Reality Bites Back: The Troubling Truth About Guilty Pleasure TV

by Jennifer L. Pozner

Nearly every night on every major network, “unscripted” (but carefully crafted) “reality” TV shows routinely glorify retrograde stereotypes that most people would assume got left behind 35 years ago. In Reality Bites Back, media critic Jennifer L. Pozner aims a critical, analytical lens at a trend most people dismiss as harmless fluff. She deconstructs reality TV’s twisted fairytales to demonstrate that far from being simple “guilty pleasures,” these programs are actually guilty of fomenting gender-war ideology and significantly affecting the intellectual and political development of this generation’s young viewers. She lays out the cultural biases promoted by reality TV about gender, race, class, sexuality, and consumerism, and explores how those biases shape and reflect our cultural perceptions of who we are, what we’re valued for, and what we should view as “our place” in society. Smart and informative, Reality Bites Back arms readers with the tools they need to understand and challenge the stereotypes reality TV reinforces and, ultimately, to demand accountability from the corporations responsible for this contemporary cultural attack on three decades of feminist progress.

Genres: Nonfiction, Feminism, Pop Culture, Gender, Sociology, Tv, Race

393 pages, Paperback

First published November 30, 2009

Reviews

[Sarra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been going back and forth on my rating for this. 3 feels too low, 4 is too high. I guess it's really a 3.5, which is, of course, not an option here. When I started reading, I thought it would easily be a 4 or even a 5, because I'm a feminist & I'm studying media literacy, so I am already on the same side Ms. Pozner is. But a few things didn't sit well with me.

1) "The Poor": The author uses this phrase repeatedly. However, this is no more useful or acceptable - which is to say, not at all useful or acceptable - than "the disabled" or "the mentally ill" or any other marginalized or oppressed group that is described thusly. "The Poor" condenses all people of lesser means into a dehumanized, faceless monolith.

2) "Underweight": "Underweight", just like "overweight", is based on the assumption that there is one proper, acceptable, correct weight. There isn't. Every body is different. Health at Every Size proponents, body acceptance activists, and fat positive agitators all reject the notion of "under" and "over" where weight is concerned. When you realize that health is rarely connected to weight and that you absolutely can not gauge a body's health or wellness from its weight/appearance, the uselessness and meaninglessness of "underweight" and "overweight" become immediately apparent. You can't tell how healthy someone is just by looking at her/him. This applies to the women on America's Next Top Model (not that I approve of or am defending that show) just as it applies to a fat person on the street. "Underweight" is useless at best, and problematic, stigmatizing, & judgmental at worst. Tied in with this issue: you can't know just from looking at someone how hungry they are, what they do/don't eat, how often they do/don't eat it, or how likely they are to have an eating disorder. Furthermore, the BMI is scientifically baseless & relying on it to support points made renders those points worthy of dismissal.

3) "Depressives": Really? "Depressives"?! Not even "depressed persons", much less "people with depression" or "people prone to depressive episodes"? "Depressives", as a label, completely erases humanity. The people being described are not even present in this label. They are not even people; they are simply their diagnoses.

4) "Happy pills": Yes, the author, in a footnote, really does refer to anti-depressants as "happy pills". This is wildly inaccurate, indefensibly ignorant, unfair, unkind, and woefully simplistic.

5) "Scherzinger was ... positioned as the lead stripp- er, lead singer- of the Pussycat Dolls." Oh, honestly. Implying that Scherzinger is a sex worker? It's catty, it's juvenile, it's reminiscent of high-school mean-girl behavior, and it's not feminist. It also has no place in a book like this. Furthermore, it stigmatizes sex workers, and said stigma puts sex workers (sex work is real work) at greater risk. And, again, it's deeply unfeminist.

Now, I don't want to give the impression that I didn't like this book. I did. It's smart and valuable. It's so smart and valuable that the missteps detailed above were shocking and disappointing. I would still encourage everyone - especially those interested in media literacy and those who love unscripted television - to read it. Just do so with the intersectional, truly feminist, comprehensively anti-oppression lens the author didn't see fit to employ.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not much of a reality tv fan. I watched Deadliest Catch for awhile, and somewhat lost interst this year. Other than that, I've watched various Gorden Ramsey things (I like the British ones much more), but even those I've cooled to - the overuse of the word bitch to describe women, the fact that every black women seems to take most of the hate from those in the group, the fact that you are suppose to undermine people to win a job where you need to lead and support people. The fact that the women are always shown either arguing or in skimpy outfits.

It's nice to know I'm not the only one who noticed this.

