I'm really looking forward to the new reality show Start Ups: Silicon Valley that hits the Bravo channel next month.
If you've not been following the making of this show- or if you have zero idea what it even is- check it out.
So needless to say- I assume- I'm jazzed by the potential of this show cause I love the subject matter. I GET it's not real but it's a REALITY SHOW and I'm not trying to be clever when I say that- by now- anyone tuning in to a reality show thinking it's a documentary is a damn fool.
So is this going to be an accurate documentary about entrepreneurs and tech start ups? Come on. I mean, I seriously doubt it. And even if there is some accuracy, I certainly doubt it will have the same sense of truth that a great doc like Startup.Com has. And even that- a genuine, dyed in the wool documentary-manipulates the audience as well, just like any medium that documents reality does (other than a security camera and hell, even that has a bit of a truth distortion simply based on where the camera has been placed).
But I won't be tuning in to this new show to see moment to moment truth. I'll be tuning in for entertainment and because the show- based on the trailer anyway- DOES SEEM to be accurate in capturing the energy and the youthful spirit (no matter your age) that you connect with whenever embarking on a scary but exciting as hell new journey.
Maybe that's the key to making a great reality show: be ok sacrificing the moment to moment truths in the name of entertaining the audience while at the same time demand the essence of the experience the subjects are going thru is portrayed accurately, even if the show creators must express that essence not thru accurate footage but thru editing tricks and music selection and 'actor' manipulation; a metaphor for the essence, if you will.