Why Brazilians are so fascinated by reality shows

BBC News Brasil

The 22nd edition of Big Brother Brasil premiered this Monday (01/17) with the largest audience on Brazilian TV in 2022 and about 5.6 million viewers per minute in the city of São Paulo alone.

Even before the airing of the first episode, the program had already mobilized crowds on social networks, with heated discussions about the participants.

Aired on TV Globo for two decades, the program underwent several changes to stay alive on the grid and has already become the longest-running reality show in the country. Its success is undeniable and even those who don’t watch it regularly know when it’s on.

In the 2021 edition, the program reached an average daily reach of 39.8 million people and broke the record for the highest participation in its history, with 3.6 million votes per minute.

The popularity was not enough to beat the audience record of Brazilian television, which belongs to the soap opera ‘Selva de Pedra’ from 1986, but it is impressive in view of the enormous variety of entertainment products available today.

The popularity was not enough to beat the audience record of Brazilian television, which belongs to the soap opera ‘Selva de Pedra’ from 1986, but it is impressive in view of the enormous variety of entertainment products available today.

The current success of the Brazilian reality becomes even more impressive when compared to the foreign versions of the same program. The last edition of Big Brother United States, for example, had a record audience of 3.33 million people, while the German version ended with an average of 890,000 viewers in 2020.

But after all, why are Brazilians so fascinated by the reality show?

Several scholars in the fields of communication, marketing and psychology have already addressed the television genre in which ordinary people or celebrities live their daily lives and face specific challenges.

All of them agree that the main explanation behind the aroused attraction lies in the identification with the participants.

‘PEOPLE LIKE PEOPLE’

Research developed by Professor of Psychology Jonathan Cohen, from the University of Haifa, in Israel, showed that viewers of reality shows develop great feelings of empathy for the participants and, often, recognize themselves in their choices and actions.

The experiment interviewed 183 people about 12 different reality shows, including productions that have versions in different countries, such as Big Brother, MasterChef and Supernanny. The results showed that the more people like a program, the greater the identification and the desire to be part of the attraction one day.

“In the past, many assumed that interest in reality shows was linked to a kind of voyeurism, or a taste for witnessing situations of humiliation and difficulty,” says Cohen.

“But more recent research shows that viewers see themselves in the situations experienced by the participants, root for them and share the enthusiasm of the competition.”

According to Cohen, realities sometimes have an advantage over works of fiction precisely because they are works in real life. “The fascination lies precisely in the fact that they are real people, who take real risks and feel real emotions”, he says. “It’s hard to watch the tests and challenges without imagining how we would do in the participants’ shoes.”

“People tend to project themselves on those participants with whom they most identify”, says Mariana Munis, Marketing professor and specialist in Consumer Behavior at Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie Campinas. “Precisely for this reason, the most charismatic and honest competitors end up becoming almost phenomenal”.

The last editions of Big Brother Brasil even added an extra element to the game with the inclusion of celebrities among the “brothers”. “For fans of that artist or influencer, it is a unique opportunity to see their idol in everyday situations”, evaluates the specialist.

BRAZILIAN HERITAGE

Among Brazilians, there is also an element of tradition that contributes to the success of reality shows. The first program of its kind produced and aired in the country was launched by MTV in 2000 and was called 20 and Few Years. The attraction, which showed the effervescent lives of young people in early adulthood, lasted three seasons.

In the same year, TV Globo launched the program No Limite, inspired by the American Survivor. The broadcaster also acquired the rights to produce the Brazilian version of Big Brother, which was supposed to debut as the first confinement reality show in Brazil. A few months before the launch, however, SBT took the lead with Casa dos Artistas.

But long before any rivalry between television channels, Brazilians had already been hooked by entertainment that is based on unpredictability and anticipation.

The passion for serial programs, whose chapters are shown little by little, dates back to the serials. Fiction and romance stories published partially and sequentially in newspapers and magazines across the country reached their peak of popularity in the late 19th century and served as inspiration for radio and soap operas.

“Realities retain an element that was central to serials and that was also inherited by soap operas, which is unpredictability”, says Elmo Francfort, a researcher on Brazilian television and professor of the Radio, TV and Internet course at Universidade Anhembi Morumbi. “Brazilians have been hooked by the feelings of curiosity and anticipation aroused by this genre and love to root for characters, be they fictional or real.”

MADE TO ENCOURAGE

Beyond any fascination or tradition, television broadcasters use and abuse marketing techniques to attract viewers. The formula for success, based on good narratives, a diverse cast and lots of advertising, makes it hard to resist sneak peeks.

“Everything that involves the production process of a reality show is designed to satisfy the consumer’s needs and desires”, says professor Mariana Munis. “Exams need to be exciting, the participants must be very different people to cause conflict, and even the length of the show is planned so that there is an engaging story, with a beginning, middle and end.”

For television networks, the format is also usually a safe and cheap bet. “It’s cheaper to produce a reality show than a soap opera, where a lot is spent on actors, sets and editing”, says Elmo Francfort, from Universidade Anhembi Morumbi. “In addition, the programs tend to follow the same formula in all their editions, ensuring predictability of success.”

SOCIAL RELEVANCE

And if in the past many realities were considered futile and a waste of time, these programs gained more credibility when discussing topics of social relevance. Big Brother, in particular, stirred great debates in its last editions that leveraged its audience.

Through the controversial attitudes of the participants, some of them accused of machismo, racism and xenophobia, social networks were flooded with texts and videos that contributed to keeping the population more informed.

Globo itself realized the relevance of these discussions and started to give them more visibility, while abandoning practices and frameworks that sexualized some of the participants. “The public began to see the program differently thanks to these debates. At the same time, younger viewers who do not usually watch open television were attracted”, assesses Francfort.