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  • TIME

    REALITY TV HAS SHAPED OUR WORLD

    Aug 12, 2022 5 minutes
    BY JUDY BERMAN
    Time Off is reported by Solcyre Burga and Simmone Shah

    I’M NOT HERE TO MAKE FRIENDS. I’M HERE TO win.” So goes the ultimate reality-TV cliché, one popularized by the first season of Survivor, which got viewers hooked on competitions between “real people” cashing in the 15 minutes of fame that are the birthright of all Americans. Two decades later, the declaration has proved true of the genre itself. Critics, social scientists, and even fans keep unearthing revelations about reality TV’s crass manipulations and toxic tropes. Yet the genre has conquered the culture and claimed its prize: our attention.

    Reality TV has radically altered the landscapes of celebrity, politics, and power. Its stars have penetrated every corner of the entertainment industry, from Harry Styles and Cardi B on the pop charts to

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