I have tried for far too long to understand this country’s fixation with reality TV.
At what point did we collectively deem good screenwriting and acting as no longer necessary? Americans seem to find dramatically staged catfights and strangers eating things that really should never be eaten more enticing than forms of entertainment with decidedly more substance.
The commencement of our love affair was, at one point, slightly understandable.
When “The Real World” began in the 1990s, part of its popularity owed to its novelty ““ it was, credit given to its stupid jingle, the true story of seven strangers, something we had never seen on TV before.
Even though the show innovatively capitalized on the fact that humans will always have an interest in how others conduct their lives, it is still troublesome to understand why the show was able to flourish enough for it to currently be on its 23rd season.
Why do we care so much about what happens when “people stop being polite, and start getting real”? Or perhaps the more important question is why, as an audience, we don’t question how “real” people can truly get when being paid to party, travel and be on television.
Following in strangely successful footsteps, series such as “Survivor,” “Fear Factor” and “The Bachelor” were introduced into a previously sitcom-dominated world.
Their fruition is also accredited to their timeless game-show appeal, which sounds innocent enough. Even though we can easily pick apart such shows for displays of stereotyping and especially misogyny, they seem absolutely chaste in comparison to the nature of many series today.
Literally every major network I can think of has several reality shows that they widely market, and with success.
That sentence alone wouldn’t sound so terrible if it weren’t for the fact that a majority of these shows are incredibly superficial, sexist and have much potential for detriment.
Topics are insignificant, contestants are celebrity wannabes desperately searching for 15 minutes of a type of fame that doesn’t appeal to me in the slightest, and audiences are dumber as a result. I almost feel like I’m dumber after watching a commercial for “Bridezillas” or “I Love Money 2″ or whatever number season that excuse for entertainment is on.
Not all television shows depicting reality ““ whatever it is ““ are trite and useless. Shows such as “Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations,” “American Idol” and “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” can be informative or give people unprecedented opportunities.
Even so, younger audiences probably watch more of the networks tailored to them, like E! or MTV. These are two of the prime examples of networks elevating their material to a new level of uselessness.
The bigger issue isn’t that these shows have no real value, or that audiences aren’t gaining a new perspective or snippet of information.
And, trust me, I understand that you can easily say that not everything should have to have educational merit, that entertainment should sometimes be a simple mode of mindless relaxation. This is true.
But can we not find anything more entertaining than trashy, drunken girls in tank tops that they believe are skirts allowing men to belittle them more than they have themselves? (Sounds a little reminiscent of activities on this campus, but that’s entirely another matter.) What are we gaining from such an utter mess?
Anyway, the bigger issue is that these shows, much like anything else in the public realm, have social repercussions. What does it mean for young children to come home from school and watch “16 & Pregnant”?
When we normalize on our primary source of entertainment girls who have to endure labor for two days simply because their bodies are too adolescent to be able to fully handle childbirth, we have to take into consideration what other messages are being normalized.
For kids, television is known to create weight issues, reinforce risky behavior and promote violence, and this is in regard to television in general.
If kids believe they are watching “reality” ““ watching other seemingly normal kids conducting seemingly normal lives, I can only assume the consequences to be that much more nocuous.
Reality shows are also divided along racial lines. And if they aren’t necessarily marketed to a specific racial group, then shows like “Jersey Shore” and “The Hills” still perpetuate stereotypical ideas that are offensive.
MTV has in fact received criticism from both cultural organizations and local New Jersey lawmakers about insensitively portraying Italian-Americans, but of course to no avail.
What is most disheartening is that we still call such shows “reality” television.
These shows are anything but and alter our perception of reality quite negatively, so that life increasingly feels as if it should revolve around parties, alcohol, petty drama or money.
Maybe older audiences can differentiate between the two realms, and maybe even that is wishful thinking, but to remember that younger audiences are coming of age with such a damaging form of entertainment is of urgent concern.
For kids, “normal” life must seem boring in comparison to the glamour and drama they devour daily. This is unbearably depressing, as the real world truly does offer much more fulfillment.
The damage caused from the other end of the screen may even be of more concern, for children and families alike. Don’t tell me you have already forgotten the poor family known as “Jon & Kate Plus 8,” a disastrous situation in which most will agree the media played an integral role in creating.
Television was developed as a mode of progress. It’s ironic that what was once meant to connect and inform otherwise distant citizens is now one of the larger threats to social wellbeing.
Some may say I’m taking the issue a little too seriously. I’ve heard the various reasons ““ when nothing else is on, these shows are just fun to watch. And what else should I expect when they are, after all, on TV all the time?
This excuse crumbles when we remember the basic tenet of consumer culture: We are provided with what we ask for, with what we are observed to indulge in.
Don’t underestimate what your watching power can do to your favorite networks. What’s more, don’t underestimate how your daily intake of mass media formulates how you process and perceive your environment.
E-mail Moradi at imoradi@media.ucla.edu. Send general comments to viewpoint@media.ucla.edu.