Can you make a career out of reality television?

When it comes to reality television programmes, the world is happy to watch the stars forego all sense of privacy in the name of entertainment. But what happens after the glitz and the glamour of selling your private life to the media? Do you suddenly become a ‘somebody’ and use your newfound fame to aid humanitarian purposes? Or do you fade into relative anonymity and become the clown on ‘Never Mind The Buzzcocks’ despite no one in the audience actually remembering your name.

The current trend for reality television is the idea of having cameras follow you around as you go about your daily life. However, as I’ve already discussed, the truthfulness of these shows is highly dubious. Currently on its 6th season, ‘Keeping Up With The Kardashians’ is one such show. The concept is that the audience is allowed special access into the domestic and business lives of the Kardashian family, mainly focusing upon the ‘star’ of the show, Kim Kardashian. This show lets us access the inner workings of the celebrity family. The audience sees a gold medallist at the 1976 Olympic Games, Bruce Jenner, become reduced to a domestic housewife; Kris Kardashian juggle a career with her family; and we even get to see Kim’s sister, Kloe, having a Brazilian. Such is the educational value from this pioneer in sophisticated entertainment. And what benefits have come about by prostituting their family life for television?

Well, Kim’s career has skyrocketed, with only a little help from the sex tape that circulated years ago and her friendship with fellow airhead, Paris Hilton. Kim has become a successful model, released her own fragrance, become a TV personality, and has even had her own spin-off reality TV show, ‘Kim’s Fairytale Wedding’. This show allowed the public uninhibited access into the happiest day of her life: getting married to her boyfriend, Kris Humphries. Although, if there were ever an argument against broadcasting your own wedding, this would be it: a mere seventy-two days later, the couple split. The Twitter trend, #thingslongerthankimsmarriage lasted longer. Similarly, Kloe Kardashian had her own spin-off show, ‘Kloe and Lamar’. So, arguably, the Kardashian family have made quite a name for themselves by making their private lives a commodity.

What about shows without previously established celebrities? We now look at people who’ve made a career out of being born in Essex, through starring in the cultural abomination that is ‘The Only Way Is Essex’. Have any of the characters made it big? Indeed, the characters have become TV personalities. Mark Wright is currently eating bugs and excreting into a hole in ‘I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here!’ whilst co-star Amy Childs recently made an appearance on ‘Never Mind The Buzzcocks’, quite an achievement for someone who’s only concern in life is that she looks like she’s been Tangoed. Furthermore, Mark has also reportedly signed a contract with an LA agent as he is hoping to break into Hollywood. This might be an achievable goal if the man could drag himself away from the tanning beds to focus on a career. Meanwhile, Joey Essex has caught on to the ground-breaking idea that if he puts his name to an idea, it will sell. Apart from launching his own fashion line, Joey has also used his considerable lack of musical talent to make a song entitled ‘Reem’. For those who value their hearing, under no circumstances should you search for it on YouTube. Still, this is quite the accomplishment for a man who matches his hairdryer with the amount of hot air in his brain.

Then, of course, there is one person who personified the idea of making a career by selling your life to television, Jade Goody. Her career began in mid-2002 after appearing on ‘Big Brother’ and after this, it developed exponentially. Goody went on to make fitness DVDs, the staple of washed-up television stars, publish an autobiography and even release a fragrance imaginatively called, “Shh…” One could argue that she achieved a somewhat credible career after appearing on ‘Big Brother’, she even opened up a men’s salon in Essex, however, it wasn’t all plain sailing for her career. Five years after her time in ‘Big Brother’, she returned to the show, only to become the national villain after making racist remarks towards fellow contestant, Shilpa Shetty. Certainly, reality television made Jade Goody into a ‘celebrity’, and thus allowed her to create a career for herself in the public eye. However, there is an irony in that the very show that raised her above ordinary folk made her into the subject of a nation’s hatred.

So what can we glean from these examples of people making careers from baring their lives, warts and all, to the nation? It is undeniable that they have made a career for themselves, but there is an ephemeral quality to it, as it’s often the case that after the original show has faded from memory, so do those who were catapulted into stardom. They may well have lucrative careers, but what about their longevity? Once Essex inhabitants are no longer in vogue, what will happen to Joey Essex and his perfectly maintained hair? Chances are he will end up working in a call centre where ‘reem’ is not considered a credible adjective to use when talking to customers. There is also the greater moral question of people making money out of their private lives. At what point did it become acceptable to make your intimate and private life into a commodity that you can exchange for fame and money? Believing your private life is more important than someone else’s is an extremely narcissistic. A career should give you some sense of accomplishment as you work your way through various positions to get to the dream job. By selling your private life, what exactly is the achievement?