Pozner focuses on a select few serie - The Bachleor (aka the pimp show), Next Top Model, and VH-1 Flavor of Love. I can't say I've watched any of these, except for the last few minutes of model which was one before something else. Tyra Banks needs practice in acting like she is sorry.

Now, I'm really glad I didn't watch because it was apparently worse than I imagined. It also explains why I see more young people thinking and stating that all sterotypes are true. That offensive ads (such as the California Milk PMS campign) are not seen as offensive. The cool is that Pozner doesn't demand that you stop watching, just that you watch with awareness. She isn't holier than thou.

[Sheerley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reality tv= sexist, racist, classist, etc. I get it. 300 pages of snark doesn't cover up the fact that her point was made 299 pages ago. I didn't disagree with what she was saying. I just felt that the cultural impact of reality tv encompasses more than sexism, racism and the like.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

My before reading comments-

This is what I believe :

There is more stupidity than reality in reality TV and that reality TV is bringing more stupidity into our reality.

I wonder if this book will support my hypothesis.

This review will tell you more about me than the book. ................ Hey KIDS , Get off my Lawn! !!
____

> Spent a good part of 2000s & 2010s watching & fighting the watching of some Reality TV shows by my three teenage daughters -all now in their twenties. Yes, I was the dad you did not want to watch some shows with.

"To answer:We are just giving the viewership what they want. Reality-unscripted show can cost 50-75% less than scripted shows and get longer runs. Firefly had a strong following and was canceled while show like Apprentice with low numbers are renewed year after year. There is product placement in these shows which sponsors pay up to 2 million per show."

"All reality producers and tv executives fails to acknowledges that these shows are very intentionally edited , cast and framed to amplify regressive values against gender, race and class, underscores advertisers desire to think less and buy more and creates a "reality" that erases any trace of the advances made during the women rights, civil rights and gay rights movement. "

I'm not a overly progressive person but I have to agree with a lot of the points made by Pozner. The present world of tv has not served us well. Just look at the level of political discourse in the presidential campaign which feels like a train wreck reality show.

--not done reviewing quite yet----

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I should first point out that I am an avid reality television watchers. While I understand that the label "unscripted" doesn't necessarily apply to the full degree, I cannot help be suckered in even as I don't believe an ounce of the content. That being said, Pozner really brings the manipulation of reality television to light in a way that is eye opening. There is a lot of important material in this book that even that savviest television viewer might not be aware of.

The reason I did not give this book five stars is that Pozner brings an EXTREMELY opinionated viewpoint. I understood going into this that of course she would be expressing her knowledge of reality television through her own lense, which is fine, but the problem is that her snark can be really shrill and overbearing at times. I wish she would allow the reader to make his or her own conclusion through guidance rather than beating it over my head with alliteration and cynical, sometimes unnecessary angry adjectives. It felt like I was regularly being condescended. She often repeated the same point over and over. She also sometimes made leaps that I felt were a bit extreme.

However, the book is still worth reading, and to be fair her points are well argued and well thought out. She offers the reader much to consider.

[Alex Templeton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Initially, I wasn't all that interested in reading this book, as I felt as if it would be a retread of many concepts I had read before. I am glad I changed my mind, as this book has entered the category of library books I will eventually go out and buy my own copies of because I have found them so good. This was an excellent and deeply horrifying look at how reality TV is working to reinforce harmful messages about women, minorities, and the poor. Pozner gives example after example after example of these messages, using the words of the participants and creators themselves. Ever since watching Jean Kilbourne's awesome documentary series "Killing Us Softly" as a teenager, I have had a desire to teach students about the manipulative ways of advertising and media. This book refuels that desire, especially now that I am working with teenagers who have grown up with this media and these messages. One of the best parts about the book is the resource guide Pozner provides at the end, complete with organizations that work on media awareness and activities you can perform with groups of all ages. Highly, highly recommended for teachers, parents, teenagers--everyone!

[Cinnamon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have never been a reality television fan (Project Runway and a few episodes of cooking reality shows aside). I've never seen an episode of The Bachelor, have never seen anyone get voted off the island, etc. Partly because I knew how choreographed these shows were and how edited they must be to prove the producers point. I saw the drama created by producers during the first Real World and figured it only got worse from there. So I avoided them, which means I'm left out of a lot of conversations. However thanks to reading this book I feel like I can combat the "What? How can you NOT like these shows" questions from friends with facts about Frankenbiting and so much more. And the best part is that this book is funny as well as engaging about racism, sexism, homophobia, class, and more. I look forward to reading Jenn's next book, no matter what it is about. She's that engaging of a writer.

