In the good old days when we were all doing drugs, the object was to change our perceptions of reality. Take a hit of acid and look at the world from a different angle. Once we found that we were more likely to end up on the psych ward like a blithering idiot from frying our brains, rather than gaining any great insights into the mysteries of the universe, people gave up on messing around with reality.
That is until network and cable television got their grubby little hands on it. Ever since the first "reality" show aired, reality hasn't been the same. The poor concept doesn't know if it's coming or going. Who am I? What am I? You can almost hear it yelling in its green room as it prepares for the next closeup of someone doing something candidly scripted.
I'm very much out of touch with a lot of popular tendencies because the black box in my living room can only play videos and DVDs. I don't have cable, a satellite dish, or even an antenna and so can only pick up one station on my television. Sometimes I feel a little guilty, as it sits there in the corner of the room staring at me with its big blank eye, it looks so lonely and neglected. But I figure it can cope without me.
A few years back I was at work one day and heard these two women discussing something they called Survivor. They were sort of stunned that I had to ask what it was, so one of them breathlessly explained the concept to me. When she finished, she was looking at me all expectant like, certain I would want to run out and subscribe to cable just so I could watch. Well, I must have disappointed her because all I could think of to ask was: "What about the other 6 days and 23 hours"?
She looked at me like I was crazy. Which then again maybe I am, but that's a story for another day. She and her friend went back to their happy conversation about who was thrown off the island the night before, who they liked and disliked and why. I'm sure these are common conversations in the workplace North America-wide.
Article comments
1 - Silas Kain
Nice piece. Next Reality show I watch, I will spark one up in your honor. I'm a fan of some Reality TV but also see that America's obsession with it may be very unhealthy.
2 - Connie Phillips
The interesting thing you touch on here is the amount of reality in "reality TV." Not only in as you put it, controlled environment and games, but in how those directors and editors influence who will become fan favorites by what clips they chose to air. This was discussed some during the last season of American Idol but also happens in shows like Survivor.