Writing Reality

Author:

Hyneman, Alexander J

Area of Honors:

Film-Video

Degree:

Bachelor of Arts

Document Type:

Thesis

Thesis Supervisors:

Anita Marie Gabrosek, Thesis Supervisor
Rodney Brent Bingaman, Thesis Honors Advisor

Keywords:

television
reality
rTV
reality television
film
film/video
fiction
entertainment
entertainment industry
Kardashians

Abstract:

The landscape of contemporary television cannot be explained without mentioning reality television. This unscripted genre gives the audience a sense that these characters are just like us. In contemporary storytelling within the past decade, audience’s desires have grown for a sense of realism in the films they watch. Interestingly, this shift to realism has already been happening within the television industry in the form of reality television. In spite of the pushback and controversy, reality shows still persist to this day. Because of this thesis, I learned how the genre of reality television could be depicted truthfully in a screenplay and the portrayal of feature-length screenplay’s characters regarding this subject. I also explored four films that satirize television, examine social media, and show a writer returning to her hometown. This not only helped me understand the structure of feature-length films but also allowed me to realize themes – specific to the world of reality television – that I could implement into my script.