|
The real deal on inane reality shows
By Emma Tippetts
December 12, 2005 | I live in a house
with six other strangers. We all come from different
backgrounds, different areas of the country and we all
have very different lifestyles.
The hit television show, Big Brother has a
similar plot. They figure that by putting six completely
different people in the same house and encouraging them
to create drama through backbiting and lies they've
got the recipe for success. They install hundreds, sometimes
thousands of cameras around the house, put it on television
and give an exuberant amount of money to the one who
manages to stay in the house without getting kicked
out.
According to this, I should be a millionaire by now.
I have, for the past three years managed to live with
complete strangers and have never yet been voted out
of an apartment. Too bad I didn't have cameras to document
it; I could be rich.
The worst part is, in addition to smoking, alcohol
and pain medication Americans are developing an addiction
to reality television.
Reality television is ruining America. Not only have
we watched television to the point that we are content
watching other people live life, but young people are
gaining a skewed view of what life should really be.
Reality shows feed on the worst part of human characteristics
for the sole purpose of entertainment. They bring out
the worst in people by capitalizing on meanness, vulgarity,
immorality and vengeance. Because the plot is based
on gaining the approval of others, they show young people
that the only way to be successful is to make other
people like you.
The shows all come out different, but all have roots
in the same idea. If you are in the business of reality
shows the possibilities are endless.
You can have cameras follow you and your husband around
during your newlywed years and document how stupid you
really are behind closed doors.
You can be dropped off on a desert island with a handkerchief
for a shirt, be pushed through physical challenges each
day, starved and left alone in the middle of nowhere.
Or, if you prefer you could spend 12 weeks trying
to be something you're not, working to impress some
gagillionare man that you are awesome enough that he
should hire you off the street to work with him and
make millions.
Then there is always the option to go into other people's
homes and tell them how to raise their kids because
they have already so screwed up trying to raise their
kids themselves that they need a woman with a European
accent to tell them how it's done.
My personal favorite are the shows with no plot at
all. Who wouldn't want to watch a show about the family
of a stoned rock star who is so dysfunctional he needs
subtitles while speaking English? What happened to sitcoms
like Seinfeld or The Cosby Show? These
shows are the reason why television was invented, for
the opportunity to watch professional actors and comedians
with acquired talent entertain the American people.
We don't want to watch random people off the street
try to live life and make it big by surviving. Bring
back the original television shows; find the entertainment
that was clever, witty and fun to watch.
I don't want to survive, I don't need to race, or
face my fears and I don't need another big brother --
I have two of my own.
Just give me regular television!
NW
MS |
