Shock horror: reality shows are faked?
Yes, producers hand-pick the contestants, add scripting cues, and create conflict and intrigue with contrived situations and shrewd editing. Several folks from the show business adds their insider info to the Metafilter discussion linked above. Did you know: the bird’s eye shots of the challenges in Survivor are re-enacted by extras?
On the bookshelf: What if what you believe is what makes reality? Neil Gaiman’s American Gods hypothesizes just that: an America filled with gods, folk heroes and conspiracies made flesh living ordinary lives. But it is as much a study of the clash of ancient and modern mythologies as it is an exploration of small town Americana, complete with pilgrimages to San Fran, Vegas, and all the roadside attractions and dingy backwaters in between. That and a chronicle filled with Gaiman’s trademark violence and debauchery.
Silverlotus, an avid fan of ancient religions, probably enjoys this novel on a far greater level than I, but even I can appreciate the irony of having Anubis running a funeral parlour in Wisconsin.