The purpose of reality shows: Selling dreams<\/p>\n
Ardimas Sasdi, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Jamhuri, a fisherman, lived in a humble house with his wife
\nand two children in a hamlet in Semarang, Central Java. The
\nfamily had long dreamt of having a decent house to live in, but
\nthe dream only materialized when a crew from a TV reality show
\nshowed up one day last month.<\/p>\n
On that fateful day, a female crew member from the show,
\ndriving a BMW, visited the Jamhuris in their modest house. After
\nintroducing herself and the purpose of her visit, the woman, clad
\nin denim trousers and a T-shirt, told Jamhuri that said she
\nplanned to repair his house -- of course, at her company's
\nexpense.<\/p>\n
Not believing at the offer, Jamhuri and his wife stood
\nperplexed for some time, then gently nodded after looking to each
\nother for approval. Still dumbfounded, the family was then taken
\naway in the luxury car to a four-star hotel, where they stayed
\nuntil the repairs were completed.<\/p>\n
Minutes after leaving, a dozen or so workers in uniforms
\narrived to do the makeover of Jamhuri's house. A truck rolled up,
\nloaded with building materials and equipment required to do the
\nwork.<\/p>\n
Twelve hours later, the simple family were taken back to their
\nhome by the TV crew. The Jamhuris were greeted like VIPs on their
\nreturn by their neighbors -- some of whom must have been
\nintensely jealous of the lucky family -- with everything being
\nfilmed by the TV crew. The house had been totally reconditioned
\n-- new doors, ceilings installed, floors fitted with ceramic
\ntiles, and walls repainted in European colors. And the little
\nkiosk used by Jamhuri's wife to supplement their meager income
\nwas redesigned. The house was filled with new furniture and
\nelectronic items.<\/p>\n
This was a brief scene from a \"reality\" TV show called Bedah
\nRumah (Home Makeover). The show, a product of a popular trend
\namong local television stations at the moment, is aired by RCTI
\nat 6 p.m. every Sunday.<\/p>\n
There are very many other so-called reality shows being shown
\non local television, some of them highly sought after, and range
\nfrom programs about supernatural powers to music. Among them are
\nTrans TV's Uji Nyali (Test of Courage), RCTI's Uang Kaget (Quick
\nMoney), SCTV's Harap Harap Cemas (Hope and Fear), ANTV's Penghuni
\nTerakhir (Last Resident) and TV7's Buset.<\/p>\n
Most of the shows aired by local broadcasters were produced by
\nexternal production houses, including Bedah Rumah. This system of
\nproduction helps TV stations cut costs, and also provides a
\nconvenient excuse to evade responsibility when \"accidents\"
\nhappen.<\/p>\n
A striking example of such an \"accident\" was the Candid
\nCamera-like show called Membikin Orang Panik (Making People
\nPanic), which claimed the careers of police officers from a
\npolice station in Kebon Jeruk, West Jakarta. In an episode aired
\nby RCTI on May 26, First Lt. Sunarjo helped the crew of the
\nAvicom production house \"arrest\" Piko, a university student, by
\nframing him on charges of possessing a knife and a large quantity
\nof marijuana. Upset by the involvement of his personnel in the
\nshow, which also sparked a public outcry, the Jakarta Police
\nchief sacked Sunarjo and reprimanded his colleague. But RCTI's
\nreaction was lamentable, merely saying that, \"We deeply regret
\nthe incident\".<\/p>\n
Woe also befell Trans TV, which was sued by a woman for
\nunpleasant and felonious acts, over the production of a show
\ncalled Paranoid. In one scene the woman was among people who were
\nscared out of their wits by \"ghosts\" and other macabre beings.<\/p>\n
Physical harm is just one of many potential hazards of these
\nreality shows, which are usually aired by TV stations during
\nprime time and packaged in attractive ways to raise their
\nratings.<\/p>\n
Some of the shows even promote supernatural beliefs, such as
\nLaTivi's Pemburu Hantu (Ghostbusters) and Trans TV's Dunia Lain
\n(Other World) and ANTV's Tuyul Millennium.<\/p>\n
The screening of these types of shows -- adding to the
\nexisting voyeuristic \"crime reporting\" programs shown by local
\ntelevision -- is not only 'uneducational' but also extremely
\nunhelpful in a country where education levels are so low. The
\nhead of a Yogyakarta hospital psychiatric ward, Soewadi, said
\nthat the number of people suffering from delusions and symptoms
\nof schizophrenia in the city was on the rise lately, partly due
\nto frequent exposure to supernatural reality shows on television.<\/p>\n
Other reality shows, like RCTI's Indonesian Idol, similar to
\nthe U.S. American Idol, Indosiar's Akademi Fantasi Indosiar (AFI)
\nand TPI's Kontes Dangdut Indonesia (KDI), at least have some
\neducational value for the contestants. In these shows,
\nparticipants must undergo rigorous testing and training organized
\nby people expert in their fields. But even these programs, which
\nhave driven parents hungry for name and fame to push their
\nchildren to join the contests, are riddled with moral
\nshortcomings.<\/p>\n
Winners were selected by viewers, not by experienced juries.
\nSupport for a contestant was conveyed via Short Message Service
\n(SMS), and such support was usually based upon the contestants
\nhome town rather than their talent. Each SMS message cost between
\nRp 2,000 (US 21 cents) and Rp 3,000, far above the normal rate of
\naround Rp 300.<\/p>\n
The number of SMSs received by TV stations for these programs,
\ncommonly run over four months, varies, but the three TV stations
\nconcerned said they received between 2 and 4 million SMSs.
\nIndosiar reportedly received Rp 4.5 billion in income from SMS
\nmessages alone, which was shared between the TV station, the
\ntelephone companies, and the providers handling the SMS flow. The
\nproblem with this is that the majority of people sending these
\nmessages are by no means wealthy, but rather low-income people
\neasily influenced by primordial links with the participants.<\/p>\n
Television stations also received income from advertisements,
\nfrom proceeds from sales of tickets to the shows, as well as from
\ncassette and CD sales.<\/p>\n
Realizing that the public have to some extent woken up to this
\nexploitative business, some TV stations now offer prizes to woo
\nviewers into sending SMSs. But the most serious moral quandary is
\nthat these shows sell dreams of instant success, which of course
\nis far from reality -- except in very rare cases such as Jamhuri
\nand others.<\/p>\n
The author is a staff writer at The Jakarta Post.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/the-purpose-of-reality-shows-selling-dreams-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }