Most of us watch reality TV shows, such as I’m A Celebrity, Love Island and The Great British Bake Off, to be entertained but also — let’s be honest — for the opportunity they might provide for witnessing a bit of public humiliation.
But sociologists and media academics have also begun to argue recently that reality TV is much more than this: it can have a ‘political’ function. Reality TV shows can ‘open up’ an accessible public space for the representation of populations who have only a limited visibility and voice. Such shows can successfully expose large audiences to voices and views that they might not otherwise easily encounter on television, or elsewhere.
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