First, I promise, I will refrain from using any more Antoine Dodson quotes as a blog title, but since this about reality, or at least the version of reality that television and the internet throw at us, it seemed appropriate. That being said, I think Antoine Dodson serves as a prime example for the purpose of writing this tonight, so kudos to me!
Ask my husband, who for the most part, loathes reality TV and he will tell you that I am sucked in by nearly all of these types of shows whether they are on major networks or cable channels. I probably missed my calling as some kind of sociology major who studies people and their behaviors because I am a self-admitted people watcher. I find the way people interact with others and their environment fascinating. Each new person we encounter in our lives is a chance for us to learn something new, both about ourselves and others. Hence the reason reality TV holds me transfixed even when it is seemingly a total car-wreck of an idea. However, the evolution (or as I would argue, the de-evolution) of reality TV seems to have served up one dose of reality that just makes most people uncomfortable. Well at least if you have a brain and a heart and a good moral compass.
In the early stages of reality TV (at least as I’ve known it in my lifetime) we had shows that were the ultimate social experiment and featured catchy taglines like “Seven people picked to live in a house and have their lives taped, find out what happens when people start being polite and start getting real.” {Author note: If you don’t know what reality show that is from, this whole blog may be lost on you.} MTV’s Real World was my first experience with reality television and from the first day of season 1 I thought it was brilliant. People at their best and worst were on display for anyone who tuned in to MTV and it revealed that perhaps we aren’t as politically correct as we like to think we are. The most memorable moment for me is from the first episode when Heather, an African-American female and aspiring musician, has a pager that goes off during the initial meeting of the roommates. Julie, a white girl from somewhere in the South who has apparently led a very sheltered life, quickly responds to the pager with “Why do you have a pager? Do you sell drugs?” It was at that moment that the collective audience held their breath to await the response. Everything ended well and the roommates went on to provide a fairly entertaining season that had its share of social issues like race, sexual orientation and politics. Yes, people disagreed at times and yes, people argued and yelled and probably said some things they regret but overall it was an interesting look at the ability of people to adapt to a new situation and befriend those whom are different from themselves.
With the success of shows like “The Real World”, the flood gates opened and reality TV became the hot ticket for networks that wanted to boost ratings. MTV followed up their hit with a travel version called “Road Rules” and other networks toted out shows in later years like “Survivor” and “Big Brother”. Now I could sit here all night and list the list of reality shows that followed but I’ve not got time for that, nor the patience. Needless to say if living together and competing against each other brought in the viewers than other topics shot realistically would too. We got dating shows (The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, Flavor of Love, etc) make-over shows (Extreme Makeover, The Biggest Loser,etc..), cooking competitions (Top Chef, Hells Kitchen) and shows that showcased “normal” people doing something most of us couldn’t fathom, like raising sextuplets (Jon & Kate Plus 8), or even larger families (19 Kids & Counting). On any given night you can flip on TV and watch someone bake an amazing cake that resembles art more than cake, hunt ghosts, design clothing, compete for a role in a movie, get fixed up by a millionaire matchmaker, be a housewife in some location most of us would consider glamorous (Like NYC or Beverly Hills) or test their fears. We’ve seen teen moms and kids from Laguna Beach or the Jersey Shore become Hollywood types because a camera filmed them for a season. I think at some point we stopped caring about quality or value in these shows and started throwing on whatever the networks could think of next.
As I watch some of the offspring of these original pioneer shows, like the Challenge shows produced by MTV for former Real World and Road Rules house guests, I feel like the spirit of competition and show-casing the good in people has been twisted into something that most of these people on these shows should be ashamed of doing or saying. Instead of coming together to build a better understanding of other people or for a little healthy competition, these contestants or whatever we call them, have become the prime example of what is wrong with people. They lie, they get drunk, they get in verbal and physical fights, they act like idiots, they demean others based on gender, sexual orientation, religion, race and any thing else they can possibly find fault with during their time together. What is worse is that sometimes the degrading behavior is not from the people on the show but rather from those who produce it. People become expendable commodities that can be used and then discarded like an old magazine that has been read and tossed aside in favor of the next issue on the news stand.
It seems to me that if the “reality” showcased through these shows is truly a picture of us as a nation then we can’t really blame people who hold a negative view of us and our culture. If all another culture sees is people getting their GTL on at the Jersey Shore or getting drunk and competing in unsafe or demeaning challenges (I’m looking at you VH1 with your “Rock of Love” and “Flavor of Love”) then it is no wonder the only opinion they can form is that we are a bunch of low-class, superficial, unintelligent and greedy group of people who care little for others feelings, the law or basic human decency. Perhaps a new TV rating scale should be invented and implemented just for these shows with ratings for lack of morals and values, inappropriate language/clothing/challenges and a scale of 1-5 for intellectual aptitude. A new tagline is also in order, just re-work MTV’s old ones, just like they did with the reality TV premise: “Find out what happens when people stop being civilized human beings and start being a sad reflection on the personality of America.”
Undoubtedly there are some of you who will disagree with me. Perhaps you’ll argue that if reality TV were all that bad it would disappear altogether. Perhaps you may agree with me. Either way, comments and emails are always welcome.
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