“Fear Factor,” “Real World,” “The Bachelor,” “The Bachelorette,” “Big Brother,” “America’s Next Top Model:” What is the nation’s obsession for reality on TV? Isn’t watching television supposed to be a nice break from reality? Ed-Board thinks so.
There are so many television shows about winning money, winning love, or winning weight loss, but these shows are not all reality. There are queue-cards; there are pre-set story lines, and hints and shoves in the right direction for the “actors.”
Ed-board feels that the term “reality television” is a misnomer and these shows portray a version of pumped-up reality so inundated with false representation reality, and dripping with what Hollywood believes its audience wants see and it’s sad. Actors are coached on events and there is on screen manipulation through editing and other techniques, but society loves to follow along as if, yes, this is happening to someone, somewhere else, and asking themselves why are they not the lucky one.
More disturbing then reality contestant shows is celebrities putting their daily lives on screen like the audience is actually interested in happy couples. Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey’s “The Newlyweds,” no one watched it until she turned on the blonde ditziness and they started fights. “The House of Carters:” Ex-boy band-er Nick Carter and little brother Aaron and their sisters have put their upsetting family on TV, Britney Spears and now ex-hubby K-Fed did video diaries during one of her many tours. These are just a few examples of the perverseness that has become television.
Do these celebrities not have enough money and problems that now they want to air even more dirty laundry for the world to see?
And of the reality celeb shows that air a couples “happy marriage” all have ended in divorce. Brittney and K-Fed, Jessica and Nick, Travis Barker and Shanna Moakler in “Meet the Barkers.” Maybe celebrity couples in love should take the hint and keep it off the television if they want it to last. All those in favor of a Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes show raise their hands.
What can be most depressing is no one is immune to the reality TV hype. Everyone has that one show they are glued to the TV for once a week. People revel in the misfortune, or fortune in some cases, of others losses and wins.
Ed-board asks ‘why?’ Why is society so obsessed with reality on television that isn’t even actual reality? Actual reality is as dramatic and horror filled as reality television, if not more so. Turn on any news station.
Now there is some reality TV that should really knock peoples socks off.
