Evaluative Essay Draft 2

Nowadays, channels are filled with reality TV with dramatic fights and hookups and many different game shows where one person can be the big winner. The reality game shows that now come on many channels after the 6 or 7 o’clock news are a mix between the two. There can only be one winner or a winning team, but the journey is where all of the excitement happens. All of these reality game shows have the drama, some more than others, challenges, both emotional and physical, and the winning prize that everyone is dying to earn. However, the Amazing Race has a more family-friendly element and cultural diversity than all other reality game shows.  The Amazing Race follows all of the guidelines of being a reality game show, but they do it in an appropriate manner, making it the perfect reality game show.

The Amazing Race encourages viewers to compete in a friendly way, unlike the other reality game shows. They make alliances and help one another, even though are all fighting against each other for the same thing. In most of the seasons, family members and loved ones will come on the show to improve their relationship. The contestants take it upon themselves to find someone that will help them to do their best. These bonds that form on the Amazing Race will either make or break a relationship. Sometimes, the Amazing Race shows a side of a significant other that will force their partner to end the relationship after the show. On the other hand, many times the contestants are glad that they went on the show because now they know that their partner will be with them for anything. On Survivor and Big Brother, they apply to the show just so that they will have the chance to win the prize at the end. They go on the show for their own selfish reasons. Contestants on the Amazing Race generally want to test their relationship and see the world. The million dollar prize at the end is just a plus.

However, with family members and loved ones with one another all of the time, the contestants tend to go a little crazy. This is where the typical drama starts. One partner may be better at something than the other, but he or she has to do it anyway, and partners will butt heads at this time. Many things are resolved within a short amount of time because arguing will never help them; it will only hinder their abilities. Unlike Big Brother and Survivor, two other reality game shows, the Amazing Race’s dramatic scenes are appropriate for all ages. The other two show hook ups and arguments with a large amount of cursing and vulgarities. Generally speaking, an episode of the Amazing Race would be G rated.

This G rating, however, does not stop the show from being just as suspenseful and captivating. The Amazing Race is the best kind of reality game show because you don’t always expect where the contestants will be going next or who will get eliminated. The results are up to how contestants perform instead of being a popularity contest. Big Brother and Survivor promote eliminating the weakest link or the person that no one likes. Ganging up on one another is not something that should be instilled in young children. The Amazing Race is more about personal strengths. They don’t intentionally hurt one another. There are areas throughout the course where a leading team can turn another team around, but most teams will pass up that opportunity.  In other reality game shows, they form a large alliance and connive to alienate other teammates.

Another way that the Amazing Race is the best family-friendly reality game show is that it shows the viewers different cultures. The contestants travel around the world to many smaller towns and countries, and they have to participate in that certain cultural way of life. They are forced to perform many tasks that we, from living in a free country where many things are just handed to us, would consider inefficient or gross. These tasks take a lot of manual labor and are very tedious and strenuous. Many of these destinations remind the contestants how lucky they are because they have the amenities at their homes that people all over the world are not lucky enough to have. This is part of the show that can get emotional. Not because “so and so hooked up with this person” or “they talked about me behind my back.” Contestants on the Amazing Race get to experience places and tasks and many things that most people will never be able to understand.

All of these experiences that they have on the show will stay with them for their entire life. Many times on the after show, contestants will share that their relationship grew stronger because of the hardships and daunting tasks that they went through with their partner. In the Amazing Race challenges, the partners are forced to play off each other’s strengths and weaknesses. During the show, partners will learn more about each other and must be able to encourage his or her partner to keep trying even if the task involves doing something at which they are not especially good. Encouragement and faith are two things that teammates must have.   This is the only show that I know in which people come out stronger than they started, and that they are happier and have no regrets. Other reality show contestants have tension and hard feelings even after they are gone. The Amazing Race contestants are always happy with themselves when they leave the show.

All reality TV game shows have drama, hardships, and a prize at the end for whom outlasts the rest, but the Amazing Race makes these criteria fit the family-friendly atmosphere that the producers wanted. They don’t condone the manipulating and cheating that other shows do. The race is more about following directions efficiently and in a timely manner. Stronger bonds are formed by being there for each other and showing one another that they care and will help them out. Clearly, the Amazing Race is the best reality game show on TV!