Tyler Knott Gregson - Tyler Knott Productions Brain Rain

Thursday, April 10, 2003

Song: "La Cienga Just Smiled" by Ryan Adams.

I have been thinking a lot today about the subject of Reality Television. With the war filling the news networks, Major League Baseball and the Masters Golf tourney filling the sports networks, the other non-specific channels are left to fill in the spaces. I know the whole explosion of reality tv's popularity began quite some time ago, but I see it getting nothing but worse. Every network on television today has some show about an emergency room, some drama about police officers, or crime scene investigators, or shows with "real people" in "real situations" to find out what happens when people stop being polite, and start being "real." Give me a break. What is real about living in Las Vegas, NV on an entire floor of the Palms Casino for free? What is real about 7 people hand picked by rich Los Angeles socialites to produce the greatest amount of drama, with the least amount of effort? Nothing. Then there are the shows like "Survivor" and its many imitators. Why do we as a nation care so deeply about who gets voted off the island next, or who cheats on who on "Temptation Island," or even worse, which dumb girl/guy the Bachelor/ette chooses to give it a go with? I am embarrased that shows like these continue to get better ratings than Dateline, 60 Minutes, or the channels I love most like TLC, Discovery, MSNBC, whatever. What is worse, is these shows only constitute the "non-fiction" half of reality tv.

Not only is America capitvated and obsessed with the non-fiction reality shows, but also increasingly with the made-up, well-casted melodramas that litter the 60 channels my tv recieves. We are planning our meals, our work, our lives around fake doctors fixing fake injuries in fake hospitals; fake cops devoting fake lives to solving fake crimes, and putting fake bad guys away for the rest of their fake lives; whether Dawson and Joey get back together, which "Friend" Rachel will end up with. What does this say about our society? There is a war going on and Rachel and Dawson take priority. Wow.

Many people will argue that during this time of war and unrest, TV is exactly what our nation needs. Many will argue that television is an escape...a path away from the hardships and injustices of the real world that we all live in. I could not disagree more. If we need an "escape" from the world we live in, why are we choosing to escape to shows that focus on murder, Special Victims Units that deal with sexual crimes, disease and injury and death in emergency rooms, or the daily fights and hook-up dramas on "Real World" or "Road Rules." I think all in all, our nation is in a sad state of affairs. I am not saying I am any better however, personally I'm pretty mad that "Dawson's Creek" only has 5 episodes left EVER. If Joey doesn't end up with Pacey I'm gonna be chapped. War? What war? My TV schedule is already filled.

eloquently said by

| 10:28 PM | | |


Thursday, April 10, 2003 Reality T.V. Song: "La Cienga Just Smiled" by Ryan Adams. I have been thinking a lot today about the subject of Reality Television. With the war filling the news networks, Major League Baseball and the Masters Golf tourney filling the sports networks, the other non-specific channels are left to fill in the spaces. I know the whole explosion of reality tv's popularity began quite some time ago, but I see it getting nothing but worse. Every network on television today has some show about an emergency room, some drama about police officers, or crime scene investigators, or shows with "real people" in "real situations" to find out what happens when people stop being polite, and start being "real." Give me a break. What is real about living in Las Vegas, NV on an entire floor of the Palms Casino for free? What is real about 7 people hand picked by rich Los Angeles socialites to produce the greatest amount of drama, with the least amount of effort? Nothing. Then there are the shows like "Survivor" and its many imitators. Why do we as a nation care so deeply about who gets voted off the island next, or who cheats on who on "Temptation Island," or even worse, which dumb girl/guy the Bachelor/ette chooses to give it a go with? I am embarrased that shows like these continue to get better ratings than Dateline, 60 Minutes, or the channels I love most like TLC, Discovery, MSNBC, whatever. What is worse, is these shows only constitute the "non-fiction" half of reality tv. Not only is America capitvated and obsessed with the non-fiction reality shows, but also increasingly with the made-up, well-casted melodramas that litter the 60 channels my tv recieves. We are planning our meals, our work, our lives around fake doctors fixing fake injuries in fake hospitals; fake cops devoting fake lives to solving fake crimes, and putting fake bad guys away for the rest of their fake lives; whether Dawson and Joey get back together, which "Friend" Rachel will end up with. What does this say about our society? There is a war going on and Rachel and Dawson take priority. Wow. Many people will argue that during this time of war and unrest, TV is exactly what our nation needs. Many will argue that television is an escape...a path away from the hardships and injustices of the real world that we all live in. I could not disagree more. If we need an "escape" from the world we live in, why are we choosing to escape to shows that focus on murder, Special Victims Units that deal with sexual crimes, disease and injury and death in emergency rooms, or the daily fights and hook-up dramas on "Real World" or "Road Rules." I think all in all, our nation is in a sad state of affairs. I am not saying I am any better however, personally I'm pretty mad that "Dawson's Creek" only has 5 episodes left EVER. If Joey doesn't end up with Pacey I'm gonna be chapped. War? What war? My TV schedule is already filled. eloquently said by \| 10:28 PM \| \| \|	Tyler Knott Productions Tyler Knott Photography Vimeo Tumblr Twitter Clutch Del.icio.us MySpace Last.fm LinkedIn Resumé Atom Feed Twitters follow me on Twitter Horizon Expanders McGraw Donovan Dave Morin Flickr Blog Jaymie Keller Kevin Casey Nate Warner Rachel Hoffenberg Sarah Joelle Sarah Joelle's Music My Photography Past Downpours Copyright This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.