Reality Television-The role of the church in our lust for authenticity

A recent article I wrote for my Re:Train class

Reality Television-The role of the church in our lust for authenticity

By Derek Fekkes

My wife and I have recently become fans of the reality shows Duck Dynasty and Gold Rush. This is reality TV at its finest. What’s not to like about watching “real” people live in worlds that are completely foreign to our own? I’m never going to go digging for gold in Alaska or be a wealthy redneck duck hunter with a beard the size of a shovelhead, but watching others live out these roles is sure entertaining.

Reality Television is dominating the networks. According to the Nielsen ratings, six of the top ten primetime shows for the week of March 25th, 2013 were reality shows. Just when you think they couldn’t possibly come up with another idea for a reality show, there’s an ad for one in which celebrities learn the art of diving (Splash on ABC). There are even (fully) scripted shows that emulate the reality concept (The Office, Reno 911!). For a while, it seemed like reality TV was going to be a fad that would fade away before too long. Now, with Survivor on its 26th season, American Idol on its 12th season, and a reality show for any taste or fancy, there is clearly something significant about reality TV that keeps us tuning in.

Are we merely looking for entertainment? Is it simply our fascination with those who have reached celebrity status? Surely these motivations play into the time we are willing to devote to watching reality TV. Yet entertainment comes in many different forms and there is no shortage of celebrity gossip from many other outlets. I submit that the reality TV craze cannot be fully explained without taking into account a human quest for authenticity.

Authenticity sells. On the front flap of their 2007 book, Authenticity, authors James Gilmore and B. Joseph Pine II say, “In our increasingly experience driven world, consumers crave what’s authentic.  Has your company figured out what to do about it?”  The book then advises companies to be genuine, or at least to appear to be genuine.    

Enter, Reality TV. Reality TV purports to show us real people in real situations, as opposed to trained actors in scripted situations. The belief is that people want to see the unscripted and raw lives of ordinary people. Reality TV shows are produced and marketed on the idea that authenticity sells.

By now, it’s widespread knowledge that reality TV is not entirely real (Are we supposed to believe that Si actually bought a groomed poodle as a duck-hunting dog?).  Scenes and lines are often scripted and the highly edited nature puts the outcome of the final product squarely in the hands of the producers and editors.  

But we still flock to these shows like Kelly Clarkson wannabes to an American Idol audition. Despite our knowledge of the contrived “authenticity”, we talk about the portrayal of these “non-stars” as if it were entirely raw and unfiltered. We laugh as if the scenes were not edited and scripted to bring a laugh. Perhaps it is simply the most authentic thing available.

Yet while reality TV reveals our desire for authenticity, surely we put too much stock in reality TV to satisfy this desire? We spend hours passively partaking in the “Real World” of reality TV at the expense of engaging the actual world that is around us every day. We are more fascinated with someone else’s reality then our own. A 2012 Nielsen report found that Americans spend an average of 34 hours a week watching TV. With six out of the current top ten primetime shows being reality shows, we can assume that the average American spends around 20 hours a week watching reality TV. For many of us, we likely spend more time studying the “real” lives of those on TV then in pursuing the friends, family, co-workers, and neighbors present in our everyday lives.

We build “privacy” fences around our houses; we buy bigger lots so we don’t have to live so close to others; we live in apartments to be nearer the action, yet make no effort to get to know our neighbors who live five feet away.  We hurry into our homes trying not to make eye contact with our neighbors so we can sit alone on our recliners and enter the reality of people we’ll never meet.

Reality TV appeals to our shared human desires to be known, to have value, and to be real. Yet when we look to it to fulfill these desires, what it offers is a weak substitute.

It is at this point that the Christian church presents something invaluable. The church has the opportunity to offer authentic community better than any other institution, gathering, or reality TV show. By God’s design, the church connects with the deep desires of the human heart for belonging, value and authenticity.

When true to its calling, the church that Jesus called into existence is a community of authentic relationships. It is not a building, a program, a service, a business, or an organization. The Bible uses the organic, connective metaphors of a body and a family to explain the church. It is a group of people bonded together by a shared identity. It is to be characterized by honesty, love, grace, forgiveness, and truth speaking.

Though Christianity has often uncritically adopted the rugged individualism of Western culture, the invitation into the life of Jesus is, among other things, an invitation into authentic community. We are called not just into eternal salvation on a personal level, but to belong to an authentic body of God-worshipers beginning here and lasting into eternity.

Authentic community is hard to find and when found, comes with many challenges. People are selfish, unreliable, and hypocritical. But authentic community is something we need. Despite the mess it often brings, it is worth it. Though the church is not immune to the challenges of community, there is no better place to pursue the authenticity we crave.