On my way home from a wonderful week long vacation with the girls (Sadie & Josie) out in Palm Desert, I was listening to talk radio where the topic of discussion was about reality TV shows. Sadie and I got off on our own discussion into the "phenomenon" that is reality TV, and how it has imbedded itself into the American psyche like a flesh eating parasite, paralyzing our intellect and luring a large portion of our society into a cesspool of nonsensical retardation.
The conclusion that I came to in our discussion was that some of these shows(specifically the ones that revolve around families like "John & Kate Plus 8", "Meet the Kardashians", etc.) are doing way more harm than good...both to the people who are on these shows and the avid viewers who can't seem to get enough of watching these idiots sell themselves to the devil for their 15 minutes of fame. -Danny Tangent Insert / Except in the information and digital age, 15 minutes has become more like 5-10 years or even longer. And why? Because today there are actually television programs (TMZ, Access Hollywood, Extra, The Insider, etc.) and/or websites that are dedicated to following these people for no other reason than to let us know how fucked up their lives are years after they starred on their own reality show. / End of Tangent- Anyway, back to what I was saying. What these reality shows are doing to our society is allowing avid viewers and fans to consume and feed off of the serious dysfunction of others. Meanwhile, distracting themselves from dealing with their very own dysfunctional issues...and in time, perpetuating a massive communication failure that leads to a higher rate of divorce, severe depression, suicidal tendencies and a whole slew of negative trends and psychological disorders that will continue to infect our already volatile society.
I recently found myself watching this "John & Kate Plus 8" show, and I have to tell you...John & Kate are fucking idiots. I can't candy coat it or say it any more simple than that. They are repugnant sycophants and should be ashamed of the way that they have gone about this whole Reality TV thing. Not once, has any of this mockery of parenting been about those poor, innocent kids. I get that it would be difficult to go from having 2 kids to 8 kids overnight... and that the story of that might be intriguing to some. But do you have to make a television program out of it? A program that just signed on for another season? I mean, we get it. You have 8 kids and its difficult to run a household with 8 kids all under the age of 10. One ninety minute documentary would have been enough. But this show goes waaaaay beyond the topic of having 8 children and steers its direction towards the personality disorders(and the drama that comes with them) of the two parents. The metamorphosis of this "Kate" woman from a pasty white, chubby, somewhere in Middle-America, ragged house mom of 8 kids..... to a tanned, skinny, punky haired, breast augmented, "Co-Co Chanel" sun glass wearing, Joan Crawford-esque Mommy Dearest Ice Witch...(I can just picture her saying to her kids, "NO WIRE HANGERS!!!")...just proves that it has never been about the kids and was always about her. And you knew it was only a matter of time before the pressures of fame and Kate's constant pitiful complaining and badgering would force John (husband) into an affair with another woman, just so he could feel like a normal guy again. But now this poor shlub can't even set one foot outside his house without a crew of paparazzi following him to end of the earth if need be, to see when he will screw up next. And so publications like US Weekly and all the other shit that's out there for society to consume and devour in an effort to escape from their own problems, continues to expose people like John & Kate, or The Kardashians, or all the past winners and/or runners-up from "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette", etc.
It truly has become society's new drug....and the media is the drug pusher. They know that the product is morally corrupt, completely uninspiring, and complete mindless nonsense. But what was once a small market of a few, has now turned into a mega-market of the idiotic majority demanding to read, hear and see more celebrities fall hard on their face....and when that isn't enough or becomes too bland, the media just starts plugging in everyday "Joe's & Jane's" to feed the fix of a fiendish society who gets their kicks from watching the exploitation and demise of their fellow citizens.
Rome is burning my friends... And this is but one of hundreds of rapidly expanding and evolving diseases that cripples the mind and slowly desensitizes us to the point of having no compassion for anyone or anything. I cannot watch these shows for any extended period of time because of the extreme disdain I have for the product and it's players, which always rises up inside me and makes me want to take a baseball bat to these people's face. It is such a waste of time, space and life.
We need to get back to good old fashioned confrontation with one another, whether it is good or bad. There are too many avenues made available to us, allowing us to escape when we refuse to deal with our own issues head on. But watching other people suffer and trying to relate to them and their issues through a media portal does not help me with my problems and it sure as hell doesn't stimulate my intellect. So I'm hoping at some point in the future there will be a time when we as a society get over the infatuation of voyeurism, and fall back on the ultimate stimulant....direct human interaction.
Just a random thought that I had in my head today. Feel free to share your thoughts on this subject.
-Danny Z.
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okay, i'm throwing myself into the fire here but i actually have a bit of love for a few of these shows myself. mostly ones that don't involve children, considering any child would think it would be awesome to be on tv but doesn't have the reasoning to be able to think critically about the ramifications.
