Thoughts on Reality TV
I think we need a new reality TV show called "Who are the Kardashians and Why Should I Care?"
There appear to be certain genres of reality shows. The first version is a redo of the old "Ted Mack Amateur Hour." I know that the young audiences watching American Idol and America's Got Talent think it's new, but the only differences I can see is that instead of an "applause-o-meter" back in the '60s, we have people texting in their votes, and we have three judges of fairly predictable responses.
The second genre are competition shows where the contestants really do have to show prolonged talent. Project Runway and shows about cooking, cosmetology, and interior decorating (which obviously I do not watch because I can't name them) fit into this category, and these are probably the most educational and have some socially redeeming value.
The third genre would be Survivor and Big Daddy or whatever that show is called (I'm trying to be funny here, it's Big Brother) and The Real Life and the Surreal Life. I watched the first few years of Survivor and was a big Rupert fan. After that, not interested. I watched one episode of Surreal Life because Tammy Faye Baker, bless her heart, was on it, and they were mean to her. The others are just ignorant; Bad Girls Club comes to mind.
The fourth genre is the "let's have a camera on somebody 24/7 and people will watch it, even though the person is a creep and nobody in the viewing audience would want to spend five real minutes face to face with that person." In the case of the Kardashians, we get triple the creepy persons. There are many variations of this shows, and they are all egregious wastes of time and shameful displays of narcissism and voyeurism. There's one about Hugh Hefner and several about has-been celebrities.
The fifth genre happens when a family allows cameras in their homes. I find this the most immoral, because it is child abuse. Even if we do learn about the lives of those affected by dwarfism, it still can't be psychologically good for the children. SuperNanny and Wife-Swap fit into this category as well, and these are only slightly better because the cameras are only there for a week.
The sixth genre is made up of the "looking for love" shows, such as The Bachelor. Why any woman would subject herself to that degradation is beyond me. There are apparently quite a few of these on cable television.
There might be a seventh genre, but heaven knows we don't need another one of them. They aren't going away any time soon because they are cheap and popular. I can't help but invoke the Truman Show, a movie with the best existential ending I've ever seen. We should, like Truman, walk away from this make-believe world piped into our homes and get a "real life."
There appear to be certain genres of reality shows. The first version is a redo of the old "Ted Mack Amateur Hour." I know that the young audiences watching American Idol and America's Got Talent think it's new, but the only differences I can see is that instead of an "applause-o-meter" back in the '60s, we have people texting in their votes, and we have three judges of fairly predictable responses.
The second genre are competition shows where the contestants really do have to show prolonged talent. Project Runway and shows about cooking, cosmetology, and interior decorating (which obviously I do not watch because I can't name them) fit into this category, and these are probably the most educational and have some socially redeeming value.
The third genre would be Survivor and Big Daddy or whatever that show is called (I'm trying to be funny here, it's Big Brother) and The Real Life and the Surreal Life. I watched the first few years of Survivor and was a big Rupert fan. After that, not interested. I watched one episode of Surreal Life because Tammy Faye Baker, bless her heart, was on it, and they were mean to her. The others are just ignorant; Bad Girls Club comes to mind.
The fourth genre is the "let's have a camera on somebody 24/7 and people will watch it, even though the person is a creep and nobody in the viewing audience would want to spend five real minutes face to face with that person." In the case of the Kardashians, we get triple the creepy persons. There are many variations of this shows, and they are all egregious wastes of time and shameful displays of narcissism and voyeurism. There's one about Hugh Hefner and several about has-been celebrities.
The fifth genre happens when a family allows cameras in their homes. I find this the most immoral, because it is child abuse. Even if we do learn about the lives of those affected by dwarfism, it still can't be psychologically good for the children. SuperNanny and Wife-Swap fit into this category as well, and these are only slightly better because the cameras are only there for a week.
The sixth genre is made up of the "looking for love" shows, such as The Bachelor. Why any woman would subject herself to that degradation is beyond me. There are apparently quite a few of these on cable television.
There might be a seventh genre, but heaven knows we don't need another one of them. They aren't going away any time soon because they are cheap and popular. I can't help but invoke the Truman Show, a movie with the best existential ending I've ever seen. We should, like Truman, walk away from this make-believe world piped into our homes and get a "real life."
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