How About More Real in Reality TV?
Read more articles on Movies, visual media and Let Me Share With You.March 11, 2007
Posted by Karen Amato Schwartz
March 11, 2007
Posted by Karen Amato Schwartz
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Sometimes I think a few of the networks who produce reality TV consider us pretty gullible. Do they really expect us to believe that what we’re seeing is unrehearsed? Hah! Yet, on the other hand, just because I don’t believe this is reality does not mean I don’t find some of it rather interesting…
Actually, a good deal of it is what I would call “addicting”. In the last year or so, I must admit that I’ve been hooked into 3 shows where a famous person tries to find a romantic partner: “Kept”, “Flavor of Love” and “I Love New York”. I’m sorry that I don’t have the space here to describe the shows to those who never have seen them, but suffice it to say they’re a hoot. Basically, a celebrity chooses 12 folks to put through various tests to determine if they meet the basic criteria of their dreamboat. I’ve laughed out loud on many occasions, such as watching the group of inept women preparing a meal for one celebrity’s mother by micro-waving a whole chicken, and a group of young men who must play daddy to a horde of young girls at a “princess party”.
However, the show in which a woman must determine which man is single, which one is married, and who is gay is nowhere near as amusing, and seems way too staged for me. A show where three mothers go on dates with a young man, trying to sell him on their daughters, is almost insulting, and so contrived as to be a caricature of mothers and daughters everywhere. Other dogs-again in my opinion-are those reality shows where young people are stuck living together and dealing with issues that are just plain ugly to witness. The show about single people choosing blind dates based on their living spaces quickly became boring, and I’ve never been excited enough to watch Wife Swap or Nanny 911 all the way to the end. I have never been a Survivor fan, either, although I’m aware that puts me in the minority.
I think that one of the most educational reality shows is America’s Next Top Model; the trips that the finalists take to exotic locations are interesting and well presented, and the peek into the demands of the fashion industry make it clear that a pretty face is not enough. I do think much of the drama is faked, but the one can’t help feeling like they know the girls personally after 3 months (just like in American Idol, which to me is not reality TV, but a talent competition).
It’s hard to say which is worse-bad reality TV programming or bad sitcoms. Both are a waste of time, but when you find a gem, usually millions of others feel the same way. It’s those gems that keep us hooked and returning for more-even though the situations and characters in them are usually far removed from our own “reality”. But for a half hour of suspended reality, I’ll take ‘em!
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