We have to admit, reality television can be entertaining. Although it’s cheap and ridiculous for the most part, some of the shows keep us glued to the couch.
We tuned in to find out who Lauren would end up living with on “The Hills.” Every season we wait with bated breath to find out who will be “The Biggest Loser” or “The Apprentice.” On our most bored and morbidly curious days, we’ll even watch the mayhem on “Flavor of Love.”
But Ed Board is beginning to think that reality television is starting to cross the line.
At the end of the second season of MTV’s “Run’s House,” Justine, the wife of Joseph “Rev. Run” Simmons, found out she was pregnant.
About five months into the pregnancy, doctors told Justine and Rev. Run that the baby’s organs were growing outside her chest cavity. Justine gave birth to a baby girl one month before her due date. Sadly, the baby died an hour after she was born. MTV cameras were there the whole time.
Cameras continued to roll as Justine and Rev. Run told their children the news and as the family held hands and prayed. Obviously, it was the family’s decision to show the footage, but what should have been a private, solemn moment among the family is now going to be broadcast for all to see.
Even worse is the new MTV reality series, “Scarred.” The series will be the channel’s first show featuring exclusively user-generated content. In case you haven’t seen the commercials for “Scarred,” the series will show audiences some of the worst accidents and crashes ever seen on television. Thrill seekers and extreme-sports enthusiasts will show videos of horrific wipeouts and then tell the stories behind them.
Seriously? This passes as entertainment? At least on “Jackass,” everything is funny and no one is ever seriously injured.
Even after Steve Irwin’s unfortunate death, Yahoo! reported that searches for “Steve Irwin death video” and “Steve Irwin death pictures” began to surface.
Maybe this is our fault as viewers. We as a culture have become voyeurs, greedy for intimate details of other people’s lives. We have become a society of Peeping Toms, voraciously reading celebrity tabloids and watching newscasts solely for the Hollywood gossip update.
Ed Board wants to know why people get a thrill from getting a peek at the more tragic and often grisly moments of the celebrities they profess to love. Maybe if they didn’t, we wouldn’t have to endure the existence of these reality shows that have simply gotten too real.
