Love Island, The Contemporary Freak Show, & The Ethical Reality Tv Paradox

Jordan Theresa July 2, 2025
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Jordan Theresa

@jordanatheresa

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pop culture & internet trends video essayist icon by @drawingdawnart For business enquiries - [email protected]

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To learn more about NOCD, click this link - https://learn.nocd.com/jordantheresa Follow me :)))) Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jordanatheresa/ TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@jordanatheresa/ My podcast - https://www.youtube.com/@UCT7LVfpCsULPpBOXIoK_ACg Time stamps: 00:00 - Intro 05:06 - From social experiment to multi-million business model 14:12 - Explaining the reality tv boom 19:16 - The myth of unscripted entertainment 26:42 - Reality tv as the contemporary freak show 37:32 - In defence of reality tv Sources: https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/dec/12/viewers-enjoy-seeing- people-suffer-reality-tvs-desperate-struggle-to-be-more-ethical (‘Viewers enjoy seeing people suffer’: reality TV’s desperate struggle to be more ethical by Serena Smith) https://christopherkelsall.substack.com/p/the-death-of-reality-television-is (The Death of Reality Television is Nigh Upon Us and I Could Not Be Happier by Dirge Rhetoric) https://www.sleek-mag.com/article/sleek-peek-the-history-of-reality-tv/ (SLEEK PEEK: The History of Reality TV) https://www.bkmag.com/2024/09/02/the-history-of-reality-tv-from-radio-roots-to-the- election-of-trump (THE HISTORY OF REALITY TV, FROM RADIO ROOTS TO TRUMP’S TRIUMPH by Brian Braiker) https://www.ukessays.com/essays/media/the-unethical-and-corrupting-side-of- reality-television-negative-impact-of-reality-television-on-society.php (The Unethical & Corrupting Side of Reality Television) https://discourseinferno.substack.com/p/reality-tv-deserves-your-respect? utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web (Reality TV deserves your respect by Jess) https://aldaily.substack.com/p/reality-tv-moral-tests-and-more (Reality TV, Moral Tests, and More) https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/dec/11/contestants-sleep- deprivation-reality-tv-apprentice-love-island-squid-game-celebrity (‘I was in tears, angry, emotional’: do reality TV shows use sleep deprivation to trigger meltdowns and showdowns? by Amelia Tait) https://bigthinkbooks.substack.com/p/breaking-taboos-and-blurring-truths? utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web (Breaking taboos and blurring truths: How reality TV has shaped society in its own image) https://www.bbc.co.uk/culture/article/20240311-legal-rights-of-reality-tv-stars (What are the legal rights of reality TV stars, really?) https://www.newstatesman.com/comment/2024/12/the-complaint-that-could-change- reality-tv (The complaint that could change reality TV) https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/nov/16/reality-tv-lessons-in- philosophy (What reality TV can teach us by Kathryn Bromwich) https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/08/technology/08iht-reality.1.7793893.html (On reality TV, producers face moral and legal dilemmas by Jeremy W. Peters https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/tv-shows/a-complete-timeline-of-lawsuits-and- allegations-brought-against-love-is-blind/ (A Complete Timeline of Lawsuits and Allegations Brought Against ‘Love Is Blind’ by Quincy Legardye) https://tellthebeees.substack.com/p/who-are-you (Who are you? by Tell the Bees) https://epochemagazine.org/47/the-specter-of-reality-tv/ (The Specter of Reality TV by Alexandra Fall) https://emilyebaker.substack.com/p/the-lessons-we-learn-from-reality? utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web (The Lessons We Learn from Reality TV by Emily Baker) https://tellthebeees.substack.com/p/the-sociology-of-begging-someone? r=o0mez&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&triedRedirect=true (The Sociology of Begging Someone to Marry You) https://intellectdiscover.com/content/journals/10.1386/jptv.3.2.213_1 (Supersize vs. Superskinny: (Re)framing the freak show in contemporary popular culture by Allison Leadley, The Journal of Popular Television) https://www.mamamia.com.au/supersize-vs-superskinny/ (We need to talk about the f'ed up binfire that was Supersize vs Superskinny by Clare Stephens) https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:221c520e-6527-4595-9356-ac7c287fa4f5/files/ maa0a86dbbc7d8fffece8050f21e0326c (Class, learning and redemption in Supersize vs Superskinny by K Eli) https://thesilencedpeople.substack.com/p/the-ethics-of-entertainment? utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web (The Ethics of Entertainment by The Silenced People) https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/reality-tv-show- problem_n_66d75086e4b09a3ee66ca635 (I Edit Reality TV Shows. Here's What I Wish Fans Knew About The Industry. by Timothy Hedden) https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/psychologists-in-trouble-for-big- brother-711122.html (Psychologists in trouble for 'Big Brother’ by Cahal Milmo) NOTE: from 2000 https://culturestudypod.substack.com/p/the-complicated-future-of-reality (The Complicated Future of Reality TV by Anne Helen Petersen) https://thecommonthred.substack.com/p/watching-reality-tv-doesnt-make-you? utm_campaign=email-half- post&r=210524&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email (watching reality tv doesn’t make you a bad person by Jessica Byrne) For business enquiries - [email protected]

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