ReplyDeletejon (no 'h') and kate was a show i watched from the inception. it actually used to be quite endearing and warm and interesting. it was shot much more like a documentary and jon and kate were not famous. they went places and people stared because they had twin 3 year olds and EIGHT babies. kate was always kate. she's a bit more harsh right now but i can tell you one thing...i would look like a raging bitch if i were to be filmed with my family after i found out my husband (maybe) had an affair. granted, she asked for this. she signed on for another year. i don't pity her for that. but i find it sad that she gets reamed for taking care of her appearance now that she can afford it. there's some sort of weird contradiction out there says moms are only allowed to "sort of" take care of themselves. granted, her style is a bit off, but whatever. i'm sure some people don't appreciate my thrift store style, either. but i sure as hell don't want people judging me regarding my style just because i'm a mom and there is some sort of mold i'm supposed to fit into.
all that being said, they should have stopped after the third year. those kids are going to be seriously fucked up because they do not know life without a camera crew around. they think that's normal. hi, paris. hi, britney. i don't hate on them for making millions with the show. but they should have gone out on top.
now, as for the rest.
i love love love love the vhi trains wrecks that are rock of love, daisy of love, etc. however, THEY ARE NOT REAL. most of these shows aren't. i enjoy them for the train wrecks that they are but do not for a second buy into the "reality." maybe that's why i'm able to enjoy them so much. this whole "love as a commodity" thing is so intriquing. this idea that you can win someone's heart on a game show. it's so tragically flawed from the onset that i can't help but pay attention, as though it's some sort of documentary about human behavior.
a scripted documentary, but a damn fine example of why people behave the way they do and the motivations behind such actions.
okay, okay, i'll concede that these shows really don't add much to our society besides entertainment. but i don't watch them to figure out my life. yes, they make me feel better about myself. but i'm also not a fame whore and don't ever want to be. i watch the train wreck, then i turn it off and go about my life. and remember that bret michaels is (in real life) married and living in the valley.
Krista, you have valid points. However, I don't consider you part of the idiotic majority. I guess the point that I was trying to make whne Sadie and I were discussing this issue, is that there are people out there that are soooo consumed with the lives of Jon & Kate, that it is digusting and wrong. The proof that there is a mojority is overwhelming success of such publication as US Weekly, OK, TMZ, etc. I could have taken this blog down the "Desperate Housewives of Orange County" avenue(which I still might)and really expressed my hatred and disdain for Reality TV. It is entertainment, no doubt about it. But I wish it wasn't so much in the forefront of entertainment. I wish that more intellectual and socially responsible entertainment was at the forefront. Here we are living in a bankrupt state, which is forced to drop school programs like music and theatre, forcing kids to become mindless drones, who are slaves to their blackberries and computers....not to mention prime candidates for one of those retarded reality shows on MTV or VH1. We all want to be entertained. But we are being lulled to sleep into accepting this garbage as entertainment. Eventually, there will be more reality TV show personalities than there will be world class musicians, dancers, writers, comedians, actors, etc. It's just sad.
ReplyDeleteZ, sweet blog. I like the fire and passion. I agree with Krista on the "love is a commodity" intrigue and a certain extent feel a little better about myself after seeing some of the trainwrecks I might have otherwise married on VH1. The fact is that reality tv is here to stay. Being socially and intellectually responsible is simply not profitable and profit drive most everything these days. Its sad, but true. Reality tv is cheap; production is cheap, do not need to pay actors, and the networks in turn make more money. I am just thankful my life is no longer to the level of some of these reality shows like it used to be (remember those days? I know you do)! Maybe the solution to our domestic problems (cutting school programs like you mentioned) is not necesarily reality tv, but the allocation of our tax dollars t things like the Iraq and Afganastan wars (see the $106 billion allocated today by the house). I would love you to blog that hot topic. M. Lavin
ReplyDeleteDanny Z, I am with you 100%. I feel bad for people that compare their success's with these low lifes that bare NO mark on society other than bullshit TV. How can you feel better about yourself after watching these complete Morons, splatter there pathetic existances on more Networks than I can stand. I would hope everyone reading this blog IS and will forever be BETTER and more soul bound than these "reality" crap TV Stars. Stars? They are black holes sucking the life and brains out of it's viewers. Drug? YES you are right Z... Try feeling good about yourself because you ARE good, and you do things in life that bring you joy. Not because you see how pathtic and dramatic these producers make these shows. Don't be fooled and don't feel good about yoruself because you are not like them. That is even more patheitic than the show itself.
ReplyDeleteThis is why I have no TV. I watch things like Dexter and Lost on Netflix and online. By doing this I never accidentally get sucked into these shows and then have to defend myself on someone else's blog.
ReplyDeleteYou are right, these shows are shit, and they are damaging our society.
Nice blog, btw! But the colors hurt my eyes. I almost quit reading even though I liked what I was reading.
Gotta turn the darn thing off and go to work. Let's talk to real people.
ReplyDelete