[Melody Newby · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a bit dated but the analyses on reality tv, integrated marketing, and the plethora of gendered, racial and class stereotypes found embedded in this medium, are still very relevant.
Do not be fooled by reality television. We all realize that reality television is partially scripted, but for me, the realization that these shows are just very long infomercials, is new. This is noteworthy since a significant percentage of every major network’s primetime line up dedicates hours to unscripted programs.
Robert Riesenberg (TV producer and ad agency exec) has stated, “We’re trying to create a marketing platform through television for our clients…It’s not at all about making better television. We don’t profess to be able to do it better. It’s really about finding that right fit, and then integrating them (brands) into that fit.”
Reality television is a medium that seeks to channel every human desire into consumer behavior. This completely ignores the fact that in Western society, we are drowning in credit card debt, we are working our way into our twilight years because we’re too poor to retire and more of us choose a ‘staycation’ instead of a vacation because we simply can’t afford to travel. We are indoctrinated by such shows as (examples in the book, some of which have been canceled for years) The Real Housewives, Paris Hilton’s My New BFF, Top Chef, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and What Not to Wear that life is mostly about leisure and we must model ourselves after ‘how the rich shop’. Why buy several seasons worth of affordable clothes when you can buy a few pieces of high end outfits that are supposed to last for years (when in reality, most consumers would feel pressured to buy new clothing the following season).
“This little corner of the reality TV universe is designed to maximize our desire for …stuff. Stuff of all kinds, the more expensive, the better. These shows encourage us to lust after things we might have never thought we wanted or needed…”
It is not quality television viewers embrace but consumption (specifically, conspicuous consumption). It is problematic that expensive brands are integrated into every minute of reality tv programs due to the highly persuasive nature of advertising.
Advertising depends on the idea that we believe we are not affected by the images we see in ads and now, so does the product-placement-generated reality tv genre, and therefore, we are less likely to bring a critical lens when we are watching these shows.
To further this point, the editor-in-chief of Advertising Age once said, “Only 8% of an ad’s message is received by the conscious mind: the rest is worked and reworked deep within the recesses of the brain, where a product’s positioning and repositioning takes shape.”
We often sit back and allow these messages, images and product placements to passively enter our minds and consume our personal ideas of how we should spend our money as well as endorsing deeply embedded cultural stereotypes surrounding gender, race, class and romance. All of this is packaged as fluffy, light entertainment when in fact, Pozner argues, that under a reality tv theme, this seemingly innocent form of entertainment presents these deeply problematic stereotypes as being just the way it is in ‘the real world’.
According to Pozner and her research, women are portrayed as bitches, stupid, incompetent at work, failures at home and gold diggers on most reality shows. In the reality tv universe (and across all other forms of media), a woman’s worth conflates with her outward appearance as well as her ability to snag a man. Women must lower their standards in shows like The Bachelor. The Bachelor is clearly a himbo who has had his tongue down the throats of 24 other available women and who may or may not have domestic abuse charges under his belt (read the book to discover how producers failed to perform effective and thorough background checks in reality tv dating show participants).
On reality tv shows, gendered stereotypes abound. Men are the providers (in which none of the possessions they offer are actually theirs but carefully placed products to entice viewers to buy) and women are only the sum of their pretty, pandering, emotionally charged parts. Single women are shown as nothing without a husband and so the humiliation of single women (and women in general) in this genre becomes paramount.
“The money shot in porn flicks usually involves male ejaculation. In reality TV dating shows, it comes when cameras zoom in on the tear-soaked face of some woman shattered by romantic rejection.”
