08.26.04

guilty pleasure

Posted in culture at 11:01 pm by

Okay. I’ll admit it. I love to watch Newlyweds. You know the one with Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson. It’s the latest rage in reality television. The basic story line of a typical show goes something like this: Nick and Jessica have some sort of everyday problem that one would easily deal with on a regular daily basis. Neither of the two feel capable to deal with the problem–nor does Jessica’s personal assistant (who really does very little assisting of anything and is more like a present day Kato Kaelin.) Next, since Nick, Jessica or Kato…er…the houseguest, can deal with this problem–which is often something like having an ant problem or some wild animal crapped in their yard they pay an exorbitant amount of money to have this minor problem alleviated. Then after the professionals all arrive, Nick, Jessica, and the houseguest round up an entourage to go out for dinner. (After all, after all the busyness of the day they’re all far too tired to cook for themselves.)

This is labelled “reality tv.”

Let that phrase sink in a moment. Reality TV.

I don’t know what circles all y’all run in but where I come from that doesn’t even begin to approach reality. Of course, we don’t see the reality of Nick and Jessica’s life. Anything that approaches reality is edited out because after all the producers know that the general public doesn’t tune into MTV for an hour to watch reality.

I think that people watch reality tv to escape from their own reality and be transplaced into another. The problem I see with this is that reality tv doesn’t tell the truth. Shows like Nick and Jessica’s Newlyweds tell the world that if you’ve got a wad of hundred dollar bills that you can purchase case after case of Miller Lite and drop thousands on the Kentucky Derby–you’ll be happy. If you can afford to load your entourage onto a plane and head off to Mexico for the weekend or spend a week in Fiji to learn how to surf, you’ll finally have arrived. If you’re a sex symbol, your life is good.

What I find exceptionally ironic about this is that the folks who actually believe this message should, it would seem, realize how miserable their lives are. They escape for an hour or two or three a week only to return to their pale, poor lives. If you believe what MTV is selling.

But MTV isn’t selling truth. Plenty of folks that have a little are far happier than even Nick, Jessica, and Kato. I think it’s time we see a disgustingly average reality tv show. I’m tired of seeing rich folks spend their money. Show me a lower middle class family who cleans their own gutters. A woman who is a size 12 rather than a tan size 0 with triple D cups. A husband who works in a factory and comes home and plays with his kids. A family who plays board games together rather than globetrotting out to Mexico for the weekend. A truly happy family.

But that’s bad tv. Or is it?

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guilty pleasure

Posted in culture at 11:01 pm by

Okay. I’ll admit it. I love to watch Newlyweds. You know the one with Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson. It’s the latest rage in reality television. The basic story line of a typical show goes something like this: Nick and Jessica have some sort of everyday problem that one would easily deal with on a regular daily basis. Neither of the two feel capable to deal with the problem–nor does Jessica’s personal assistant (who really does very little assisting of anything and is more like a present day Kato Kaelin.) Next, since Nick, Jessica or Kato…er…the houseguest, can deal with this problem–which is often something like having an ant problem or some wild animal crapped in their yard they pay an exorbitant amount of money to have this minor problem alleviated. Then after the professionals all arrive, Nick, Jessica, and the houseguest round up an entourage to go out for dinner. (After all, after all the busyness of the day they’re all far too tired to cook for themselves.)

This is labelled “reality tv.”

Let that phrase sink in a moment. Reality TV.

I don’t know what circles all y’all run in but where I come from that doesn’t even begin to approach reality. Of course, we don’t see the reality of Nick and Jessica’s life. Anything that approaches reality is edited out because after all the producers know that the general public doesn’t tune into MTV for an hour to watch reality.

I think that people watch reality tv to escape from their own reality and be transplaced into another. The problem I see with this is that reality tv doesn’t tell the truth. Shows like Nick and Jessica’s Newlyweds tell the world that if you’ve got a wad of hundred dollar bills that you can purchase case after case of Miller Lite and drop thousands on the Kentucky Derby–you’ll be happy. If you can afford to load your entourage onto a plane and head off to Mexico for the weekend or spend a week in Fiji to learn how to surf, you’ll finally have arrived. If you’re a sex symbol, your life is good.

What I find exceptionally ironic about this is that the folks who actually believe this message should, it would seem, realize how miserable their lives are. They escape for an hour or two or three a week only to return to their pale, poor lives. If you believe what MTV is selling.

But MTV isn’t selling truth. Plenty of folks that have a little are far happier than even Nick, Jessica, and Kato. I think it’s time we see a disgustingly average reality tv show. I’m tired of seeing rich folks spend their money. Show me a lower middle class family who cleans their own gutters. A woman who is a size 12 rather than a tan size 0 with triple D cups. A husband who works in a factory and comes home and plays with his kids. A family who plays board games together rather than globetrotting out to Mexico for the weekend. A truly happy family.

But that’s bad tv. Or is it?

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