By Courtney Ste-Croix
Reality television. (I can practically hear your groans from here.) But as much as you hear people complain about reality shows, you know that they wouldn’t complain about it if they didn’t watch it to have something to complain about. But is reality television really reality? Come on, if you think those girls on the Hills actually work at People’s Revolution then you are seriously smoking something. It’s time to decipher if reality television is real or ridiculous.
I’m sure everyone has seen at least one episode of Survivor. That show kicked off the current reality boom that we are in here in North America. The fact that the show started in 2000 and it is still going strong in 2009 says something about its staying power. But reality it is not. If you were really stranded on a desert island with a random group of people you aren’t going to find Jeff Probst in the jungle offering you fish and matches if you complete a challenge.
Survivor led to other gems such as Big Brother, Fear Factor, Dog Eat Dog and the powerhouse American Idol. Most of these are utterly ridiculous and have no concept of true reality at all, but does that really matter? No, because they are entertaining and in the end that’s all that really matters.
That’s how shows like Lauguna Beach and its subsequent spinoffs The Hills and The City manage to keep viewers tuning in. It doesn’t matter that we know it’s fake, it doesn’t matter that we know Heidi and Spencer call the paparazzi to let them know where they will be. (I mean seriously, when Heidi decided to become a “pop star” and her album flopped she called the paparazzi and sat outside her house crying on the sidewalk, holding her album, while sitting on a chair…a chair on the SIDEWALK!)
We get invested in shows like American Idol, so much so that when someone does something we don’t like, we actually get physically angry. Like last night for example. Adam Lambert, a contestant on American Idol, decided to sing Ring of Fire by the late Johnny Cash and changed the arrangement and added sitars and an Indian theme. Suffice it to say it didn’t go down well. Many people who commented on gossip websites and such were literally freaking out. Need I remind you it’s just a reality show? I mean, sure it pisses me off when someone who doesn’t deserve to win takes the grand prize but I don’t freak out to the extent that I wish the person “is haunted by the ghost of Johnny Cash and then dies in a horrible fire” (an actual comment on Adam Lamberts performance). If you don’t like it, don’t watch, it’s that simple.
We are entertained because it’s ridiculous, as sad as that sounds. I freely admit to being one of those people. I admit to having watched every season of Flavor of Love and being obsessed with TLC shows like Jon & Kate plus 8 and Little People Big World.
Sure I watch actual thought-provoking television, but every once in a while you need a little dose of the ridiculous and there is nothing better then relaxing after a long day of school or work and seeing who is the next to get kicked off the Rock of Love bus. I’m not ashamed and you shouldn’t be either. Just remember, you are not alone.
Filed under: Entertainment, Uncategorized , Adam Lambert, American Idol, Reality TV, Shame, Survivor
