I have to admit that I don't have many pet peeves at this stage of my life. One of the tranquilities of life's experiences that has surreptitiously crept up on me almost without me being aware. But the one pet peeve I steadfastly cling to almost like hot asphalt to my shoe on a blistering St. Louis summer day is reality tv shows. I just don't get the appeal of them and the morbid and almost aberrant fixation people, not just Americans, because this is a global issue that people in general have for them. But in saying this, I have to confess to being a bonafide regular viewer of one of the first "reality" shows back in the 50's when CANDID CAMERA first aired. I can remember sitting with my parents watching as Alan Funt concocted story after story of people just being themselves, as he used to close the show with that classic line. And I have to admit to busting a gut a time or two as Art Linkletter quizzed the ever precocious 5 yr. old on seeing her pregnant mother take a shower and asking her, "mommy, are you getting fat", and the mother replied, "Yes, honey, remember Mommy has a baby growing in her tummy", and her daughter replies, "Yeah, I know, but what's growing in your butt"? But there was a sense of innocence and childlike benevolence in these shows. Today we have Snooki enticing Pauly D to start a fight at a local bar in New Jersey, or Paris Hilton and Nicole Richey (The Simple Life) trying to figure out how to get the cap off a bottle of cleaning solution. Is it any better when Barbara Wa-Wa listed the cast of Jersey Shore as one of the top 10 most fascinating people of 2010.
But as we give these people/shows more attention and continue to "idolize" them in some morose and dismal manner, these shows will continue to propagate. Have our lives become so boring that the misgivings and failings of a Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston, and God forbid-"the Donald" are the flak juice we need to jump start our lives? Do we get that much of a serotonin hit when The Bachelor gives that final rose to some unsuspecting tart only to be mesmerized by him calling her the "most amazing woman he's ever met"? I have to accept the fact that there are minimal "reality" shows that have substance-"The Deadliest Catch", or "Survivor Man" do share somewhat of a National Geographic mentality. How a North Atlantic crab fisherman or Les Stroud teaching me how to survive should I become stranded while hiking in Colorado will certainly benefit me if not save my life. But watching Joe Dumb Fuck trying to elude his wife Sara I'm So Stupid while he bangs Martha Big Tits only to be caught by the discriminating eye of Joey Greco and his merry band of cameramen from Cheaters only brings the ad nauseum to my palate. But the one thing about these shows that continues to allow them to gain momentum is money. As long as John Q continues to watch and drive the Nielsons, we're (or at least I am) stuck with them.
So, what I propose to my millions of faithful followers, when the new season of Jersey Shore starts.....CHANGE THE CHANNEL and watch something more substantial...wholesome, entertaining, and educational.....THE 3 STOOGES!!!
2 comments:
I agree, in fact I virtually never watch tv nowadays for all the reasons you've outlined in your post.
It's the same with the cinema, quality films seem hard to find nowadays so I'm grateful for your tip about Limbo.
Mary Elizabeth and Michelle Pfeiffer were co-stars in Scarface so it will be interesting for me to see how their singing roles compare!
Thanks Paul,
I only watch 2 "network" shows now-BLUE BLOODS and NCIS. I'm usually watching Turner Classic Movies, AMC, or the Smithsonian channel.
I think you'll like LIMBO and once your hear the "pipes" on Mary Elizabeth, you're going to abandon your blog Pfeiffer
Films and never, ever listen or watch another one of her films again ; >)
Wait till you hear my rant on scum bag politicians.
Thanks for reading and commenting.
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