Stereotypes of reality show characters

Several adjectives can describe the majority of male characters on reality television shows. Vulgar, obnoxious, drunk, clowning, violent, whoring, and inconsiderate are several, but there is a new breed of reality television that is beginning to highlight males in a much different manner. Shows like Pawn Stars, Rob Dyrdek’s Fantasy Factory, and American Pickers are beginning to pop up on several networks and they attempt to show their male characters as intelligent, good-guy businessmen with positive intent.

Pawn Stars and American Pickers both air on the History channel, and though still considered “reality television,” they can hardly be uttered in the same sentence as Jersey Shore or The Real World. Pawn Stars is a show about a family owned pawn shop that does things the “right way” unlike most crooked pawn shops you’ll find on average street corners. Rick and his father own the shop, while Rick’s son Cory helps to manage it. They are not typical male reality show characters in that they showcase their extent of knowledge about the vast array of historical pieces that come into their shop and run a legitimate and successful business. American Pickers is about a couple high school buddies who go around the US looking for forgotten antiques stored away in rotting barns and storage sheds. They attempt to buy these items from the owners so they can sell them in their own shop. Again, they run a legitimate business and are very educated/knowledgeable. The characters in these shows seem to have something to offer the world while characters of some of the more popular reality shows come off as mostly mindless.

Rob Dyrdek, while vastly different from the characters in the previously mentioned shows, is another reality television show personality who doesn’t tend to follow along with all the stereotypical adjectives of most reality television males. He definitely has the carefree, “I want to have fun all the time” attitude, but he is also a successful businessman who goes out of his way to give back to the community. Most episodes of his show attempt to show this side of him, though not always. However, even if the businessman trait isn’t always highlighted, the show definitely rejects the typical stereotypes like the “obnoxious, drunk man whore.”

Reality television is seemingly everywhere now, and it is important to remember that it’s simply an umbrella term. Within the genre there are an endless amount of sub-categories that could be specifically identified. For that reason, the typical stereotypes of male, as well as female, reality television personalities need to be wiped clean because as shown by my examples above, they definitely do not apply to all.