2008 Woodie Awards
Obsidian: The Jagged Side The Mirror
Television's reality check
Paul Davis
Issue date: 12/10/03 Section: Opinions
- Page 1 of 2 next >
The TV flickered in front of me as I ate; I knew not what to watch. So, I flipped through channels to see if there was anything worthwhile. I was right, there was nothing. There were slues of reality TV shows, the worst idea since cannibalism; oh the joy.
Reality TV shows people doing real things live; no script except for idiocy. Someone comes up with something more extreme then last week's show, just so the ratings are there to watch someone fail miserably at doing something. I will admit that there is the idea of triumph in it as well, but when the triumph is one out of X number of contestants, then I really question just how much it's based on the good and not the bad.
One such show was Joe Millionaire, where they pretended that a man was a millionaire so that a bunch of girls would line up to take his money...I mean fall in love with him and be the woman of his dreams. How low does someone have to be to do such a thing? I'm sure the ratings were high, and everyone wanted to know what happened after they realized who he actually was, but what about that guy's heart? Or the disappointed gold digger the network would have on their hands?
Did I mention this brings out the worst in people? All the women that want the money that the guy doesn't have; all the guys who want the pretty girl, hiding their faces from her like a jackal; the people who believe they can survive on their own stranding themselves with people they just met until they want to strangle each other and vote the most capable off the island! We have backstabbing, corruption, lust, and, worst of all, stupidity.
Why don't we show any more of the good reality TV shows from when I was a child? "Wild and Crazy Kids" on Nickelodeon was one of the most amazing signs of teamwork and friendship I ever saw. And then there is "Camp Bug" from Disney. I must admit I never watched it, but whenever it shows the commercials, people are crying because they miss their friends, not the money they could've won but didn't.
Reality TV shows people doing real things live; no script except for idiocy. Someone comes up with something more extreme then last week's show, just so the ratings are there to watch someone fail miserably at doing something. I will admit that there is the idea of triumph in it as well, but when the triumph is one out of X number of contestants, then I really question just how much it's based on the good and not the bad.
One such show was Joe Millionaire, where they pretended that a man was a millionaire so that a bunch of girls would line up to take his money...I mean fall in love with him and be the woman of his dreams. How low does someone have to be to do such a thing? I'm sure the ratings were high, and everyone wanted to know what happened after they realized who he actually was, but what about that guy's heart? Or the disappointed gold digger the network would have on their hands?
Did I mention this brings out the worst in people? All the women that want the money that the guy doesn't have; all the guys who want the pretty girl, hiding their faces from her like a jackal; the people who believe they can survive on their own stranding themselves with people they just met until they want to strangle each other and vote the most capable off the island! We have backstabbing, corruption, lust, and, worst of all, stupidity.
Why don't we show any more of the good reality TV shows from when I was a child? "Wild and Crazy Kids" on Nickelodeon was one of the most amazing signs of teamwork and friendship I ever saw. And then there is "Camp Bug" from Disney. I must admit I never watched it, but whenever it shows the commercials, people are crying because they miss their friends, not the money they could've won but didn't.