REALITY TV: ALIVE AND KICKING
Reality TV is a term we've heard a lot over the last four years, pertaining, no doubt, to President Trump's previous connection to the genre. A look at the current TV schedule, both on mainstream channels and cable TV, reveals that it continues as a popular and sustaining form. Consider, for example, new revival shows like ABC's SUPERMARKET SWEEPSTAKES and older ones like NBC's AMERICAN NINJA WARRIOR plus the History Channel's MONSTER QUEST. Which leads us not only to question the genre's particular popularity today but also to ponder its origins and definitions. Thinking about its roots, we realize that Reality TV owes its beginnings to documentary/non-fiction films, perhaps starting with the Lumiere Brothers' "Workers Leaving the Lumiere Factory" shot in 1895. (Oddly enough, some movie historians find narrative aspects incorporated into this non-fiction work.) Reality TV may also find its documentary inceptions in the well-known