Tuesday, July 17, 2007

A Vote For Reality TV


Quote of the day:
“It is my contention that Aesop was writing for the tortoise market. Hares have no time to read.”
--Anita Brookner

There are many, many reality shows on television. Except for a lapse or two, I used to steadfastly avoid them, fearing the tainting of my soul.

Which reminds me of something Mark Twain said when someone asked him how he felt about accepting money that might be tainted. He said, “It’s tainted alright. T’aint yours and t’aint mine.”

Merrie and I watch three or four reality shows, without guilt. They are often improvised live-action soap operas, and they can be quite entertaining. More than that, I think reality shows serve two constructive purposes.

First, they provide a glimpse into a range of real human behavior. We see people at their best, at their worst and at all levels in between. This can be both revealing and instructive.

Second, we learn about celebrity. Specifically, we learn that celebrity cuts both ways. “Putting yourself out there” exposes you to the potential of being known and appreciated for your talent or personality. At the same time, it exposes you to sometimes-withering criticism--both fair and unfair, both dispassionate and bitterly angry, both private and public.

Most people with high public profiles--entertainers, politicians, college presidents, corporate chiefs--have some mechanism to shield them from the nastiest criticism. There are always some people who are angry or disgusted with them, even though they may rarely encounter these people directly.

What participants on reality shows discover is that celebrity brings good and ego-gratifying things, and it brings negative and humiliating things. On these shows, this is highly dramatized, as contestants sometimes are humiliated to their faces on national television.

Maybe that’s a good and permanent way to learn that celebrity is not even close to the nirvana that, on the outside, it seems to be.

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