1. Olutoye Adegboro
November 10, 2011
TV/Not TV

3. • Reality television is centered around the idea of
surveillance
• The filming techniques in some ways emulate
surveillance footage
• The central “characters” are aware that their lives are
being filmed
• Because these central characters are “real,” we as
viewers feel we have the opportunity to know them, much
in the same way we feel we personally (wish we could)
know fictional characters

5. Can we consider
something that has
been deemed fictional
programming to
actually be another
embodiment of reality
television?

7. The Office is often regarded as a
“mockumentary,” primarily because of
its filming style, but the show
shares many of its signature features
with elements of contemporary reality
television shows. In fact, these
elements have become so vital to the
identity of The Office that the show
may be the start of a new wave of
reality television shows.

9. Kelly Kapoor, Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi,
The Office The Jersey Shore

10. From left to right: Angela
Kinsey as Angela Martin,
Oscar Nunez as Oscar
Martinez, and Phyllis
Smith as Phyllis Lapin-
Vance
From left to right: Steven
Tyler as Steven Tyler,
Jennifer Lopez as Jennifer
Lopez, and Randy Jackson
as Randy Jackson

11. “Diversity Day,” The Office
Survivor: Cook
Islands

12. “Beach Games,” The Office

13. “Double Date,” The Office
Keeping Up with the
Kardashians, Season 1

14. A Map of Countries Airing a Variation of the Reality TV Series Big Brother

15. The Office, United States The Office, United Kingdom La Ofis, Chile La Job, Canada (Quebec)
Stromberg, Germany Le Bureau, France HaMisrad, Israel

16. The Office exhibits many of the traits
viewers have associated with contemporary
reality television. However, the popular NBC
program lends reality television some of the
traits that have for a long time considered
to be exclusively associated with “fictional
programming.”

17. The Real World
American Idol
The Office
The Jersey Shore

19. Michael Scott, Jeff Probst,
The Office Survivor
A “fictionalized” television program like The Office and a recognized
reality television show like Survivor both attempt to mimic real-life
situations to an extent. The Office uses conventions of reality television
to assert its “realness” and so do shows such as Survivor, although
their use of these conventions are not surprising, but expected. Reality
television shows also make use of the conventions associated with
fictionalized television.

20. So if the situations in
both of these types of
television shows are
contrived to an extent,
but still make a valid
attempt to properly mimic
reality, where is the
line drawn between
fictional and reality
television?

22. • Geico Commercial, 2006
• Celotta, Jennifer, and Greg Daniels. "Beach Games." The Office.
NBC. 10 May 2007. Television.
• Chun, Daniel. "Nepotism." The Office. NBC. 23 Sept. 2010.
Television.
• Eisenberg, Lee, and Gene Stupnitsky. "Weight Loss." The Office.
NBC. 25 Sept. 2008. Television.
• Grandy, Charlie. "Double Date." The Office. NBC. 5 Nov. 2009.
Television.
• Novak, B.J. "Diversity Day." The Office. NBC. 29 Mar. 2005.
Television.
• "X-Cops." The X-Files. FOX. 20 Feb. 2000. Television.
• Images were also provided by the television shows The Jersey
Shore, Survivor: Cook Islands, American Idol and Keeping Up With
the Kardashians
• In addition to the episodes and shows featured, images were also
provided by Wikipedia, People Magazine, and Google Images