A Study On Reality Television' S Form And Characteristics And Its Localization In China

Reality TV has been in the spotlight in recent years. In most European countries and the United States, the programme has made a far-reaching impact on the intellectual circles as well as the media; it has been economically successful and yet socially controversial. It is under such circumstances that the production of reality TV becomes an inevitable issue in China.Based on an overview of its history and status quo, the thesis offers a very detailed analysis of the growing background of reality television. As far as social culture is concerned, it is a product of consumerist societies and culture, and the result of the vagueness between reality and fiction in a digitalized age. As far as the development of television is concerned, it is closely related to the history of television----it is a reaction on television's trends of being commonplace and entertaining, and an innovation of TV programmes on the market. The thesis analyses the backgrounds of arising of reality TV with culture research theories and methods, and the correlative theories includes consumerist societies and culture, reality and fiction, etc.After comparing reality TV with other TV programmes, the study points out that reality television is a comprehensive entertaining program and a demonstration of reality in a fictional context. It integrates the factuality of documental films, the dramatic features of television, and the entertainment and interaction of various games and races. It overruns the boundaries between reality and fiction and among various media. Its characteristics can be summarized as follows: the combination of reality with fiction in narrative, the interaction among the media and between the audience and programmes, and the integration and internationalisation of the marketing. The thesis analyses the forms and characteristics with TV study, communications study, marketing theories and methods, and the correlative theories includes TV program theories, the second media period theories and combined marketing theories, etc. After an analysis of foreign reality television, the study stresses that reality television is very original in form, and that China's reality TV should discard the dregs and absorb the essence of foreign reality TV programmes. While borrowing theforms and technology from foreign reality TV programmes, China's reality TV should weaken or even discard their content concerning sexuality, privacy, lottery and cruel competition, and produce programmes catering for China's ideology and cultural tradition and the Chinese audience's aesthetic habits. After an analysis of its status quo, the study points out that China's reality TV should develop in the direction of nationalization and becoming a brand, a combination. The thesis always connects with the circumstance of development of civil reality TV program when studying the localization of reality TV.