Does society need a reality check or another reality show? It seems we continue to reward bad behavior and minimize good. The public is fascinated by other people’s trivial nonsense while television networks along with media outlets are making a fortune. Have we become a boring society? The financial crisis has obvious taken its toll! The media has gone so far out of control citing their rights under the first Amendment or entertainment value to broadcast anything controlling your attention.
Freedom of Speech has become a double edge sword in our country. Do you really think our founding fathers had any idea this Constitutional Amendment would apply to network carnival shows plaguing the daytime and nightly primetime viewing hours? As one constitutional scholar said, “the reason for the first amendment was to protect those who spoke out against the monarchy or government leaders that clearly were not doing the jobs representing the united people…the amendment protects from being hung, shot or imprisoned”. Wow, that concept sure changed.
The FCC, which governs broadcast airwaves, have been a do nothing licensing cash cow for years. They waste time, make lawyers tons of money, keep law students busy and historically side with the big guys on broadcast issues. Now, they’re in the business of WIFI signal and phone company transmission. Let’s go back a few years to the famous Super Bowl “malfunctioning wardrobe” incident. They’re still dealing with that issue, while more boobs, butts and language show up during family viewing hours each season making the ‘malfunction’ trivial.
The new generation of television producers love or think its ‘cute’ to shock the audience…forget creativity or basic morality…lets make it and when “Standards and Practices” receives enough complaints then they call producers on the carpet…the show goes to cable. Networks are in business to make money (I get it). But we’ve taken it a bit too far or have we crossed a line? Competition is a hard pill to swallow when you’re trying to build an audience grabbing your share of advertising dollars. The production attitudes of Hollywood and New York are to splash anything on the screen to see if it sells.
News media outlets have become just short of TMZ, or trash TV tabloids. The staffers (for the most part) are made up of kids out of college who think frat house drinking and partying is great. TMZ legitimizes their news credentials with “we broke the story of Michael Jackson death first”…give me a break. This is pure Hollywood trash.
I don’t understand the fascination surrounding drug attics, fighting on camera and disjointed people. Please understand, I’m not a prude, but the level of this mentality is what seems to be getting the attention of the viewing public.
So you think I’m nuts…well, the couple that ‘crashed’, (but didn’t crash) the White House event received a ‘green light” for their own TV Reality talk show. “Jersey Shores” have a whole new meaning. The Housewife’s in Atlanta, Orange County, New York or wherever else, represents the pure trash with diamonds in our society while most of them are mothers. I don’t get it…you now have to sleep with twelve contestants during a network series to find the person you’re going to marry?
The irony is that these shows get good if not great ratings! What about the Flight Attendant who lost his professionalism, obviously he needs a quick course in anger management, but became an overnight hero! Are we reverting to medieval or Roman times, when do we release the lions or watch blood and guts during dinnertime? Oh excuse me…Starz is airing a blood and guts series, what’s wrong with me?
Reality, is bad enough…just take Washington DC, as politicians position themselves in front of cameras to get that ‘celebrity status’ they seem to want so badly. They seem to vote for what a special interest group promotes even if it’s wrong for the overall. We know these are hard times, maybe we just want to see other peoples misery to make our problems seem smaller.
If we question why our society enjoys all the negatives, maybe because we’ve become out of control or is it because we’re bored, escaping into someone else’s world makes us feel better. Whatever it is, we don’t need another reality show, we just need a major reality check! It’s another part of life’s little things.