Reality shows must end!
Julian Gautier
Issue date: 11/4/04 Section: Opinion
|
Let's think about this waste of airtime. Viewers, watching a bunch of people living together or interacting in some way with each other, can believe that it is all unscripted. Camera people shoot, the editing room edits, too many people watch, and producers create spin-offs and sequels. Where's the art, where's the talent? The whole thing is so formulaic. I'm not even sure the people making these shows are human. And the themes just get ridiculous. There are probably a dozen convents somewhere where nuns are being harassed because they won't let camera people in to cook up a show about nuns living together.
Reality television shows are the equivalent of tabloids that run stories about Batboy and doomsday. The only difference is, you have to know how to read to get the most out of the tabloids.
Producers present both in a format used to trick people into thinking they are seeing recorded reality. But none of it is reality. It's all edited and twisted to be as appealing as possible. Reality show viewers only see what producers think will be most appealing. Camera people follow the cast around and the editors crop around the edges until every cast member is a caricature stuck in some overdramatized situation.
I'd like to know how producers of "reality" T.V. shows justify their jobs to themselves. They are all no better than Jerry Springer. Why can't MTV get back to being music television? Why doesn't Fox and WB try out a couple more new series in place of all these reality shows? I wonder what an actor feels when twenty people, who don't need real jobs and who might have been asked to read a packet about acting, are watched by millions everyday.
I'm not trying to persuade anyone to stop watching reality shows. I'm just denouncing this nightmare. My Big Fat what? Desperate Housewives? Bring on the Hammer pants.
e-mail Julian Gautier at:
jgjournalist@yahoo.com