Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Reality TV's Recycled Cycle of Trash




I am not the biggest fan of reality TV, so this may be a little bias, but I hate how people advocate reality TV by telling me its not meant to be taken seriously. It's not that I'm taking it too seriously- its just so un-serious that it literally isn't about anything.

Take the other day. I was watching some E-news show that dedicated a segment to some drama that was going on between the Atlanta, or was it Miami?...on housewives of whatever show.

Again, it was about another fight or spat that occurred between two of the wives-what, was it about one of the girls stealing someone's husband a second time?

I couldn't tell you.

It is the same thing over and over again to the point where it all blurred together, even which city the housewives were in.

Wasn't the reason for reality TV shows supposed to be the excitement people get when we peak into the lives of rich and famous people or rich people in association with rich and famous people?

Well, obviously not because it's mind-numbingly boring.

I don't know about many peoples' reactions to having lots of money suddenly, but I would be doing a million and one really exciting, adrenaline-pumping things if I had the wealth that some of these reality stars amass from one or two seasons.

And that's just it; the arguments they have are so petty, and the women so grown (40's to 60's), you sometimes wonder why you are tuning in to watch something so mundane and ordinary involving 'sophisticated and classy' females who could do anything in the world because they have no worries.
Instead they fight and bicker, talk about who did this, who did that; even worse, who owned this or who owns that, breathing new life into the stereotype that all rich people are grubby handed, mean-spirited people.




 Also, if I want to see a fight, I can watch relatives duke it out or something-and that would be slightly more entertaining because they actually have more at stake in the fight (it might actually be about a money issue-like not paying someone back)

The only reality TV show that I've found that doesn't have the same issue is Mac Miller's Most Dope Family. It has its flaws, but it really was a breath of fresh air to get away from the sameness that is the cat-fighting, self-absorbed females and their bored looking husbands on the side, or the all-partying and nothing else jersey band.

What stuck out to me was Mac Miller's very mellow personality.

He didn't stress over small things and he took every opportunity he got to have fun or goof around and be a normal 20 something.

Unlike Jersey Shore, it wasn't just simply partying at some dim-lit, neon lighted club with 'friends' that will let you get so wasted you didn't know you slept with someone the night before.

Yeah, 20 somethings can be said to go to the club a lot and get entangled in some sticky situations, but MMMDF touches on the camaraderie of a tight group of friends and how they really interact with one another in the uncharted background of Hollywood glamor and fame, all coming from smaller territory before their big jump to L.A.

It's interesting to see how these newcomers to Hollywood handle themselves in Hollywood Land (because let's face it, it's a different planet there with different  kind of ('eccentric') people), even more entertaining to see that for the most part they are pretty down-to-earth in the crazy antics they pull on one another.

But like I said earlier, even this show isn't without its flaws. Although it was cool seeing in one episode Mac's friend accidentally breaking a plasma TV that Mac Miller instantly shrugged off, saying pretty loudly-"I got millions, bitch-don't worry about it" or something on those lines, and then later deciding to get everyone together and trash it completely for fun, it did feel like family home videos that weren't meant for the small screen, except for America's Funniest Home videos or strictly home-viewing with family and friends.

Although I get a somewhat realistic view of how they act in their new-found environment, it still suffers a little from being boring or not really showing anything unique to a person with so much amassed fame and money.

Maybe its because I haven't seen all the episodes or because it's on the more moderate end of the spectrum to where Housewives and other shows of that ilk (Basketball Wives, Love & Hip-Hop etc.) are on: Housewives and co. are on the extreme side of over-acted drama and Most Dope Family may be on the other end of very mellow and sated fun.

My verdict on Reality TV is that it can be insightful in some ways in relation to the lives of the people you care for most in the entertainment business, but it's the basest and lowest stimulation of the brain because then you're watching people live life for you in a way you might live better if you were them.







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