Reality TV has always annoyed me.
At first I couldn't put my finger on it. But after a while, I realized what it was that bothered me so much. If you watch just about any reality show, you'll notice that there's always plenty of fighting, name-calling, and humiliation. Of course, this is done on purpose by the casting folks, the directors, and the editors--they've gotten it down to a science, making skeezy people look even more skeezy, and encouraging petty arguments between the contestants/stars.
HOW is this entertainment? If my family fought as much as the people on the TV do, I'd probably have to go to counseling. So why would I want to subject myself to this on a television show that's supposed to be .... fun?
There's something in us, deep down and hidden, that enjoys the baser and darker side of life. Just look back to the Romans as an example. Their major form of entertainment centered around watching animals and people kill each other. The victims were real people going into the arena--people with unique personalities, families, hopes, and dreams--all sacrificed in order to entertain a mob. And some of them were actually innocent prisoners (such as the Christians) who weren't even given a chance to fight to save their lives. They were literally torn apart while the people in the stands cheered.
Obviously, we're not at the point of being entertained by real death and pain. But there's a very clear hunger for watching human suffering. Reality shows consistently make fun of people, pit people against each other, and revel in conflict. Talk shows put people on a stage and let them share their darkest secrets and their most depraved habits. Even most of our fiction shows center around murder, crime, conflict, and death.
Here in a America, we seem to feel that it's our right to be entertained in any way we see fit. We enjoy watching singing and dancing contestants laughed at and cut down by the judges. We set our DVRs to record the latest reality show about a celebrity train wreck. We click our tongues while reading a magazine article about a Hollywood actress's struggle with her weight (often while shoving a doughnut into our own mouths). And we think that we have a right to make fun of and laugh at a disturbed music star who dies of a drug overdose (my Facebook News Feed from a couple weeks ago illustrates that).
When did we become so entitled that we feel we deserve to enjoy the suffering and conflict of others? Where's the compassion and care for these people who, really, aren't so different from us? As cheesy as the saying is, we seem to have lost the ability to walk a mile in someone else's shoes.
Hm. Sad.
Honestly, this post isn't meant to judge others. I have often found myself enthralled with a "Who's the Father?" episode of Maury Povich, laughing at a girl naively singing off-key in an American Idol audition, and secretly feeling satisfied when certain celebrities are publicly embarrassed. And it's hard to feel bad about it sometimes. Maybe because this sort of entertainment is the norm nowadays.
I think I've been on a soapbox, so I'll get down now. But I'd love to hear your thoughts, opinions, and/or rebuttals on this subject!
