Introduction

This introduction chapter presents an overview of some key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book explores the history of reality television within a larger context of economic history, urban demography, and the social relationships constructed within city spaces. It discusses the openness of city space during the industrial era. The book offers a series of case studies that use theoretical constructs from the fields of media studies or geography that highlight how reality television assists in winning the consent of its viewers to embrace the political economy of social expulsions. It examines how Bravo programming is anomalous in the reality television landscape. The book looks at the way successful reality gamers such as Rob Mariano and Tiffany Pollard built memorable characters by merging urban identities with historical racial and ethnic stereotypes. It explores how the subgenre of rural reality programs wins consent for the contemporary political economy of social expulsions.