Finish the Sentence Friday - #4

I never understood what the big deal was about……. 

….. so-called “reality” programs. 

I’ve aired my opinion on this before so nobody should be too shocked by the fact that I boycott all “reality” television on basic principle no matter how popular it may be.  These programs have absolutely nothing to do with reality.  Just because there is no script, doesn’t make it real.   

I just don’t understand the fascination that the viewing public has with this genre.  Obviously, people really are fascinated enough by it to tune in week after week or the genre would have died out long ago but I just don’t get it.   

People let themselves be stranded on islands with a bunch of strangers to form lord-of-the-flies-like alliances forced to eat gross things and “jump through hoops” to keep from being thrown out.  There are those who live with strangers and proceed to verbally tear each other apart for the benefit of the rolling cameras.  There are people who get up on a stage to have their talents ridiculed by judges and their millions of viewers.  Don’t even get me started on the pathetic souls who try to woo a spouse with a camera in their faces and knowing that their every move is being judged around thousands of water coolers the next day.  It’s hard enough navigating a relationship when it’s just two people involved. 

Then we move on to the quasi-celebrities and has-beens who bring the cameras into their lives to advertise their drama and dysfunctional relationships to the world.  Please don’t tell me these people are normal.  People like this are attention junkies and know that they are just crazy enough (or can pretend to be) to be interesting.  I mean who the heck would want to watch the Kardashians eat their Shreddies in the morning and head off to work like a normal family?  Nobody! 

How is any of this reality?  How do they manage to suck so many people into watching?  I can’t say that people who watch this programming are fools or stupid.  I know some very intelligent and perfectly nice people who watch at least some of this genre.  Could it just be a matter of human curiosity like rubbernecking when you pass an accident on the road or looking at the guy on the street corner who is talking to himself?  I think that some of the antics on these shows have a kind of car wreck feel to them that make people want to see what happens next.    

Thankfully, there are a gazillion channels (exaggerate much?) out there providing something for everyone  and if, even with all of this choice, I still can’t find something to watch, I can always (gasp) turn OFF the television and pick up a book or even type up a blog post about there being nothing to watch.

Kathy