watch other people make absolute fools of themselves on national television.

This show also works because it is has all the elements, no one particular race is on the show, with women all from the same classes and backgrounds. There are black girls, white girls, Latino girls, European girls, girls who have come from money, girls who have come from nothing, and so on and so forth. All of the women on the show are bursting with sexuality and they all use that as their key ingredient to get what they want. Now being in an environment with people that don't care about their boobs and their make-up the insults are flying and its war. The objective of the actual show itself is to learn how to be charming. Every episode the women are given tasks to complete and every episode one woman is eliminated. By the end of the season one woman will win a ridiculous amount of money.

Compared to networks like the Food Network, the reality of reality television is so different from one another it's insane. Reality shows on the Food Network would include: Iron Chef, Top Chef New York, etc. I think that the racial mix up would be more diverse on a channel such as this because for one the targeted audience is different and the topic of discussion is different. With people making foods from all over the world on a show like Iron Chef, there is obviously a good chance that there will be a greater representation of other elasticities and cultures. As far as class representation on a network such as this, it's not really there. All the people on this network are professionals, they get paid to do what they do and they are really good at it. I would say for the most part the people being represented on The Food Network are people with good backgrounds and who are extremely professional...

The biggest difference in reality television from one network to another is the fact that reality television isn't always reality. The Food Network is delivering the audience exactly what they want, it's the same thing every time. Issues such as sexuality are non-existent on The Food Network as compared to with MTV were sexuality is the key ingredient to good ratings. And on the opposite side of the spectrum if the 'reality' on reality shows on networks such as MTV and Vh1 stayed the same, the targeted audience would lose interest.

When choosing to watch reality television it is important to make sure that regardless of the audience, as a viewer you need to be prepared for what you will be watching. Because at the end of the day someone who wants to learn how to fillet a fish is not going to choose to watch something like 'Charm School'. The targeted audience does not need to be advertised to because they already have been exposed to similar content on previous shows, therefore they already know what they like.

I don't know about everyone else, but I happen to be a fan of variety... a little cooking here and a little drama there. It's good that with various networks as a viewer you get a variety of choices. If charm school really was all that charming I don't think it would be half as entertaining as it is today. Luckily for me it isn't all that it's cracked up to be - thank god.