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30 Days of TV - Day 5
May. 21st, 2010 07:56 am
( The Days )
Day 05 - A show you hate
This is an easy one, although I can't narrow it down to a specific title because they all blur together as one big ball of toxic evil. A show I hate? Reality TV. Specifically, reality TV that exploits ordinary people.
I'm fine with something like Celebrity Big Brother or I'm A Celebrity - Get Me Out Of Here! Uh...when I say 'fine' I mean I'd rather have experiemental anal surgery than actually watch them, but I'm okay with them polluting the airwaves as long as I don't have to be in the vicinity. The 'celebrities' involved in those shows by definition already know what it's like to be the focus of media attention. They know what they're getting into and they do it to further their careers. Fair enough.
But there are a bunch of popular reality shows that rely on taking (for want of a better term) civilians off the street and making entertainment out of their humiliation. This I find utterly reprehensible.
If I ruled the world for a day, getting rid of those shows and throwing the people who profit from them into a fiery pit would be pretty darn high on my agenda. (You know, after world peace and cleaning up the environment. And waterboarding George Bush.)
I mean, I get that The X-Factor and its ilk are giving talented people a shot at fame...although from what I've seen of them I'd question the 'talented' part. But why show the auditions? There's only one reason to do that: it's mockery of those people who took a shot and failed. And sure, some people go to the auditions fully aware that their only talent is to look like a tosser. I imagine a few people run a betting pool on how many notes they'll get to sing before being kicked out. But there are also people who believe in themselves and want the dream they're being sold so badly...and the show makes entertainment out of crushing them. The indescribably evil bastards behind the production make money by destroying people.
Big Brother started out as a potentially interesting concept. I still wanted to buy the Channel 4 head a copy of The Running Man with instructions to read, learn and inwardly digest, but what it became as the franchise went on was utterly indefensible. From an interesting, if exploitative, social experiment, it became a ratings-hungry monster, designing a 'house' with maximum mental (and physical) torture in mind, intentionally selecting contestants with diagnosed mental illnesses with an agenda to provoke mockery and hate, not understanding. They threw racial minorities in with racists, knowing full well what would happen. They ran a tick-box exercise to 'prove' they were taking care of people inside the 'house' while intentionally doing everything possible to make life horrible for them. And then they top it off by throwing them into a baying mob.
Why do I watch, if I hate them so much? I don't. Unfortunately, my family members do so I catch snatches of these things as I pass through the room, or when I'm trying to have a conversation. Hell, I've even tried to bring to their attention how wholly toxic this crap is, but I don't seem to have much success.
So yeah. A show I hate: Reality TV. We really haven't come very far since throwing slaves to the lions, have we?
(I will take a break from the meme over the weekend; back with day 6 on Monday.)
Day 05 - A show you hate
This is an easy one, although I can't narrow it down to a specific title because they all blur together as one big ball of toxic evil. A show I hate? Reality TV. Specifically, reality TV that exploits ordinary people.
I'm fine with something like Celebrity Big Brother or I'm A Celebrity - Get Me Out Of Here! Uh...when I say 'fine' I mean I'd rather have experiemental anal surgery than actually watch them, but I'm okay with them polluting the airwaves as long as I don't have to be in the vicinity. The 'celebrities' involved in those shows by definition already know what it's like to be the focus of media attention. They know what they're getting into and they do it to further their careers. Fair enough.
But there are a bunch of popular reality shows that rely on taking (for want of a better term) civilians off the street and making entertainment out of their humiliation. This I find utterly reprehensible.
If I ruled the world for a day, getting rid of those shows and throwing the people who profit from them into a fiery pit would be pretty darn high on my agenda. (You know, after world peace and cleaning up the environment. And waterboarding George Bush.)
I mean, I get that The X-Factor and its ilk are giving talented people a shot at fame...although from what I've seen of them I'd question the 'talented' part. But why show the auditions? There's only one reason to do that: it's mockery of those people who took a shot and failed. And sure, some people go to the auditions fully aware that their only talent is to look like a tosser. I imagine a few people run a betting pool on how many notes they'll get to sing before being kicked out. But there are also people who believe in themselves and want the dream they're being sold so badly...and the show makes entertainment out of crushing them. The indescribably evil bastards behind the production make money by destroying people.
Big Brother started out as a potentially interesting concept. I still wanted to buy the Channel 4 head a copy of The Running Man with instructions to read, learn and inwardly digest, but what it became as the franchise went on was utterly indefensible. From an interesting, if exploitative, social experiment, it became a ratings-hungry monster, designing a 'house' with maximum mental (and physical) torture in mind, intentionally selecting contestants with diagnosed mental illnesses with an agenda to provoke mockery and hate, not understanding. They threw racial minorities in with racists, knowing full well what would happen. They ran a tick-box exercise to 'prove' they were taking care of people inside the 'house' while intentionally doing everything possible to make life horrible for them. And then they top it off by throwing them into a baying mob.
Why do I watch, if I hate them so much? I don't. Unfortunately, my family members do so I catch snatches of these things as I pass through the room, or when I'm trying to have a conversation. Hell, I've even tried to bring to their attention how wholly toxic this crap is, but I don't seem to have much success.
So yeah. A show I hate: Reality TV. We really haven't come very far since throwing slaves to the lions, have we?
(I will take a break from the meme over the weekend; back with day 6 on Monday.)