A woman in pain is another focal point as demonstrated on the now canceled show, America’s Next Top Model” ie. The ‘dead girl photo shoot’ episode or Tyra Banks telling hopeful models that the biggest modeling secret is to pose as though you are in pain. “…think pain, but beauty…” Images of battered or murdered women and images of women in pain contribute to a culture that promotes violence against women and desensitizes viewers to the hard cold facts: a woman is battered every 15 seconds, 3 women are murdered by their husbands/boyfriends each day on average, and women are sexually assaulted every 2 minutes, 3/4ths of these attacks perpetrated by intimate partners.
The gold digger trope is repeated ad nauseam across a number of reality shows. For example, in shows such as the canceled ‘Joe Millionaire’ participants must compete for the love of a liar- a man who claims to have a lot of money but in reality, he does not. If a woman does not feel pure love for a man she just met who acts like an offensive jerk while making out with a number of other woman, she is labeled an evil gold digger for pursuing this so-called millionaire in the first place. This is a way to deflect certain economic realities such as the feminization of poverty and its connection to prostitution. Women are statistically the poorest gender and yet, the sex trade is always hiring….
“…the more we watch, the more we learn that only the most gorgeous, least independent women with the lowest-carb diets and the highest thresholds for humiliation will be rewarded with love, financial security and the ultimate prize- being selected by some guy – any guy – because nothing is as important as male validation.”
What better way to reinforce the message that a woman is worthless until she has a man to validate her worth while also cashing in on the ‘wedding-industrial complex’ then shows such as ‘Say Yes to the Dress’ and ‘Platinum Weddings’? This genre of reality tv show attempts to convince women that starring as the princess of a huge, ostentatious wedding is the most important thing they will ever accomplish. Visit the websites of these shows to buy the very dresses or other wedding products and services as seen on the show! (barf…)
Women are shown as incompetent, not only at home (Super Nanny anyone?) but also at work (The Apprentice) which carry damaging implications.
“Damning portrayals of women’s incompetence at home and at work can send messages that are truly toxic to women’s rights. If women are generally flakier, less talented and less capable then men, why hire them, support their art work, elect them as politicians, pay attention to their concerns as citizens or respect them as equal life partners.”
Pozner unpacks gendered racial implications in portrayals of black women and men in reality shows. She views reality shows as the new minstrel show. Black women are depicted as tainted ghetto-Jezebel’s from the wrong side of the tracks (needless to say black women have a long history since the time of slavery where they are labeled as wanton, hyper sexualized animals and not human beings with their own rights and desires) or Mammy’s who would rather support and not lead (Aunt Jemima anyone?). Black women as well as men are reduced to caricatures or animals . America’s Next Top Model convinced a young model that she has ape-like features. Tyra Banks tries to offer positivity by cheering, “Go Curious George, work it out!” An interesting aside, Curious George has been interpreted by literary and cultural scholars as a slave narrative. “In the original story, The Man with the Big Yellow Hat kidnaps George from the African jungle and brings him to America, where he gets thrown in jail, escapes and ends up behind bars in a zoo.”
Reality shows like ‘Survivor’ and the ‘Amazing Race’ offer a colonialist’s vision of Westerners in foreign lands. Locals are used as props or as ‘backdrops’ to the scene and viewers can purchase travel packages to the various locations if they check out the shows’ websites. Appropriate culture and empty your privileged wallets at the same time!
This book review would not be complete without mentioning Pozner’s vote for the most exploitative reality show of the decade: ‘Toddlers and Tiaras.’
Pozner says it best, “Girls as young as five and six years old are hypersexualized before they can possibly understand or consent to its implications… …these shows play like Intro to Misogyny for the preschool set: bodies always on display, normal to be graded on pretty eyes, smile, hair , be more beautiful than the other girls.”
Despite some of the outdated references, I highly recommend this book. The last chapter offers ways to fight back and have your voice heard about the media that surrounds you as well as party games to critique reality tv shows.
We must remember that the driving factor for all corporate media production is to turn tidy profits for the handful of mega merged corporations. They control the bulk of what we are given to watch, see and hear in the media. Reality TV shows are just hour long, low budget commercials, not to mention the embedded cultural stereotypes spoon fed to viewers that passively ingest into their psyches. Don’t leave your critical lens on the dresser. Take them with you when you engage in reality tv or any kind of media.

