Reality Television: RuPaul's Drag Race and MILF Manor
Reality television has been a popular format of contemporary media for many years, showing the audience a diverse view of various individuals and groups of people. Many viewers find entertainment and connections in being able to see real experiences and choices play out in an unscripted manner. Shows like RuPaul's Drag Race and MILF Manor represent two polarizing strategies of reality television production. While one focuses on showcasing an art form often criticized in the media, the other focuses on provocative themes that shock the viewers. Both shows create a competition between the participants that leaves their respective audiences with an urge to find out who ends up winning in the end.
RuPaul's Drag Race is a reality television series that has been airing since 2009. The show's premise involves a number of drag queens competing for the title of "America's Next Drag Superstar," as well as a cash prize to help further facilitate their drag career. The judging panel is usually made up of four famous personalities, with two of the permanent judges being: RuPaul, one of the most successful drag queens of all time, and Michelle Visage, a singer and actress. The other two seats are made up of three alternating judges, including Carson Kressley, Ross Mathews, and Ts Madison, and one guest judge, which includes notable names such as Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj.
Many celebrity drag stars have competed in RuPaul's Drag Race and gained more commercial success from doing so, such as Trixie Mattel and Sasha Colby. The show hosts several challenges involving aspects such as performance, costume, and makeup for the queens to complete. After each challenge, two queens are voted for elimination and must compete against each other in a "lip-sync for your life" battle to see who stays and who "sashays away." These challenges are done until only two queens remain, where they have a "Lip-Sync LaLaPaRuza Smackdown" for the crown.
Video Link in Photo (Anetra and Sasha Colby's Lip-Sync for the Crown)
RuPaul's Drag Race's main demographic is targeted through its themes as well as its community and media outreach. Drag in and of itself is an LGBTQ+-based performance art, so, naturally, its audience gravitates towards those identities. The show also openly donates to charities that support gay rights, such as the Drag Defense Fund and the Pallete Fund, further catering to LGBTQ+ communities.
RuPaul's Drag Race is active on various social media platforms, where it shares moments from the show to advertise it to broader audiences. Its TikTok, which has amassed 2.8 million followers, allows them to share clips from the show to entice viewers to tune in. The show also shares pictures and videos on many other social media outlets, such as Instagram, Facebook, X, and YouTube. By posting entertaining moments on the show, RuPaul's Drag Race is able to successfully utilize its online platforms to gain virality and bring in a wider audience.
MILF Manor is a reality television series that began airing in 2023. The concept of the show involves eight older single women, between the ages of 40 through 60, who are looking for love with younger men, all of whom are in their 20s. What the women do not know prior to starting on the show is that all of the younger men are their sons, who will be looking for love at the same time and place as them. The mother-and-son duos share a bedroom together while looking for a romantic partner in the villa.
Although the show's structure is a bit unconventional, it basically follows the idea that the participants complete several challenges that have suggestive sexual connotations. Duos sporadically get eliminated depending on their performance of certain challenges throughout the show. The winning duo receives a double date with the partners of their choice at the end of the show.
Video Link in Photo (Which Mom Knows Her Son the Best Challenge)
MILF Manor targets its main demographic by creating controversial content that captivates people who are looking for shock-value entertainment. Its media outreach is limited, with most of its online presence coming from its network's (TLC) social media outlets. TLC's TikTok will occasionally feature a post of a clip from the show, which stirs up talk about the show's content. They also post about MILF Manor on various other platforms, such as Instagram, Facebook, X, and, most frequently, YouTube. The show's lack of media usage contributes to its absence of positive media presence, with most of the online content being made about the show attracting negative attention from viewers.
Where RuPaul's Drag Race thrives on gaining notoriety with audiences through the cultural relevance of its content, MILF Manor thrives on the sensationalism of its content. The difference between the structure and material qualities of the two shows is staggering and aids in understanding the differences in success among them, as observed by their individual Rotten Tomatoes scores (RuPaul's Drag Race's Rotten Tomatoes, MILF Manor's Rotten Tomatoes). Utilizing proper media strategies is crucial to the success of reality television because it facilitates a wider audience outreach and helps a show stay popular.
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