The Postmodern World

The Postmodern World

“This is the story of seven strangers…picked to live in a house…work together…have their lives taped…and find out what happens when people stop being polite…and start getting POSTMODERN!”

For fourteen seasons, MTV’s The Real World has captivated millions of young people throughout America and the world. The premise is simple enough: stick seven racially, socially, and sexually disparate twenty-somethings into an urban pad for 6 months, then hope to God that you’ve chosen the right mix to produce hours and hours of drama. The Real World, now filming its fifteenth season in downtown Philadelphia, ushered in a new form of television and is often cited as the first “reality” based television program. The trend took a few years to finally emerge, but by the beginning of the 20th century, reality television became embraced by viewers and network executives alike. In fact, the fall 2004 lineup of the 4 major networks (FOX, NBC, ABC, CBS) show a total of 20 primetime reality shows! Postmodern theorists help us understand why these types of television programs are so popular in today’s society. I’d like to turn to The Real World, America’s first quintessential reality show. I will describe how it fits into the postmodern concepts illustrated by theorists such s Lyotard, Jameson and Baudrillard, and how The Real World producers