[Rosa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I tried more than once to finish this book but I couldn't get further than the first 10%. It's clearly not aimed at me (a film studies minor and avowed feminist) so I tried to ignore the glib, flippant tone, which I assume is the author's attempt to engage people who watch reality TV uncritically and avoid charges of taking it all too seriously, but it shaded into patronizing once too often for my tolerance. The efforts to address intersectionality, while appreciated, also rubbed me the wrong way. They felt token-y and tacked on, like someone reminded the author at the last minute that it's what all the cool feminists are doing nowadays and she'd be yelled at if she didn't. The last straw was when the the author repeatedly refers to 'transgender' as a sexual orientation (as in the phrase "sought love among a pool of straight, gay, bisexual, and transgender men"). That was when the book went from my "abandoned" shelf to the one called "thrown at a wall."

The reason I tried it more than once is because I did find some aspects of the book interesting and enlightening. It's at its best when delving into the specific mechanics of making reality TV, including the financing, casting, and editing processes. The other part I liked is when it discusses how attitudes toward reality TV have changed over the past decade, especially among those who've grown up with it. I really wish the author had spent more time on those aspects rather than, for example, a lengthy deconstruction of the anti-feminism of The Bachelor. Her deconstruction wasn't wrong per se, but it was something I could do on my own and could aptly describe as shooting fish in a bucket. The fruits of her research, on the other hand, were unique and informative. Even though I only read 10%, there are definitely tidbits that will stick in my mind and be discussed over my dinner table. I suspect the book would've been better off had the author simply presented her research and allowed readers to draw their own conclusions rather than attempted to spoon-feed feminist critical analysis to them. That book I would've finished.

[Kristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a regular reality tv viewer I figured this might be a good read. While I was aware of many of the things (product placement, the contradictory treatment of the women on ANTM, the issues with SAG and reality tv, etc) but I learned a lot from this book. I stopped watching some reality shows (America's Next Top Model, the Bachelor, American Idol, basically any dating show, etc) because of some of the things discussed in the book.

Overall, a great guide on things to keep in mind when watching reality tv (and many times, any tv). Will I stop watching reality tv after reading it? No, but I've already noticed that I'm watching differently, which I think is the whole point. Worth reading for any viewer of reality tv!

[RD Morgan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book. I really, really wanted to like this book. But alas! I did not. I could not. I couldn't finish it.

I wasn't a fan of Pozner's sense of humor -- it was a tad too snarky for me, and this, in turn, caused me to distrust her narrative.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finally! I will be doing a review on this.

[cat · Rating 4 out of 5]

2011 Book 106/100

After seeing the new documentary MissRepresentation, which featured author Jennifer Pozner discussing the ways that reality television contributes to and cements the sexism, racism, and classism of our culture, I put her new book on hold at the library. I waited as they processed the first copy, and then got to read a shiny new copy of Reality Bites Back : The Troubling Truth about Guilty Pleasure TV over the last few weeks. This book took me much longer to read as each chapter is so full of current and important media critique that is directly relevant to my life AND to the work that I do.

From the outset, when Pozner tells us "..nothing- not creative quality, not social impact, and certainly not accountability to the public - matters to corporate media companies other than the financial bottom line", she positions all of the other critiques, of sexism, racism, classism, firmly within the context of capitalistic greed.

Her chapters on Unraveling Reality TV’s Twisted Fairytales , Get Comfortable with My Flaw Finder (Women’s Bodies as Women’s Worth), Bitches and Morons and Skanks, Oh My! (What Reality TV Teaches Us about Women), Erasing Ethnicity, Encoding Bigotry, and Beautiful Corpses, Abusive Princes (Violence against Women as Glamorous, Romantic Reality) each show us the ways that "mass media is our prime purveyor of cultural hegemony... in other words, media shape what we think of as "the truth" about "the way things are".

While each of the chapters had moments of insight for me as she laid out the ways that reality TV creates harmful depictions of women, normalizes violence against women, and perpetuates racism, one of my major a-ha! moments came in the discussion of women being pitted against other women in dating and other competition-based series. She states " This isn't just about depriving women of female friendships to foster desperation for male affection. All social, academic, professional, and political gains women have made in this country - suffrage, legality and availability of contraceptives,..criminalization of sexual harrassment and acquaintance rape, protections against gender and race-based employment discrimination, among others - have been won through hard-fought collective struggle with other women. If women are conditioned to consider other women lying bachstabbers, we are less likely to organize for better working conditions or pay equity". Which sums up so much of my fear about media and the ways that women are depicted - we do not see ourselves as having agency, intelligence, or inherent worth outside of our looks and our relationships with men. Both this book and the documentary MissRepresentation have given me new ways to talk about this issue -- as a social justice issues, but also as an economic issue. ALL of the messages that we are being fed ultimately are controlled by corporations trying to sell us a commercial and political agenda that I am not interested in buying!

Please - read this book. And if you don't have time to read the whole book, then at least go and check out Pozner's Reality TV Deconstruction Guide at http://www.realitybitesbackbook.com/f... . But really? The book is worth the time.

[Bradley Bowen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to say, Reality Bites Back: The Troubling Truth About Guilty Pleasure TV by Jennifer L. Pozner is one of my favorite new books! If you are a fan of reality television, a student of social sciences, or a person concerned about the toxic effects that the media has on our society, you definitely need to read it right away.

In Reality Bites Back, Pozner exposes the often racist and sexist messages being sold by the media and advertising conglomerates who control so much of what we see, hear, purchase and consume. From disturbing portrayals of people of color on dating shows like “Flavor of Love” to the wildly unhealthy images sold to women on “The Bachelor” and “America’s Next Top Model”, Pozner explains how cheap reality television has helped to promote a backlash against the progressive movement in the United States.

