© 2009 Susan Green
by Susan Green
Reality TV is the end of civilization as we know it. What was once public television is now demographic television, television programmed for and geared towards 18 to 34 year olds, despite the rapidly rising senior population. Television has become powdered milk or I should say milk that has just gone bad. Programs with a modicum of entertainment value have been replaced by a parade of idiots who seem content to prostitute themselves for their fifteen minutes of fame. Pathetic housewives flaunt themselves crudely to show us how the other half lives, As if they could or should be envied. Despite their efforts, all they do is remind us that money cannot buy class and that social status is an illusion. Men seeking women, women seeking men, all in search of that all illusive soul mate, a word so overused it has lost its meaning. Television used to be a means to escape; now it offers us a putrid abundance of reality. Have our lives become so empty that we can only find pleasure in watching others live their lives, or does watching an endless parade of losers make us feel better about ourselves? Have tv snobs been right all along in their rant declaring television as a medium producing stupification and muddled thinking, stifling ones ability to become valuable contributors to society? Have parents of the new generation made the right decision in severely limiting and in some cases banning television in their homes? With the proliferation of reality dominating almost every station, one has to wonder, are they right?
As a long time lover of tv, I long for the days of solid entertainment, where shows like Hill Street Blues and St. Elsewhere graced the screen. Would it have been better if we baby boomers had never tasted the ambrosia that was television in our day? Is our new generation better off not knowing what they missed? Should we just get over our loss and move on and try to find pleasure in watching a group of adults deliberately left on a remote island to struggle for food and shelter, dining on bugs and sleeping with rats playing for the prize of a million dollars? Should we root for those searching for true love with 20 or so others, where only one will be chosen for marriage? Are we simply relics, living in the past unwilling to open our minds to this new craze? Has our love affair with television ended? The answer I believe is a resounding NO. We are survivors (not the tv show) and we will wait for a change in the tide. That is our reality.
Check out below link for a sociological take on reality tv!
