What Is E.P.I.C.?
Reality television shows, unlike other TV programs, connect with a deep desire within each of us for something E.P.I.C.
Futurist and author Leonard Sweet uses the acronym E.P.I.C. to stand for:
- Experiential
- Participatory
- Image-based
- Connective
If you think about reality television, that’s what it is. It’s E.P.I.C.
These shows allow us to live vicariously through tests of survival, fear, and talent—through amazing races, extreme makeovers, and blind dates. These are experiences that we long to have, or maybe we’re just fascinated by them (and sometimes a little disgusted too).
But beyond experience, we’re invited to participate—to cast our vote or to be there for the casting call ourselves. So many of the rituals that we see acted out on our favorite shows are powerful because they resonate with things in our own lives—and, in a way, that’s another level of participation.
It’s appropriate that the one of the original reality series (Real World) came from MTV, because it’s MTV that’s really ruined us all forever by making our culture an image-based culture. Perhaps more than the moving picture itself, MTV has transformed society with its fast-paced editing and trademark visual style.
It’s through pictures that we feel the impact of the emotion and the drama on reality TV—and sometimes the camera lies (thanks to editing!), but that’s because the goal is “good TV” not “reality.” And that’s OK with us. We still enjoy it, even when they fool us.
Which brings us to connective, or to put it another way, community. It’s the feeling of knowing that millions of other people are watching the same thing you are and enjoying it. It’s also the feeling of having something to talk about around the watercooler at work or with that complete stranger eyeing that People magazine at the grocery store. TV brings people together in an interesting way, and reality shows are some of the most-watched shows out there today.
For us, the E.P.I.C. life starts with putting God at the center. One of our favorite passages from the Bible is Psalm 16:11, “You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand” (NIV).
Thanks for visiting RealityBlogs.com. We’d love to share more with you about the E.P.I.C. life we’ve found as followers of Jesus Christ—or chat more about reality TV. We’d just love to hear from you, so shoot us an e-mail.
Grace and peace,
Steve K. and Rob W.
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