While we often tell ourselves that we know the difference between fact and fiction on the screen, the reality genre has helped to blur the line in our collective conscience. Directors deliberately cast stereotypes or people with insecurities and present them as substitutes for an entire group. Plot lines are largely decided by producers and even advertisers. While we know that much of what we see is exaggerated for dramatic effect, we can’t help but absorb the idea that on some level, this is the way things are. (For instance, we are constantly bombarded with messages that women are weak and cannot be successful or happy or fulfilled without a man. Soon, after only one kind of woman is shown and this trope is repeated time and again, people, especially young people who grew up watching reality television, will begin to believe on a certain level that this is the way women are. What’s really happening is this: women are taught to be insecure by advertisers, and then instructed to treat their insecurities with products sold by the very same advertisers.)

One of the more troublesome aspects of reality TV, as outlined by Pozner, is the way it has affected scripted television. Inexpensive reality programs that serve as little more than marketing vehicles for advertisers can stay on the air with embarrassing ratings, while thoughtful programming (such as “Commander in Chief“, which earned Geena Davis a Golden Globe award for playing the first female president) goes by the wayside. Consumers are being deprived of art that could actually entertain and inform us for “mindless” entertainment that is actually working to move society backwards.

As a hyper-consumer of media with an academic background in sociology, I devoured this book and was left wanting more. The information provided is well-researched, accurate and alarming. Pozner’s voice is relatable and snarky; she also crafts her message in a way that anyone can understand. You don’t have to be an ivory tower resident to read and enjoy this book. Just be prepared to finish as a media justice activist!

[Julie N · Rating 4 out of 5]

Writing
Very well done in terms of research and documentation. I'm a huge stickler for showing where your information comes from in non-fiction, and Pozner does a great job of this. You can tell that she has put a lot of time into her research and analysis of reality TV. Not only is the research done well, the analysis is spot on and done with humor and wit. It's dense at times, but very readable and the tone makes it fun.

Entertainment Value
I will confess that reality TV is one of my weaknesses. Especially the Real Housewives. It's the one thing I miss about having cable, since we turned ours off last month. I've also been known to revel in the drama of America's Next Top Model, Project Runway, and the "documentary" shows of TLC (Sister Wives!). Of course I know that much of it is staged and directed, but I haven't given much thought to it, outside of regarding it as mindless entertainment. So when I saw Roxane Gay mention this in Bad Feminist, I knew I needed to try it.

It wound up challenging a lot of my ideas about just how mindless the entertainment is. I hadn't every really spent time considering the racist and sexist undertones of reality programming, but this book really brings to light how troubling many aspects of the programs I enjoy are. And while I can't say that I'll be giving up reality TV altogether, I'll certainly be viewing it with a more discerning eye.

Overall
I highly recommend this for fans of reality TV as well as those who are interested in racial, sexual, and body image issues in popular culture. It's absolutely fascinating and the author's sense of humor makes it fun rather than dry.

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

This really is one of the most engaging books I have read on media literacy and deconstructing what we are watching. Pozner consistently makes great points, and is able to cite other research to strengthen her own findings. Her deconstruction of reality shows such as the bachelor, real housewives, America's next top model and more consistently has the reader questioning what they are watching and what they are being sold. For me - someone who was already hyper aware of the misogyny and pervasive advertising shamelessly embedded within reality programming, I found it broadened the way I perceived other media - such as talk shows like The View and Ellen, which seem to be more marketing vehicles than television talk shows, and fictional media which is much more focused on consumerism than it seems it has been.

Pozner asserted at the beginning of the book that her aim was not to provide a know all insight or solutions, rather to foster discussions which can be extended upon within the community to promote media literacy. Well, that she did. A great resource for teachers and academics. A must read for feminists and media critics. And, a requirement for everyone else. Know what you are being sold, and remember... sometimes what you are being sold is more sinister than a simple product. Regressive 1950s values should stay in the past. They irked us on I Dream of Jeannie and Bewitched, and they should continue to do so.

[Jennie · Rating 5 out of 5]

If reality television is a disaster, Jennifer Pozner (founder of Women In Media & News) is its forensic investigator: making sense out of seemingly harmless shows like American Idol, The Bachelor, America’s Next Top Model, Flavor of Love, and others. With stellar, absorbing insight, she teases apart the decade-long history of reality television, examining its impact on our culture, its toxic messages, and how and why it has come to dominate the airwaves. Startlingly progressive, Pozner leaves no stereotype untouched: from blacks, to women, to gays, and to less-talked about (but no less important) minorities like transgendered people and Asian-Americans, she argues that reality television thrives and persists on the ugliest, most bigoted stories unscrupulous television producers have to sell. Funny, poignant, and seriously educational, Reality Bites Back is required reading for everyone living in the era of “reality” television.

