Reality Squared: On Reality TV and Left Politics

by Tom Syverson

In this concise but rich book, Syverson refutes the common notion that reality television is superficial or inauthentic, explaining how such criticisms fail to appreciate the way that we form social reality in the first place. By examining shows like The Hills, The Real Housewives, Vanderpump Rules, and The Bachelor alongside postmodern philosophy, feminist theory, and political economy, Syverson argues that we can confront today’s postmodern condition only by accepting it on its own terms. To what extent does reality television mimic and shape our public and personal lives? Is reality television a dangerous, shallow decadence, or can it provide the key to understanding our postmodern moment? And above all, what does the election of Donald Trump mean for progressive fans of the genre? Reality Squared tackles these questions head-on, arguing that reality television represents the great modern art form, and the only entertainment vehicle capable of showing what it feels like to be alive today.

148 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 26, 2021

Reviews

[Kathleen O'Neal · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book in preparation for a paper I wrote for Dr. Roger Lancaster's Social Institutions class in the fall of 2023. The paper is entitled "Reality Television as a Social Institution: The Moral Pageant." The concept of reality television as a moral pageant is one that was heavily influenced by Tom Syverson's analysis in this book, which I cite heavily in the paper. Particularly insightful in my perspective was Syverson's analysis of Roderick Firth's ideas about the ideal ethical observer, a concept which Syverson explores and connects to viewers of reality television programs. Syverson argues that because the viewer of a reality television program is constructed as both all-knowing and yet distanced from the action taking place on the screen, reality television viewing is positioned as a site of moral reflection on the practical dilemmas presented in these programs and that is part of why reality television viewing is such a compelling experience for so many. I enjoyed Syverson's analysis of both shows I have watched a great deal (such as "The Bachelor") and shows I have never seen at all (such as "Vanderpump Rules"). I really enjoyed reading this book, it helped me to organize and formulate my thoughts a great deal as I wrote about this topic, and I highly recommend this short, incisive work.

[Skylar Miklus · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I possess both a philosophy degree and a crippling reality TV obsession, I might be the ideal/only reader for this book. Syverson treats reality television as a legitimate medium for intellectual contemplation and as a gladiatorial arena for ethical discourse. What do the Real Housewives reveal about the double-bind of capitalist feminism and the lie that modern women can "have it all?" How does "The Bachelor" simultaneously disrupt and reinforce societal gender and sexuality norms? Why are shows about strangers living together uniquely compelling in our disconnected modern world? If any of these questions have occurred to you before, you'll find a worthwhile piece of cultural analysis in this book. Temporally, it's a bit grounded in first-term Trump but avoids most of the worst self-important impulses of the liberal writers of that era. Still extends forward into today, as our world becomes ever more hyperreal and financialized.