Coffee Table Declarations
Thursday, July 10, 2003
I'm really excited about the new season of Big Brother and I'm not ashamed to admit it. It happens to be the only reality show I really like.
I was having problems getting online earlier and wasn't sure what to do with myself. It made me realize how dependent we are on computers and t.v. In the Big Brother house they don't have those things. All there is to do is lounge around outside wearing bikinis and smoking cigarettes with the occasional competition or random hook-up with a stranger thrown in. This year, the new twist is that some of the contestants are ex-boyfriends/ex-girlfriends of other contestants. Leave it to reality shows to always keep trying to push the envelope and stir up trouble.
I feel that the whole reality show thing has gone too far. Big brother debuted when there were only a couple reality shows on and I was cautiously able to let it into my living room and into my heart. Now the genre as a whole has just gone down hill.
For one thing, the term "reality show" really is an oxymoron. For another thing, I just cannot get involved in the lives of that many people and still maintain a level of compassion for them all. What reality t.v. is about for me, is rooting for characters that I can relate to. But soon enough, a steady diet of reality shows results in all of the faces and plights blending together until I couldn't really care less if they win the million dollars or get the guy or run around the island naked or eat the sheep eyeballs.
Not only that, but we're running out of creative and original ideas for shows. They've gone from ridiculous to downright trashy. What ever happened to the more wholesome shows we used to watch? What happened to sitcoms, crime dramas, educational programming? These may not be reality television, but at least they're not claiming to be.
I was having problems getting online earlier and wasn't sure what to do with myself. It made me realize how dependent we are on computers and t.v. In the Big Brother house they don't have those things. All there is to do is lounge around outside wearing bikinis and smoking cigarettes with the occasional competition or random hook-up with a stranger thrown in. This year, the new twist is that some of the contestants are ex-boyfriends/ex-girlfriends of other contestants. Leave it to reality shows to always keep trying to push the envelope and stir up trouble.
I feel that the whole reality show thing has gone too far. Big brother debuted when there were only a couple reality shows on and I was cautiously able to let it into my living room and into my heart. Now the genre as a whole has just gone down hill.
For one thing, the term "reality show" really is an oxymoron. For another thing, I just cannot get involved in the lives of that many people and still maintain a level of compassion for them all. What reality t.v. is about for me, is rooting for characters that I can relate to. But soon enough, a steady diet of reality shows results in all of the faces and plights blending together until I couldn't really care less if they win the million dollars or get the guy or run around the island naked or eat the sheep eyeballs.
Not only that, but we're running out of creative and original ideas for shows. They've gone from ridiculous to downright trashy. What ever happened to the more wholesome shows we used to watch? What happened to sitcoms, crime dramas, educational programming? These may not be reality television, but at least they're not claiming to be.
