Thursday, May 28, 2009

The Reality of Reality Television

Is there anyone in the United States who hasn't heard of Jon and Kate? They are a couple who had twins, and then (I think) they adopted sextuplets. So now they're Jon and Kate Plus 8 and they have a reality television show. And now, (coincidentally just before their season premiere) Jon was caught in an affair, except he wasn't, and Kate is a monster and her attitude and actions drove him to the affair which he didn't have. This is reality?
There are so many things wrong with this whole situation!
Let's start with the fact that these people have a television show because they have a lot of kids. Apparently enough people are curious as to how a large family lives that it warrants a TV show. Had I only known! I could have had a show titled, "Jill and the Boys" or some such catchy thing as that. I can tell you how a large family operates. Pretty much like a small one, but on a bigger scale.
Second, where's the reality? Is it reality to have television cameras in every corner of your lives? To have cameras in your children's faces twenty-four hours a day? Not to mention, I don't know how long this show has been going on, but I've seen a few pictures recently that show just how much things have changed since it started. Kate had normal blonde hair and looked like an average housewife. Now she has a frosted blonde reverse mullet, with bangs run amuck down the side of her face. Seriously, the first time I saw their picture, it took me a minute to figure out which one is Jon.
And speaking of Jon--why on earth would you invite television cameras into your life, and then be surprised (or outraged) when they catch you doing something you're not supposed to do? Hello! That's why they're there. Contrary to common beliefs, they aren't interested in where you buy your gas or how many cups of coffee you have during the day. They want to catch the bad stuff. They want to see the dirt.
I think reality television is a dangerous trend. We're like a bunch of voyeurs, peeping in on other people's lives. And on the other side of the camera are people who want the world to know every little fault and foible of their personalities. They don't hide the flaws. They flaunt them. They glory in them.
As for me, I don't want to know anyone that well. They can keep their flaws to themselves. And I don't want anyone knowing me that well either. Some of my private life is just that--private.
But there's another, darker shadow lurking just below the surface. It scares me because, if it's true, it shows a much worse side of our lives. This whole affair thing broke in the news right before their season premiere. It makes me wonder if this really happened recently, or if they saved the story until now because it made for publicity. And if your life appears to be imploding, why would you continue to air it on national television? M instinct would be to scale back and try to fix the problems in our life. Not use it to share with millions of viewers. If that's the price of fame, it's much too high. Great ratings are not worth the sacrifice. Fifteen minutes of fame isn't worth the destruction of your family. And regarding that fifteen minutes of fame--do you really want to be known for destroying your family?
The reality is, some prices are much too high.

1 comment:

  1. I have seen the show a couple of times, mostly glimses of it, but didn´t much care for it because they were both so mean to each other. She was mean to him and completly desrespecful and he was making really degrating comments about her in her back (in her back??? does he realize it is all taped) Anyhow, I think they have been on since the 6 ones were born... how can you live like that?? I guess you get used to??But you are right, I don´t know why they would sacrifice their family just to stay on. They should have seen the red flags a long time ago and stop, because their kids deserve to be protected from their parents mess and those kids just don´t have that choice.

    ReplyDelete

Well don't just stand there! Say something! : )

Related Posts with Thumbnails