My Soulmate Thesis

I'm doing it, even though you all will hate me for it.

I'm going to make you squirm in your seats and rethink everything you ever thought you knew about Shakespeare. I'm going to turn your world upside down and blow your mind.

I'm going to claim reality TV as a modern-day Shakespeare derivative.

I argue that reality TV is a derivative of Shakespearean theater (with maybe a little less class), even finding its roots in early theatrical aspects such as commedia dell’Arte, or the use of stock characters. By focusing on the artistic, albeit ridiculous, aspects of reality TV such as editing to form a plot and the creation and dramatization of stock characters, we can shed reality TV in a new light, taking away from some of the superficiality that we can't seem to shake in reality TV.