Reality Used to Be a Friend of Mine

Ahhhh, January. It's a new year, with new goals. Sadly, it's also a time for new, cringe-worthy reality television. Blech, with the cold and the bad reality TV, January really is the worst month of the year.

I have never really enjoyed reality TV. I use television as an occasional escape, and I want my escapes to be well planned. I have tried and tried over the years, but I do not like this type of programming. In fact, watching this so-called "unscripted" television really makes me angry. Why? Because it's becoming dumber by the second and makes me lose faith in America.

OK, so when I was younger and more drawn to drama, I did actually watch "The Real World," which I consider the original reality program. But as I grew older (as in, I turned 23) I developed a distaste for such drama and stopped watching. The drama that used to be on "The Real World" has been fully surpassed by the current shows.

Why do people like this trashy, orange train wreck?

I took pride in never having watched "Jersey Shore" until spending the weekend with a friend who is obsessed with it and then forced me to sit through a marathon. I do not exaggerate when I say I get so frustrated at the stupidity of the characters that I inevitably end up yelling at the TV. This is repeatable every single time, without fail. How is yelling at the TV the relaxing escape I'm looking for? The fact that the cast members sleep with so many other dirty individuals that Valtrex was popped like candy actually makes me shudder. The thought of accidental procreation by people on "Jersey Shore" should scare us all. These thoughts and others only produce more yelling at the TV, then make me curl up and start rocking in the corner while saying over and over, "Snooki makes baby Jesus cry."

My brother-in-law is a fan of "The Bachelor." He claims the best part is during the final weeks of the series when the bachelor goes on date after date with ridiculously attractive women. Says the brother-in-law, "You know he's banging all these women at once, and they actually seem hurt when they don't get picked. And the TV network applauds it. That's entertainment." OK, I can sort of see why that would be amusing to watch. It's not as awful, in my opinion, as "Jersey Shore," but disturbs me, nevertheless.

A "Pretty Woman" hooker outfit? That's just wrong. 

We've morphed into a warped society that enjoys watching trash like "Toddlers and Tiaras." Really? This is what it takes to entertain us now? I had never even heard of this horrific show until my mother-in-law stumbled across it and said it was such a disturbing train wreck she couldn't turn away. I briefly checked it out but was certainly able to turn away. My disgust for this program knows no bounds. It's one thing to watch fully grown adults make fools of themselves for all to see, but to watch little girls pimped on TV for some sort of odd, short-lived fame is gross. To force children under 10 to show their tummies or booties to judges to score extra points is reprehensible. How is this not a milder form of child porn? And what about the mom who gives her daughter "go-go juice" during pageants to help her perform better? Or the countless moms who force their little girls to get eyebrows plucked and teeth capped for aesthetic purposes? How is this not child abuse? Yet we not only ignore the awful things done to these children, it's actually celebrated as a form of entertainment. If we saw parents performing some of these actions in everyday life instead of on television, many of us would likely inform child protective services and try to have the kids relocated to a more nurturing environment. But the safety net of TV protects these parents and their heinous acts.

When confronted with accusations about watching such trash, I find many people get defensive and blame the networks. I hear people say all the time, "Well I just watch it because it's on. If it weren't on, I wouldn't watch it." Guess what, people? If you don't watch it, it won't be on! Working in the TV news industry, I can assure you that everything is done for ratings and revenue. Reality show producers don't care about you or the people they exploit to make "good TV." They care about creating the most over-the-top show that will cause people to sit with mouths agape, unable to change the channel. If people stopped watching, ratings would plummet and these shows would be canceled, I promise you. Remember such ill-fated shows as "Cavemen," which was deemed so abysmal it only made it through something like three episodes? This could be awful reality shows!

Think about it, it my last post, I talked about taking down the Kardashians and plunging them into obscurity. There was quite an outpouring of support for that idea from readers. Yet, that dysfunctional family has enough followers that they manage to pull in contracts for TV shows time and time again. Stop watching them and send a message! Don't fall victim to the dumbing down of society, America!

I know my words will fall on many deaf ears because it's incredibly difficult to give up a habit, even if said habit is simply flipping on trashy reality TV. However, I vow to be a part of the solution, not the problem. I will continue to boycott all forms of sensational reality TV shows. Hopefully a few others will join me and we can start a revolution that will force television producers to actually do some work and earn their inflated paychecks by coming up with well-written entertainment.