The Bib.

Stepp, Edwin, and Bill Welch."Reality Bites." Vision. 2002 (scholarly article; 10-50 years) Article written in 2002 when reality TV was first emerging. Interesting because the creator of Survivor, Mark Burnett, is quoted in the article as admitting everything on Survivor to be “completely contrived”. At the end of the article, they start to argue towards the negative side of reality TV, and pose the question of how reality TV might become really horrid (possibly even resembling the “gruesome events that occurred in ancient Rome”) in the next 10 years. Being 10 years in the future, I can assure them it’s gotten graphic, but not that graphic.

Wyatt, Wendy N., and Kristie Bunton. The Ethics of Reality TV: A Philosophical Examination. New York: Continuum, 2012. Print. (found browsing the library shelves; 1-5 years) Offers the interesting point that reality TV provides messages about “who comprises our community and how they behave”. This is incredibly similar to Shakespeare’s tinkering with the class system found in England at the time. You can often find plays that have the lower class and their brash manners as well as the higher placed aristocracy. In his comedies, he uses the mannerisms as well as fallacies of both to create humor and entertainment- the same technique that shows like The Simple Life and The Real World use. 

Brecht, Bertolt, and John Willett. Brecht on Theatre; the Development of an Aesthetic.New York: Hill and Wang, 1964. Print. (Suggested by instructor; 10-50 years) Defines theater as “making live representations of reported or invented happenings between human beings and doings so with a view to entertain”. Possible tie to reality TV, which sometimes will have “live” shows (The Bachelor’s “After the Final Rose”). Also discusses giving theater/entertainment a moral agenda, which people often complain about reality TV’s lack thereof. Brecht says that theater is to entertain, and that giving it some kind of moral/instructional agenda won’t make it better, but possibly even ruin it. 

A Critical Guide to: Reality Television (academic blog...?; 1-5 years) Gives a great overview on the genre of reality TV. Written by a class of students studying reality TV. Discusses casting processes, ethics and history of the genre.

Can't seem to get over my love of books.
This digital stuff is a challenge!

Kavka, Misha. Reality TV. Edinburgh: Edinburgh UP, 2012. Print. (found browsing shelves; < 1 year) Discusses what defines reality as a genre. Will be great for my section on, well, what defines reality TV.

Brown, Ivor. Shakespeare in His Time. Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd. Edinburgh. 1960. (found in Paul's bibliography; scholarly monograph; 10-50 years) I haven't had the opportunity to get my hands on this book since it's currently checked out, but I places an ILL on it, so hopefully by the end of next week I can have one for myself :)! From how Paul described it, the book will be perfect for my argument on how reality TV and Shakespeare have similar roots, including the poor acting and critical hatred that both have managed to generate. 

Brustein, Robert Sanford. The Tainted Muse: Prejudice and Presumption in Shakespeare and His Time. New Haven: Yale UP, 2009. Print. (found through HBLL database; scholarly monograph; 1-5 years) Talks about reoccurring prejudices found in some of Shakespeare’s play (elitism, distrust of effeminacy, racism, etc.) and how his contemporaries reacted to those themes. This is great because reality TV has a lot of those same themes!