I ran out of time yesterday when I was writing my rant, because I wanted to mention how much I hate Food TV shows about cupcakes. I am also starting to hate the fiendish little cakes themselves. Most gourmet cupcake places around here charge $2-3 for a tiny cupcake, maybe 4 bites. That's insane.
There is a show called Cupcake Wars on Food Network. Mango Coriander Pound Cake Cupcakes With Mango Chutney Filling? Really? That sounds revolting to me.
I also can't watch things like Restaurant Impossible, where restaurant owners are criticized and yelled at to shape up their businesses.
I truly am puzzled by TV shows about being whipped into shape, whether we're talking about fat people, restaurant owners, dancing has-beens, or whatever. Why do Americans want to watch somebody else being denigrated and/or yelled at on national TV?!
Why does anyone want to watch "reality" TV anyway? It's not reality. The moment you put a camera on someone they start acting for the camera. The only true "reality" show is one where the performers have no idea they are being filmed. "Candid Camera" was a great show, for that reason.
Today's crop of "reality" shows are NOT REAL. They are simply bad acting, and people being embarrassed or humiliated on national TV.
Why are Americans so obsessed with "reality" TV? According to The Real History of Reality TV, on the Writer's Guild of America website [ironically]
"In all this diversity, reality TV has one appeal, which it shares with fiction–we as viewers hope, desperately, to find something relevant to our own lives. We seek any small hint about how to live our own lives just a bit better, to justify our hope, or to see that we are not alone in what we face in our life. The possibility that reality-based stories will reveal something real is so enticing that the televised society is just fine with us. Turn the camera on."
I know I am a major weirdo. I've acknowledged that many times. I don't want a TV show telling me how to live, though. I am amazed by seemingly intelligent people who are obsessed with TV shows, but particularly people obsessed with reality shows.
Watching a reality TV show is like watching a NASCAR race. You put up with 98% boring "cars going around the track" footage in anticipation of the rare glimpses of someone crashing. You watch shows like Iron Chef America hoping to see the iron facade of one of the contestants crumble, to see some real emotion, some sort of mini-meltdown. You watch American Idol to watch Simon humiliate the contestants. It's sick.
I must admit, as much as I despise TV, I have watched some of these shows. I like Travel Channel shows. Mike and I chuckle at Ghost Adventures. I love Andrew Zimmern in Bizarre Foods and Mysteries at the Museum. I learn from those shows. My world is expanded. They are more non-fiction than reality TV, though. [Well, you can argue about Ghost Adventures being fiction or not but that's a separate post.]
I used to want to be a TV writer. Now I realize it would've been a disaster, as I've become so disenchanted with most TV shows. I particularly don't want TV that twists reality into something petty and mean spirited, like Real Housewives.
Admittedly, shows like Extreme Makeover: Home Edition are trying to accomplish something good, but they don't teach anyone how to do good things in their community, like volunteer. They are more about fairy tale endings. Sometimes the endings are not so great, as The Nasty Aftermath of Extreme Home Makeovers suggests.
I fervently wish most parents would NOT put TVs in their kids' rooms, and not let them watch TV more than, say, an hour a day. Kids sitting passively on the sofa watching "reality," has got to be damaging to them.
This article on livestrong.com discusses the Impact of Reality Shows on Children, explaining:
"One Australian study revealed that children who watched reality programming were significantly more likely to associate wealth, popularity and beauty as factors that contribute to happiness. It's no surprise that these are values frequently held in high esteem by many participants of reality shows."
Turn off the TV and create your own reality, and teach your kids what's really important. Please.