[LL · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have truly appalling taste when it comes to television - Give me Housewives, Top Models, and Bachelors, and I'm a happy girl. I am also a person with moderate intelligence who can easily pick out the manipulative editing, set-ups, and product placements on my own. It's cheap, mindless entertainment, and it's necessary to turn my mind off and just let silliness wash over it every now and then. I am not being slowly brainwashed, or turned into a mindless consumerist zombie, or buying into the Bachelor version of romance. I don't agree with Posner's belief that everyone who watches reality tv is being affected by it on some level. Since I don't buy into that, the stakes of her argument are pretty much nonexistent. Made for a somewhat interesting read due to her lively writing style, but by the end, when it came to the chapters on activism, I had completely checked out. There are bigger fish to fry than Tyra Banks.

[Jesse · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a great intro to women's studies genre book. Well written and compelling from that perspective. Definitely reads academic and pretty beauty myth basic.

As I was reading it I kept thinking the book would be so much better if she explored more of how people watched and viewed reality tv instead of the basic facts about what was happening and why it was sexist, racist,classist. Most of my friends watching reality tv are well aware of these points and the fun is in the reading and dialogue around what is happening - not around making fun of the characters but around making fun of the process of filming, almost.

I think this book might have been better if the author was actually a fan and actually got a bit emotional when Tila said goodbye to dani.

[Steven Evatt · Rating 1 out of 5]

The antidotes about issues with different reality programs were generally good. However, the book seemed a bit scatter brained in organization. Pozner contradicted herself multiple times saying something was bad on one show, to only then claim it was also bad when on a different show they did the exact opposite. She was looking for reasons to interject liberal social angst everywhere she could. If every person on a show had to do the same act, if one or two of them were black, she would claim racism against the black contestants, although they were doing the exact same challenge has their while, yellow, etc, contestants. The not so subtle subtext of feminism and liberal social justice ruined what could have been a very interesting read for me.

[Arlie · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting and insightful look at reality TV from media critic Jennifer Pozner. First, Pozner looks at the genre itself - the manipulations of camera and of the people involved. She then goes on to analyze the patterns of reality TV in portraying women, relationships, and people of colour. Overall, it's a disturbing picture that should mean viewers are watching with a critical lens. As we should all know by now, what we watch has an affect on us, even when we think it's 'just for fun'. I especially liked the illustration that people admitted the Cosby show changed the way they viewed different types of people, even though they knew it was a scripted show.

[S · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author wasted 300+ pages repeatedly positing the same argument, namely that reality television is sexist, classist and racist. (Most of us have already figured this out. Reality television is certainly not subtle or nuanced.)

[Marissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

everyone who watches reality tv, and even tv in general, should read this book!

[Rabbit {Paint me like one of your 19th century gothic heroines!} · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was AWESOME. It made it's point without being over-judgmental of people who enjoy reality t.v. This was a refreshing read.

[Danielle · Rating 2 out of 5]

interesting topic....that was covered in the introduction. the book is completely repetitive. i just kept saying to myself 'didn't she already say this.'

[lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is very "media literacy/feminism 101". If you already think critically about the media you consume, skip this book. It might be an alright read for teens though.

[Kylie Hennagin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’d been struggling to finish this and skimmed the resources portion, but my biggest takeaway is that while the media/reality TV landscape hasn’t changed in many ways it’s actually gone through a dramatic shift with the rise of social media and influencers. I’d love to know the author’s perspective on that, because reading this book in 2024 felt dated.

You could make the argument that women-centered reality TV shows like Housewives give a glimpse into the lives of working women and promote feminism in some ways, while Bachelor contestants gaining millions of followers on IG, parlaying that to influencer-level money and their own stream of income, gives women agency.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who watched many of the shows discussed and critiqued in this book, I found it really interesting to reflect back on the values that were portrayed and how that may have not only influence me, but society as a whole.

