Every reality TV competition features a panel of judges, usually three to five professionals, who have the knowledge to guide each entrant.
The genre has been famed for its simple yet effective format. The nice judges, who always has something positive to say. The mean judge, who is hard to impress, and the cool judge, who is the perfect balance between the two.
Watching them share opinions has given people the vocabulary to critique the different worlds they tune into on their televisions.
Thanks to Idols SA, people are now able to deduce when they don’t like someone’s pitch. They can even deduce how their voice type is not suited for a certain song choice.
People can even take expert photographs thanks to the pearls of wisdom seen on shows like America’s Next Top Model.
In an article by Washington Post journalists Hannah Jewell and Anna Rothschild, they found that when watching something you aren’t interested in, your brain is left inactive. This also includes a TV character you are not particularly interested in.
However, through an MRI scan they found out that reality TV had a tendency to have an affect on your rage. Even to the extent of relating to characters who stir the pot, which is no surprise considering numerous studies have found reality TV tends to make people more prone to bully others or promote interpersonal drama.
Considering these effects, do the judging panels not have an effect on people as well?
Social media is often inundated with passionate dilettantes, who are more than eager to be heralded for their opinions. Whether it's black Twitter, Facebook groups or conversations on radio, it seems we have birthed a society of unqualified professionals who use accessible information to put others down and lift themselves up.
I could not help but say about the differing spin this would have when watching the most challenging reality TV competition, RuPaul’s Drag Race.
The seventh instalment of their All Star season sees previous winners of the show duke it out for the ultimate winner’s title. The show’s panel usually takes on harsh critic with its resident mean judge being known for her discerning eye when it comes to fashion and beauty. But in the current All Star season, the judges are always giving positive feedback.
In the past, contestants like Jaremi Carey and Nina Bonina Brown have felt the brunt of being framed as villains by producers or fans. Doubled up with bad critiques from judges, they leave the show with careers in less than favourable conditions.
As a result they often leave these career paths much like other unsuccessful contestants on Top Model or the Idols franchise.
Not only are they dealing with a terrible panel, they have to face fans who are overly invested in the plot of the show and the opinions they have garnered from the judges.
So with this revolutionary take on a panel of reality TV judges, Drag Race allows the careers of each contestant to stay intact, surviving the onslaught of harsh critique that makes a mockery of them.
It makes me wonder just how much of a different society we would have if this played out in different reality shows today. Would Idols SA contestants walk out of their respective seasons to audiences a little more open to listening to fresh talent?
Would the Top Model cast be in healthier states of mind rather than reeling from the trauma of starring in the overproduced nightmare?
Is it not time reality TV competitions take a page out of cooking shows like MasterChef where your skills and failures are the key to success?
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