Customer Reviews

Shooting People: Adventures in Reality TV

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If you are a college student like myself forced to write an essay about reality tv, then this book is a great place to begin your research. The authors are significantly opposed to reality tv as they draw comparisons between the genre and military torture tactics and social psychology experiments from the 1960's and 1970's (in particular, a whole chapter dedicated to the Stanford County Prison Experiment). The book primarily looks at the big two: Survivor and Big Brother. The book mentions an upcoming reality show where contestants can compete to be candidates in the 2004 election. I found this hard to believe, but sure enough, such a show is in the works! (www.americancandidate.com). How far will reality tv go? This is an enduring question through out the book- as each new show tries to outdo its predecessors. Like I say, a great book for research into the genre. It has been a tremendous help in my own research.

Cohen and Brenton's book is a scathing, spot-on indictment of the sickness that is reality television. It provides a detailed look at the genre and shows its twisted roots in torture tactics and behavioral experimentation. A deliciously arch tone and rich use of language make this book a pleasure to read.

The authors eloquently point out just how deep the global culture level has sunk into the trivia of the self, "the sprawling self-obsession now so omnipresent as to go unnoticed," and how this is the all-but-inevitable birthplace of reality TV. They describe one show as "a viewing experience not unlike being trapped in an elevator with two hysterical boy bands and an angry dog", just one example (and not even the best one) of the razor-sharp sarcasm found throughout the book.

The authors' conclusion is scary and, quite possibly, prophetic. Keep an eye on reality shows from politically-driven media moguls like Murdoch for their potential impact on future elections! We need more voices such as those of the authors. They may be shouting into the wind considering the popularity of so many reality TV shows, but our society and self-knowledge is richer for them nonetheless.

"Shooting People" is a great read. Aside from its provocative title and cover art, the introduction is written in such a palatable way that I literally couldn't put it down. It begins with an awful retelling of the suicide of a European reality show contestant and continues to humourously describe the deluge of American reality shows. And it's a great read.

The book itself deals with a range of reality-TV related topics, all of which are worthwhile. It occasionally gets a little wordy, but the main points are important so phrasing shouldn't really be criticized.

Overall, the book takes the "reality TV is dumb" argument we hear all the time and actually backs it up with evidence and arguments. Definitely good reading for media students or anyone willing to open their mind a little about an overblown trend.

Shooting People is a small thesis on how America exported reality TV to Europe and gave them bad habits. It blames the US for everything.
The last time I checked, we never forced Europe to watch television.