It absolutely horrifies me that reality TV has gone this far. For a long while I've regarded reality TV as something people watch solely because we've become socially isolated from our communities and now we have a craving to live vicariously through others. You want to see one woman choose a husband from a bunch of strangers while simultaneously being seriously involved with several of them?? Well go on and make a female best friend and convince her that playing the field is ok, even if it means she'll break a few hearts. You want to see people struggle to lose weight using any means necessary while making it look as though they're actually doing it the healthy way? ? Well go on and make friends with an overweight person and convince them anorexia or bulimia and a compulsion to over-exercise are healthy.
Seriously people...go out and interact.
The latest horror isn't even out yet and it disturbs me. Someone's Gotta Go takes place in a failing small business (thanks to the wonderful economy) where they open up the books so everyone can see what everyone else makes and the workers decide who gets fired. Really? Would you even want to be involved in such an event? Do you really want to be the one to decide if Karen whose husband lost his job 3 months ago and who has 3 kids gets fired because she gets paid more than everyone else? Personally, I wouldn't be part of any such decision. It only opens the door to petty rivalry and arguments based upon who makes what. Plus, what happens after the show leaves and these people have to return to work beside all of the people who cut them down trying to save their own job. Why don't we just throw a lion in there and see who gets pushed in front of it first at dinnertime?
There was a time when losing your job wasn't the horrifying idea it is right now. Unemployment is on the rise and millions of people are without jobs. It is not entertainment to watch someone lose theirs. Do you want to see the effects of someone losing their job? Look out your window at the foreclosed homes, the families going to the food pantry, the people who have lost their jobs and are struggling. Better yet, make friends with one.... you'll get to hear all the nitty gritty details of how difficult it is for them to survive on a daily basis.
People, if you want to watch horror happen to real people, you don't have to turn on the television. All you have to do is step outside your front door and talk to 10 people. You'll find someone impacted by the current economy.
Even worse is that the whole idea of reality TV is starting to creep me out in much the same fashion that The Lottery by Shirley Jackson creeps me out. If you're not familiar with the story, here's a link: http://www.classicshorts.com/stories/lotry.html Reality TV creeps me out and Something's Gotta Go sounds to me to be very similar to Something's Gotta Give... and it does.
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