Drawing on the origins of reality television and life writing, the course invited students to examine whether reality TV functions as autobiography, performance, or something in between.
That academic exploration culminated in a recent screening event where students premiered original, student-produced reality television episodes to an audience of peers and staff members. What started as a standard class presentation quickly became a more reflective shared experience.
Instead of slides or speeches, the room was filled with student-created reality television episodes, each the result of two intensive weeks spent studying how stories are constructed, edited, and consumed. The screening marked the culmination of the course, but it also served as a shared moment of reflection, inviting viewers to consider how identity, authenticity, and narrative authority operate both on-screen and off.
Throughout the course, students explored how storytelling has evolved alongside social media, where subjects increasingly control their own narratives and short-form, self-produced content blurs the line between reality television and personal documentary. That tension between control and curation carried into the students’ final projects, where they were tasked with becoming both the storytellers and the stories themselves.
“I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect when the students submitted their final projects,” Van Zwoll said. “This was the first time I had assigned the film project and intentionally gave them a lot of freedom to tell the stories they wanted to tell. It was clear they were expressing authentic stories about themselves, and they really thought about the process.”
Behind the camera, students confronted another central theme of the course: the unseen labor of reality television. From planning and filming to editing and collaboration, the projects revealed how much influence producers and editors wield in shaping meaning, often transforming familiar experiences into something new.
For many students, that realization was eye-opening. “There’s a lot of filming and video editing that goes into it,” said Riley Mumaw, a sophomore majoring in computer information systems from Maryland. “A lot more than we expected.”
Those production decisions prompted ongoing reflection throughout the course, particularly around how editing shapes perception and how identity can shift once a camera is involved.
“We spoke at length about how we make choices about who we are and how we communicate our stories to the world,” Van Zwoll said. “We can know ourselves but cannot control what others think of us. This course made them think about the stories they tell and the stories they hear, always asking who the true author of the narrative is.”
The experience reflects the broader goals of FlagSHIP courses, which emphasize immersive learning, dialogue across difference, and creative application.
“The goal of FlagSHIP is for students to immerse themselves in the topic they are studying and build confidence in their abilities to participate as citizens in a diverse world,” Van Zwoll said.
The Showcase
The showcase opened with The Real Housewives of Flagler College, a satirical take on the familiar reality television franchise. Four female students recreated the heightened drama of the genre using sharp cutaways and The Office-style interview segments. As laughter spread through the room, Van Zwoll joked that the students faced “heavy competition with the real housewives of New Jersey.”
The second project, Inside the Brotherhood, shifted tone with a sports-centered reality concept focused on lacrosse. Inspired by shows like Hard Knocks, the episode followed a day-in-the-life structure, blending humor with candid moments while exploring how competition and camaraderie shape identity within team culture.
A Day in the Life followed, drawing inspiration from YouTube vlogging and the popular “day in the life” trend seen across TikTok and other platforms. Using memes and pop culture references, the episode explored how everyday routines become narratives, reflecting the growing influence of social media on how stories are told and consumed.
That experimentation continued with Flagler Battle Royale, a game show-style episode built around a “try not to laugh” challenge, leaning into competition and audience engagement as central elements of its concept.
The screening concluded with Plan It Film It Sell It, another The Office-inspired sitcom that used jump cuts and zooms to heighten emotion and humor, underscoring the group’s attention to pacing, performance, and collaborative creativity throughout the production process.
As the final credits rolled, the event reflected Flagler College’s commitment to experiential learning, inviting students to engage critically with media, culture, and storytelling while applying academic concepts through creative, collaborative practice.
