Reality TV?

The Hills is a show on MTV that allegedly falls under the "reality" genre, but seems to be crafted relatively less realistically. In a recent episode, fans were able to see just how "real" the show truly is, as the main character's fingernails magically went from painted to unpainted in two consecutive scenes that supposedly took place within a manner of minutes.

While many people have questioned how real reality tv truly is, by attempting to pass clearly crafted shows like this off as reality tv, are producers and directors redefining the word itself? To me, it seems as though they and the willingness of the audiences who watch it to accept it as such have created a new cultural meaning of the word in society today. We are willing to accept "reality" as something where tribes of half-starved Americans are sent to a deserted island and pitted against one another in obstacle course-style games to win a million dollars. Or, where dozens of gorgeous girls can fall in love with one devastatingly handsome man over the course of a 3 months time. Even the people in these shows aren't "real" anymore--many are out-of-work or up-and-coming actors and actresses trying to get noticed. It seems to me that the definition of "reality" has become what we are willing to believe, rather than what is actually there; yet, it is a change in meaning that we are either too ignorant or too unwilling to recognize. For even as much as I know that the marginally educated cast of The Hills actually do not have fabulous jobs as record executives and fashion magazine editors at the ripe ages of 20 and 21, I (and I would be willing to bet a number of people like me) continue to watch and yearn for a "real" life as fabulous and glamorous as theirs.