Twenty years ago, the major Quebec television networks launched into a new genre that was both loved and despised: reality TV. Since then, the programs have multiplied, shattering ratings records and gradually winning the heart and respect of both the public and the traditional media. But between the failures, the controversies and the loss of speed of the small screen, can we always predict such a bright future? First text in a series that will continue over the next few weeks.
February 2003, journalist and TV columnist Thérèse Parisien followed with attention on her small screen, like hundreds of thousands of other Quebecers, the arrival of Wilfred LeBouthillier, Marie-Élaine Thibert and their other companions at the Académie de Sainte- Adele. The 14 candidates then discover live the place where they will take singing, dance or theater lessons for several weeks to become full-fledged artists. But they also and above all discover the new environment in which they will live and be filmed 24 hours a day. Unheard of in Quebec.
“I was already following what was being done elsewhere, in France in particular, and I told myself that reality TV was going to arrive in Quebec. But it really hit us all of a sudden and not just a little, ”recalls Thérèse Parisien.
That year, three major productions — some adapted from foreign concepts — landed on the TV schedule. Star Academy kicked off the ball during the winter of 2003, loft story and Double occupation followed in the fall.
Of course, we had known Storefront in the mid-1990s and MixMania in 2002, but that was just the beginnings of mass reality television. “In 2003, we find ourselves with this new format based on the experimental principle of confinement. We take ordinary people, we put them in a cage in a way, we point the cameras and we watch what happens, ”explains television specialist Pierre Barrette, also professor and director of the School of Media at UQAM.
At the time, the concept was creating a buzz in Europe, but Thérèse Parisien didn’t think it would really catch on. “I really thought it would be a wave, a breath of fresh air for Quebec TV, but it wouldn’t last long. Clearly I was wrong! “, she says, laughing.
Twenty years later, it is clear that the television genre has indeed taken root. Shows like Star Academy and Double occupation are still on the program – somewhat revamped after a break – and still attract viewers. But many new formats have also appeared over the years.
Not surprisingly, romantic reality shows are particularly popular and seem to be an inexhaustible concept. let’s think about The island of love, 5 guys for me, Love is in the meadow, If we loved each other, or Trucker heart. Public figures are now embarking on the adventure with dedicated broadcasts, such as Big Brother Celebrities. telecrochets such as The voice Where Revolution are also multiplying visibly. And that’s not to mention the adventure formats that will also make their appearance in 2023, with get me out of here and Survivor.
Reality TV has thus reinvented the codes of the small screen with concepts that are endless. It still brings people together in front of their TV – despite its death announced for years – it generates many discussions on social networks, but also in the traditional media which talk about it today more than ever.
love-hate
But at first, nothing predestined reality TV for such a bright future. As soon as she arrived on the screen, she generated strong criticism from all sides. A large segment of the population describes it as a “tele-trash”. There are cries of voyeurism and the exploitation of human beings by big productions. Following the boring everyday life of ordinary people is viewed with disdain.
“There was really a disgust, hatred, rejection for reality TV. It was not worthy of being interested in it, ”explains Pierre Barrette. Yet, he says, with ratings of 1.3 to 1.8 million — which is a lot in Quebec — that means people were listening to it, but were ashamed to say so. “And those who admitted it were watching reality TV in the second degree, that is to say to laugh at it, turn it ridiculous and empty their brains”, continues the professor.
Thérèse Parisien recognizes this. “For a long time I had trouble saying that I really liked it. Tsé, have you already admitted that you like to listen to the discussion of the couple next to you at the restaurant? It’s super entertaining, but it’s not chic to do it, you feel guilty. So you don’t say it, ”she gives as an example.
Of course, she sometimes talked about it in the course of her work, usually “looking down on it”. Each time, listeners wrote to him to express their dissatisfaction and their incomprehension to see such a “low-end” subject being treated in the media.
“Reality TV has upset a lot of television codes, everyone has been seized, as much the columnists, the television industry as the public. As media, we didn’t really know how to analyze it, how to talk about it, or even how to define it, especially when we saw the strong criticism in society,” recalls the assistant director of information at the To have to Paul Cauchon, who was a TV and media columnist in the early 2000s.
Like many, he’s taken a somewhat condescending stance toward these shows. “2003 will go down in history as the year when all the myths about Quebec television came crashing down. Yes, our television can be as stupid and ridiculous as in other countries. No, we are not immune to stupidity,” he wrote in November 2003.
“I was tough at times,” he admits. “I can’t say that since I became a fan, but clearly reality TV has won. It became encrusted in the landscape, we cannot ignore such a phenomenon. »
According to Professor Barrette, a change has taken place in recent years, with the public admitting more easily, without shame, to appreciate and be entertained by this television genre. “It’s so entrenched that it’s become normal and popular to like it. People want to give their opinion, to have a critical mind on the shows, to participate in the discussions that it generates on social networks, ”he notes. The fact that public figures embark on certain adventures, such as Big Brother Celebritiesand that others claim in the public space to like reality TV in the same way as series for example, necessarily adds a layer of legitimacy.
According to Paul Cauchon, this greater acceptance also stems from a better understanding of the television genre. “We understand better now that it’s more of a game than a kind of psychological experiment. There are rules, codes, strategies that we have integrated, we understand better that it is often scripted, by the choice of camera shots, the editing…etc. It tells a story. »
Another bright future?
If reality TV seems to be here to stay, it is not immune to weariness on the part of listeners.
“The danger is that it becomes too predictable. Especially in love reality shows where you risk not believing it anymore. We already say to ourselves that people are above all looking to boost their popularity, ”drops Thérèse Parisien.
The productions will have to “work hard”, she says, to continue to surprise us, but above all to bring back the magic ingredient of the beginnings: authenticity. “It has to be close to us, we want to recognize ourselves in our TV,” she insists.