Tuesday Write Post #1: Reality TV





Is this how your family dresses for a family photo?

Reality television is harmful to American society. Some may argue that it is simply a form of entertainment, but the true reality is that it dumbs down the audience, glorifies bad behavior, and portrays a false reality. In “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo,” for example, the mother often needs subtitles because her English is so broken that an average person can’t understand her. In fact, people watch this show primarily to make fun of the characters. The audience is inundated with improper grammar and meaningless conversations that demand no intellect; it allows viewers to turn off their brains and let the garbage seep in. We see the same issue in the popular show “Keeping Up with the Kardashians,” where the “famous” sisters are more concerned with how they look and what they wear than anything else. However, these shows are innocuous compared to the bad behavior exhibited in “The Real Housewives”. These women constantly bicker and argue over petty issues, often while intoxicated, and then spend days ignoring each other and talking behind each other’s backs. Is this the kind of behavior we want to glorify? Children are being raised with these shows in the background and thus subconsciously learn that this behavior is acceptable. Plus, these shows are marketed as “reality” when in truth they are mostly fake. Take “The Bachelor,” for example. Of course contestants fall in love when they are in a tropical paradise. But once the show wraps, the couple inevitably break up when true reality sets in and they realize they weren’t as in love as the show fooled them into believing.

 

 

Transformation

Some may argue that reality TV is simply entertainment that does not harm anyone.  People have a lot of stress in their lives; they want to come home, sit in front of the television, be entertained, and relax. One could even argue that watching other people’s problems play out on TV makes a person feel better about his or her own situation. However, there are other healthy forms of entertainment available to help people deal with stress, such as watching a movie, bowling, etc. Others have pointed out that some reality TV encourages people to improve themselves and achieve their dreams. On “The Biggest Loser,” contestants compete to lose weight. For some, if it wasn’t for the show, they would still be obese. Additionally, everyone has heard of singing stars Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood. If it wasn’t for “American Idol,” they might have never been discovered. However, these shows only help a select few, and can also be used to exploit the people involved. While it may be true that a few reality shows encourage people to go after their dreams, this is not enough to outweigh the negative effects. The hard truth is that this genre of television is deceitful, vapid trash that portrays no “reality” with which any sane person can identify. It is an epidemic that will only harm our society in the long run.