Reality TV shows such as 'Real Housewives' could normalise problematic behaviour

I want to get one thing clear from the start: I have watched — and enjoyed — reality TV shows. But while many see series and docusoaps such as Real Housewives, The Only Way Is Essex and Made In Chelsea as fun, frivolous forays into lifestyles of the filthy rich and famous, I can’t shake off the feeling that there are far more sinister undertones to the caricature-like portrayals.

While I, from Britain, like many others now in their thirties, was very much taken with the first season of Big Brother UK back in 2000, for the past decade or so I’ve watched as the industry and its stars have gotten ever more jaded and cynical, dreaming up more ostentatious ways to hold viewers’ attentions by amping up the levels of drama and conflict.

It was in 2011, when Misha B appeared on The X Factor, that my illusions were first shattered. Judge Tulisa Contostavlos alleged publicly on the show that the contestant was bullying others backstage. Despite Misha’s clear talent, and what turned out to be false accusations, her fate was sealed; she wasn’t long for that show. And neither was I.

To me, it was transparent what was happening; the puppet masters' strings at work, engineering the outcome, manipulating the public vote, and I was outraged. Misha later talked about how she felt suicidal.

Tulisa Contostavlos, right, was a former judge on 'The X Factor'. PA Media

Recently, I’ve been listening to a great new podcast called Unreal: A Critical History of Reality TV by BBC Radio 4. The hosts, journalists Pandora Sykes and Sirin Kale, self-confessed reality TV junkies, watched hundreds of hours of popular shows and spoke to more than 60 stars, producers and experts to unpick dilemmas in the unethical underbelly of the genre.

By now, even the most naive of us understand that shows like these hardly reflect reality and are mostly scripted and staged. (The Hills, the American show that popularised the staged reality of docusoaps, demonstrated this well in its final scene where the Hollywood Hills backdrop is pulled away to reveal a production set.) But there’s no doubt that many of these reality stars have become some of the most formidable influencers. Just look at Kim Kardashian.

Scroll through the below gallery to see Kim Kardashian's style evolution:

“I thought I knew how the story would shake out,” Kale writes in a column for The Guardian on creating the podcast. "I envisaged a lighthearted recap of my favourite shows, accompanied by deep dives into unresolved questions that linger to this day.”

But what emerged was a dramatically different story, she says.

One of the biggest causes for unease in this genre of television has been the consideration of after-care for the stars, not to mention contestants, in the case of competitions such as Big Brother, The X Factor and Love Island, the dating series that has raised serious concerns after three former contestants committed suicide, as well as former host Caroline Flack.

“There are no two ways about it: creating an entertaining reality TV show, and an ethical one, can be irreconcilable objectives,” Kale writes. “Historically, audiences have wanted conflict, even if it sometimes comes at the expense of contestants’ well-being and personal safety.”

Reality TV turned me into a monster, but producers didn't want to look after the monster they created

Kirk Norcross,
reality TV star

The stars are pushed to play into stereotypes (Vaz Morgan, the first and only black star on TOWIE, said on The Reality of Reality TV podcast that he felt “intense pressure to perpetuate the black stereotype of the angry six-foot-two black man” in order to win camera time). They're made to live up to the roles that have been drawn up for them, start arguments and cause drama because “that’s what makes good television”, despite what level of backlash and trolling they might experience in real life.

In 2019, Kirk Norcross, who also appeared on TOWIE, said: "Reality TV turned me into a monster, but producers didn't want to look after the monster they created."

At the same time, questions and concerns have arisen over on-screen examples of manipulative, controlling relationships, clear and frequent demonstrations of toxic masculinity and sexism, and disingenuous, fickle friendships that end with people being iced out of social groups, alienated and outcast.

Unreal asks the question: how much of the responsibility lies with producers to ensure the people in these shows are safe and mentally well? Are they simply flies on the walls, alongside the audience, watching, not meddling? Or should they step in when something blatantly unethical is going on? If they don’t, does the show then only serve to normalise this kind of behaviour?