I appreciate that the 'we just reflect what society wants' argument for reality TV was discussed towards the end about how it's a distorted funhouse mirror influence by money, sponsors, and the ideas of the creators of the shows. There were also some really great tips at the end of how to have and foster media literacy.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reality Bites Back is a very thick book. There are millions and millions of hours of reality TV and different types of reality TV, and so this book needs to be thick to accomplish its goal. In part, I think it does, but in other aspects, it doesn't.
If I had titled this book, it would've been Unscripted Women Bite Back: Age Old Views in Reality TV or something of the sort. Most of the book focuses on women, which is probably the author's strong point, but I think that made this book weak. Gender does not exist in a vacuum, and we know that more than one gender exists. Degrading women doesn't just hurt women. It also hurts men, and reality TV shows men in a negative light. The book only contains a few paragraphs about men, but I feel like it would've been a stronger argument if a whole chapter or more was dedicated to how men are falsely represented on TV.

The themes go in between women, minorities, and LGBTQ (I'm sorry if I missed a group). It's great that the author has lots of material, but all of it gets mashed into a big jumble and it's hard to dissect apart. I think the author had good intentions of separating topics by chapters, but then topics blended into each, and women issues ended up in chapters about LGBTQ. Those issues are probably connected, but it would've been nice if she created a few borders between them so that the topics were more understandable. I thought that maybe the author could've divided it by TV shows, but then lots of TV shows share similar themes, so that wouldn't have worked either. Honestly, there are just too many themes and topics to discuss about reality TV, and not all of them can fit into a book. It might've been better if she wrote multiple books on reality TV, each focusing on a different theme or different type of reality TV.

The chapter at the end of the book is fun and thought provoking. She encourages you to keep watching your favorite reality TV shows, but to speak up, make fun of, or analyze what's going on as you watch the show. I wanted to try her ideas and attempted to watch The Kardashian Show...but I failed miserable. That show really bored me, so maybe I'll try another one later.

I feel like this book just scraps the top of reality TV, like taking the sugar off the top of homemade jelly. If you really want to experience the jelly, you have to take some of the sugar with the jelly underneath, bit by bit at a time. That's not something this book does. The book's argument just goes on and on, which can leave you mentally exhausted. While reading this, I wanted to take a step back and just think about a point Pozner made and digest it. I also wanted to find out more information and read more sources about the topic before moving on.

Basically, if you're interested in TV and cultural views, then I'd recommend this book, but I'd also recommend you read something else. It's a good book to have in your repertoire to get an idea of reality TV, but I don't think it should be the one-all and be-all book that you read. Another way to put it is if you were writing an essay on Reality TV, I'd suggest you read this book to get an idea of what to write about and basic knowledge, but don't quote it as a source when you get into the deeper details of your paper (unless you're actually using it to make your point, of course).

As a side note, I don't watch reality TV unless my mom is watching. Every time she watches it, I don't see what's so great or attractive about watching other people's lives. That's just weird to me and makes me feel like an awkward peeper...

[Kitty Jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jennifer Pozner in Reality Bites Back: The Troubling Truth about Guilty Pleasure TV builds a case against the "mindless" entertainment of reality TV and points out how dangerous it can be, as it promotes sexism, racism, and advertises directly to its viewers while bypassing the normal restrictions placed on advertising.

While the book was comprehensive and Pozner did an excellent job building her case, there didn't seem to be anything new in this. Even Pozner admitted that most people are consciously aware of these pitfalls in reality television, but points out that subconsciously, we tend to accept these messages and incorporate them into our worldview. While I have no doubts that this is the case, it does make for a read that can best be summed up as, "Well, yeah."

In some respects, I am not the ideal reader for this book; I do not watch reality TV, nor do I follow it even a little bit. Pozner clearly didn't expect this, because she rarely gives even a brief summary of what a show is, which led me to have to google several shows to find out what on earth Pozner was talking about. While I realize I am not the target audience, it was still a tad annoying to have to pause the book in order to look things up, especially when other times she defines things that most people should know: if you're reading a book of this critical thought and this long, I would assume that you know what Stockholm syndrome or schadenfreude is.

Still, Pozner redeems herself with a genuinely interesting chapter about advertising in reality TV. While most people are aware of the conspicuous drinks of Coke by the American Idol judges or the apparently absolutely appallingly obvious shills for Cover Girl in America's Next Top Model, few are aware that several of these shows have almost complete creative control over the actual show itself, or have even completely sponsored a show to the point that it is little more than a vehicle for advertisements, which allow them to skirt FCC regulations and restrictions on advertising. In one worrisome prediction, Pozner posits that antidepressants or other medications could be next to be shilled on these shows, which is a troubling vision of the future.

Unfortunately, that chapter was the only one that contained something truly new. There was nothing particularly new or enlightening about the book, nor even things we already knew told in a way that made it seem new ala Neil Postman; all in all, a solid book, but not one likely to impart anything you didn't already know before.