Spring Break
Reality shows: death of television
Mary Dixon
Issue date: 10/28/08 Section: Opinion
Reality TV has officially invaded our lives. You cannot turn on the television without seeing at least one commercial for a reality show. What happened to scripted television? Has Hollywood really run out of ideas that they rely strictly on the simple nature of man? I find it outrageous that television has become completely overrun by unimaginative reality shows.
Case in point: Seven people entered a house and were filmed to see what would happen "when people stopped being nice and started being real." Of course, I'm talking about the pilot season of MTV's "The Real World." Back when this aired though, it wasn't seen so much as reality TV, but more as a documentary. "The Real World" has continued to air since its 1992 launch, but 10 years later, the explosion of "reality" has hit us. CBS released "Survivor" in 2002 and America has never looked back.
Almost every channel has a reality show. They range from romance to documenting a family's life to a myriad of "charm schools." Our channel surfing has become based around whose life we find more interesting. Some people can't get enough of Lauren Conrad and her catty adventures on "The Hills." For those with a wild side and a strong stomach, there is the Discovery Channel's "Man vs. Wild." However, has anyone ever stopped to think that maybe these so-called shows aren't really anything but the slow demobilization of talent? Probably not. No thought at all goes into these shows. Some are more interesting than others, sure. But what has anyone gained by watching Flavor Flav make out with more than 50 scandalous women? Nothing.
In America, we pride ourselves with the fact that someone in this country can go from rags to riches. Nevertheless, the people who appear on these reality shows aren't doing anything out of the ordinary or spectacular. At best they've merely sold themselves for however many episodes they star in. However, most of the time they have sold themselves for pseudo-fame; they aren't even in the business for the money. They are just taking up time on a television show that lacks any sort of actual creativity.
So, with our airwaves taken over by reality, you have to wonder what happened to creativity on television. It's awful that most shows have no scripts, no actors and no talent. These people make fools of themselves while America points and laughs. I guess you get what you pay for - absolutely nothing!
This writer can be contacted at opinion@theeastcarolinian.com.
Case in point: Seven people entered a house and were filmed to see what would happen "when people stopped being nice and started being real." Of course, I'm talking about the pilot season of MTV's "The Real World." Back when this aired though, it wasn't seen so much as reality TV, but more as a documentary. "The Real World" has continued to air since its 1992 launch, but 10 years later, the explosion of "reality" has hit us. CBS released "Survivor" in 2002 and America has never looked back.
Almost every channel has a reality show. They range from romance to documenting a family's life to a myriad of "charm schools." Our channel surfing has become based around whose life we find more interesting. Some people can't get enough of Lauren Conrad and her catty adventures on "The Hills." For those with a wild side and a strong stomach, there is the Discovery Channel's "Man vs. Wild." However, has anyone ever stopped to think that maybe these so-called shows aren't really anything but the slow demobilization of talent? Probably not. No thought at all goes into these shows. Some are more interesting than others, sure. But what has anyone gained by watching Flavor Flav make out with more than 50 scandalous women? Nothing.
In America, we pride ourselves with the fact that someone in this country can go from rags to riches. Nevertheless, the people who appear on these reality shows aren't doing anything out of the ordinary or spectacular. At best they've merely sold themselves for however many episodes they star in. However, most of the time they have sold themselves for pseudo-fame; they aren't even in the business for the money. They are just taking up time on a television show that lacks any sort of actual creativity.
So, with our airwaves taken over by reality, you have to wonder what happened to creativity on television. It's awful that most shows have no scripts, no actors and no talent. These people make fools of themselves while America points and laughs. I guess you get what you pay for - absolutely nothing!
This writer can be contacted at opinion@theeastcarolinian.com.
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