Reality Television

St. James Encyclopedia of Pop Culture, Jan 29, 2002 by Mia Consalvo

As mentioned above, reality crime shows have likely been watched by the greatest number of viewers, due to their long-running nature and series status. These are also the shows that make the greatest attempt to convey a message to their viewers. Their repetitive messages center on crime and law and order; and through a careful construction of reality, they make their point quite effectively. These shows present crime as rampant, violent, and obvious to spot, criminals as villains, and the police and jails as America's best line of defense against these challenges to decent society. These shows also capture minorities committing a greater percentage of crimes, feature crimes that are readily and easily solved, and are filmed more in less affluent urban areas.

For example, Cops features "the men and women of law enforcement" and nightly rides along with police from different parts of the country. Cops would appear on the surface to be the most realistic of these shows, as it does not have a narrator or host beyond the police who offer background or context for the situations they encounter. The cameraperson for the show rides along in the squad car, taping hours of footage for what will ultimately become a half-hour show. Although the show is carefully edited to appear "uncut," Debra Seagal reports that shows such as these often rely on stock footage and spend a great deal of time constructing the "stories" that appear on the show. Large portions of tape containing no real action must be edited out, and only the most exciting crimes will be included in the final show. Thus, footage of the police riding around for hours on end or the issuance of a speeding ticket would never appear on Cops, unless the receiver of the ticket suddenly engaged the police in a high-speed car chase.

Likewise, shows such as America's Most Wanted often use re-enactments to explain past criminal activity. The show centers on criminals that are still at large, and urges the audience to become part of the solution, and call the show or police if they see any of these wanted criminals. The show regularly runs updates on wanted criminals that are either still at large or have been captured, thanking viewers if they have called in to provide tips or information. The re-enactments, which attempt to graphically demonstrate the criminal's original lawbreaking, however, often rely on circumstantial evidence or statements, especially if the primary victim does not remember the events or is not around to convey the details. Thus, the show is forced to take some artistic license in creating a reasonable version of events, which viewers are likely to see as the truth of the matter.

Another way these shows construct a version of reality is through the narrative closure they attempt to provide. Resolution of events is preferred over unsolved crimes or escaped or unknown criminals, and these shows attempt to provide viewing audiences with this closure. This leads to a view of law enforcement that is at odds with federal statistics on suspects apprehended and cases closed. For example, Mary Beth Oliver and G. Blake Armstrong report that in a sample of reality-based programs, 61.5 percent of all crimes portrayed were depicted as solved, "as compared to FBI reports of an 18.0 percent arrest rate." Thus, reality shows are far more likely to create the impression that more criminals are being apprehended than is actually the case. Furthermore, the shows perpetuate the idea that minorities are more likely to engage in criminal activities. Oliver and Armstrong also report that "the vast majority of African-American characters are cast in roles of criminal suspects where they are also shown as recipients of police aggression." And while shows such as Cops state that "all suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law," researchers have found that most viewers believe the suspects apprehended are indeed guilty, otherwise the police would not have arrested them in the first place.