What perhaps concerns me more is that naive, unwitting audiences — our children, and those of us who were introduced to the genre young — are watching these shows and thinking that this kind of behaviour could be normal, even accepted. If someone can shout expletives and display aggression towards another person on TV and still have a huge social media following, brand deals and popularity outside of the show, then why wouldn’t they start to think that’s normal?

I’m not saying reality TV needs to go, but that it needs to evolve. Granted, the shows are growing up; the makeover show has moved on from the extremes of American series The Swan — in which contestants, or “ugly ducklings”, undergo surgery several times to achieve some kind of narrow-minded beauty ideal — to today’s Queer Eye, during which people are taught to cook, have their houses redone and even embrace culture.

Competitions are bolstering their after-care, too. And you certainly won’t see Simon Cowell telling a contestant she’s too fat to sing any more (yes, that happened).

Now it’s time for the faux-reality docusoaps to step up as they purport to reflect the real lives of the elite few, but actually are based on a bunch of characters hamming it up for the camera. As can be seen in the recently broadcast The Real Housewives of Dubai.

People are demanding better, and some shows, at least, are aiming to heed that call.

But while that happens, you’ll find me watching Stranger Things.

The cast of 'Real Housewives of Dubai' — in pictures

Nina Ali is one of six businesswomen and socialites starring in 'The Real Housewives Of Dubai', which will be released on Bravo on June 1. Photo: Twitter / @lipstickmommy
Fashion designer Lesa Milan is also part of the cast. Instagram
Entrepreneur Caroline Brooks features in the show, which had a trailer come out two weeks ahead of its release. Photo: @carolinedxb / Instagram
Model Chanel Ayan is part of the cast. Photo: @Chanelayan / Instagram
Former 'Ladies of London' star Caroline Stanbury is in the show. Photo: Instagram
Emirati star Dr Sara Al Madani is part of the cast. Getty Images for Inflow
Phaedra Parks from 'The Real Housewives of Atlanta' features in 'The Real Housewives of Dubai'. Photo: YouTube / Bravo
'The Real Housewives of Dubai' will display lavish lifestyles. Photo: Bravo

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Global state-owned investor ranking by size

1.	United States
2.	China
3.	UAE
4.	Japan
5	Norway
6.	Canada
7.	Singapore
8.	Australia
9.	Saudi Arabia
10.	South Korea

Why seagrass matters

Carbon sink: Seagrass sequesters carbon up to 35X faster than tropical rainforests
Marine nursery: Crucial habitat for juvenile fish, crustations, and invertebrates
Biodiversity: Support species like sea turtles, dugongs, and seabirds
Coastal protection: Reduce erosion and improve water quality

THE SPECS

Engine: 1.5-litre, four-cylinder turbo

Transmission: seven-speed dual clutch automatic

Power: 169bhp

Torque: 250Nm

Price: Dh54,500

On sale: now

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Company Profile

Name: JustClean

Based: Kuwait with offices in other GCC countries

Launch year: 2016

Number of employees: 130

Sector: online laundry service

Funding: $12.9m from Kuwait-based Faith Capital Holding

Tomorrow 2021

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The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

Jawan

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'Operation Mincemeat' 

Director: John Madden

Cast: Colin Firth, Matthew Macfayden, Kelly Macdonald and Penelope Wilton

Rating: 4/5

UK's plans to cut net migration

Under the UK government’s proposals, migrants will have to spend 10 years in the UK before being able to apply for citizenship.

Skilled worker visas will require a university degree, and there will be tighter restrictions on recruitment for jobs with skills shortages.

But what are described as "high-contributing" individuals such as doctors and nurses could be fast-tracked through the system.

Language requirements will be increased for all immigration routes to ensure a higher level of English.

Rules will also be laid out for adult dependants, meaning they will have to demonstrate a basic understanding of the language.

The plans also call for stricter tests for colleges and universities offering places to foreign students and a reduction in the time graduates can remain in the UK after their studies from two years to 18 months.