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The irony of "reality" TV

StewartStewart
edited December 2004 in The CenterTao Lounge
Yea, definately too early to hear something like that-not anything I've ever desired to do-no burning desire to give birth or any other female thing either-y'all are welcome to it...far as i'm concerned mens nipples are just there so we can tell which side of the shirt goes in front...

Comments

  • StewartStewart
    edited December 1969
    Having watched more than I'd care to admit of shows like "Survivor", I've come to realize - even before seeing the Abbotts' experience - just how far from reality the "reality" genre is. (What's remotely "real" about having people act like castaways while well-fed camera crews follow them around - and having them play shuffleboard on a giant map of their desert island?) "Edited" TV might be a better term, since the creativity is simply shifted from the writer to the editor.

    On the other hand, I've found some areas where "reality" TV allows things to be shown that are not part of the scripted TV world. Southern accents, for instance. Unless it's essential to the character, you rarely hear a Southern accent on a scripted TV show. You rarely see gay or African-American characters who don't conform to stereotypes. So while distorting individual reality, these shows do present some aspects of collective reality that we don't see otherwise.

    I feel similarly about Trading Spouses. Although you Abbotts are (rightly) upset about the distortions of your reality, it was without a doubt the first time I've seen bluegrass picking Taoists on national TV. It seems to me that there's something positive in that. (I'm half asleep now, or I might be able to articulate that better...emphasis on 'might'.)

    Also, on a complete digression, I got a kick out of identifying all the pickers at the party. ("Look! There's John...and Sarah...oh, there's Mary!").
  • Buddy1Buddy1
    edited December 1969
    still isn't that the point of taoism: pointing out how nothing is 'real'-this show is a prime example of that...by betraying the Abbots, it proved their point.
    the Abbotts we saw don't exist, the conversations, the looks, the personalities, all made up and swallowed whole by tv viewers with set ideas in their heads of what they want to see...this has caused me to really be aware of what i've said and done the last couple weeks, as if I were being filmed-In reviewing it I see very easily that with some editing, I could be made out to be a saint or the worst sinner...and no secret which one gets the better ratings
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