Thursday, June 21, 2007
Survivor Nation
Personally, I hate most reality TV. There have been a few shows that aren't as bad as most, but overall reality TV just sucks! I fear, however, that the worst part of this phenomenon might not be having to watch the shallow twits who actually appear in these shows make the characters in the movie Heathers look like Ghandi, but that reality TV is further eliminating Americans' ability to tell the difference between reality, things that are scripted to mimic (or distort) reality, and pure fiction. This has gotten so bad that one of our Supreme Court justices has recently used a character from a fictional TV drama (not even a TV "reality" show, just a TV drama) as the basis for a heated arguement in defense of his position on torture. I realize that our Founding Fathers did not have access to the wonderful and enlightening vision that is modern television when they took a firm stance against torture, but somehow, limited as their insight was in the pre-Apprentice/Bachelorette/Bridezilla days, I still trust them more on a question of such philosophical and moral importance than I do the creaters of 24. Call me crazy, but there it is.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
well as a whole your right Reality TV sucks. However it is those silly reality shows like What not to Wear and 10 years younger (both on TLC) that I can say I watch with much joy now a days, that not only occupy my lunch hour,but somewhat educate me. Shows like Survior , regardless of the entertainment value, I feel have no bearing on my life. If I feel I am trapped on an island in the Pacific Ocean with just a bathing suit and a toothpick I wouldnt rely on that show to "survive". But now thinking about the whole reality show thing.... I do like the show "Surviorman" at least there he will give some real tips on how to survive out in the wilderness with what you have on your back or in your pocket. --but wait one more show tops my list of reality shows I will watch... that is ...... oh God I hope your holding on to your shorts...... Gene Simmons Family Jewels.. I hate to be the one to bear that bad news, but I am hooked. Unlike Ozzy(the man!) Osbourne's show, Gene Simmons has a pretty stable household.(I was shocked myself)His children are both smart, attractive, and respectful and most of all will also have a meaning in life. Not the wannabe kids of Osbourne that rides on the coat tails of their father, and are rude and disrespectful,and "needy". I am not really a big fan of Gene Simmons the person, though I love KISS, though I have seen through this show that I cant believe I am saying this... Gene has a knack for business. If it is.. he will market it. Did you know there was no patent on the "O.J."? no not the orange juice..and no not that athlete, but the word, "O.J."? like would you like some "O.J." with your eggs? well guess what.. there is now. and guess who has that?
the fire God of Kiss.....
go figure.
over
and
out.
TLC is a bit different, I'll admit. I agree with the Osbourne criticism; couldn't stand his kids. Have not watched Family Jewels, but i'm sure it's refreshing to see celebrities with kids who, as you wrote, "both smart, attractive, and respectful and most of all will also have a meaning in life." That's got to be a nice change b/c so much of our celebrity culture is just sickening. I mean, what does the whole Paris Hilton thing say about our society. Just thinking about some of the statistics that I wrote about in my last post on the vast economic inequality in our society puts the whole Paris Hilton thing in another perspective. It can't be a coincidence that our entertainment is reflective of so many spoiled brats and shows that focus on cut-throat competition, greed and overall shallowness. So, it's good that at least there are some different examples out there. But we need some actual "reality" TV, something like a mini documentary series on the lives of people who work for places like Wal-Mart or who have had their jobs outsourced or who are suffering from overwhelming debt or lack of medical coverage; in other words, some acknowledgment of what life is really like for most people. There's got to be a way to do something like that creatively and in a way that could make it appealing in terms of having some entertainment value while still reflecting some of the real shit that people are going through.
Post a Comment