‘Fully authenticated by respected scientists’
Fact, fiction, and the roots of paranormal reality shows in American television history
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21783324 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Matt Boyd Smith (Georgia State University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 22 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 669-690 |
| Publication date | 2024-07-02 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | New Review of Film and Television Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1740-0309 • E-ISSN: 1740-7923 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/17400309.2024.2396688 |
| OpenAlex | W4404763909 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 6 |
Paranormal reality shows have been a ubiquitous presence on American television since its inception, though they have not been widely studied in scholarship on reality TV and television history more broadly. This essay sets out to highlight how two of the earliest paranormal reality programs, Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond and In Search Of..., adopted various elements of documentary style and direct audience address in order to create a sense of realism and immediacy for viewers. The essay also illustrates how these early paranormal reality shows expose the tension between fact and fiction at the heart of the reality show genre by exploring it directly rather than obliquely. In addition to putting these shows into conversation with existing scholarship on reality television style and the concept of televisual realism, the essay also contributes to what might be considered a lost history of paranormal reality programming in the U.S., arguing that these shows should be studied as key elements of reality TV’s history
Aesthetics · Art · Media studies · Paranormal · Sociology · Gothic Literature and Media Analysis · History of Science and Medicine · Medicine · Psychology
| Highly cited | No |
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