When we watch shows like “The Bachelor” and “Flavor of Love”, it’s easy to be consumed by the constant drama and not even questions how we came to enjoy the idea “reality” as a form of entertainment. In comparison to other kinds of television shows, the history of reality television is quite short. The first show of its kind didn’t air until the 1970s, with “An American Family.” The show, or more specifically the twelve-hour documentary series, followed the lives of the Loud family of Santa Barbara, California for the span of seven months. Over the span of this twelve part series “viewers watched dramatic life events unfold, including Pat asking for a separation from her husband Bill, and the bohemian New York lifestyle of their gay son, Lance” (PBS anniversary website)
Although “An American Family” does not fit in line with the dating game theme of the contemporary examples we think of when we think of reality television, it is considered to have set the stage for the reality TV phenomenon. The show was produced during a time of national turmoil regarding cultural, political, and economical issues. As a result, this show was a direct commentary of the issues troubling America at the time seeing as it “attacked bourgeois institutions like marriage, capitalism, and the American dream” (Taddeo and Dvorak 84). More than just set the stage for what reality television was to look like or even encompass, “An American Family” also helped reveal what the viewer truly wants—drama!
When you question why it is we watch the shows we do it isn’t for the social commentary—if there is any—it’s the drama that keeps us engaged. This is the aspect of entertainment that was further pushed and perfected in reality television with such shows like “The Dating Game.” The aim of the show was to match the contest with a fit date. The contestant would ask three potential dates questions without being able to see them, so their decision was mainly based on how they responded to the questions. While the first episode of “The Dating Game” aired in 1965—a couple of years before the first reality TV show—this show is included in this discussion of reality television because it was the first of the dating show genre. Regardless of the show’s original air date, the show encompassed the aspect of “An American Family” that made it successful—the aspect of spectacle for the sake of entertainment—at whatever the cost.
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