2008 Woodie Awards
Get real - really
Issue date: 2/1/08 Section: Editorial
There is a dark foggy room. In it, a crowd of people have gathered. Their eyes are fixed on a sweating man in the center. He is being interrogated, asked private personal questions while his family watches from the darkness. If he lies, he is done.
A few miles down the road sits a stadium in which normal people are pitted against gigantic warriors as they joust, race and fire guns in order to be crowned the champion. In another building is a room where a council of children and a moderator determine who is smarter than a fifth grader. Is this some sort of twisted post-apocalyptic world? No. It's reality television and if things don't change quickly it is all we'll have left. In early November of 2007, the Writers Guild of America went on strike. These writers are the people who create and develop the scripted comedies and dramas that are seen on television as well as in movies. While the goal of most scripted television shows is to make a well-crafted, engaging world for it's audience to peek into, reality television's goal seems to be the opposite. It reveals how stupid and foolish people can be. The joy in watching these programs doesn't come from jokes or success. It comes from the failure and belittlement of the real people featured on the programs. When a contestant gets an easy question wrong, the audience laughs and feels smart by comparison. When someone is forced to eat a bug but cannot handle it, the audience laughs as they hold back their own vomit. When a man's dream is crushed as he is told by three judges that he has a terrible singing voice, the audience laughs and wonders how the man could be completely unaware of his flat, nasal voice and lack of social skills.
Reality TV producers have found a way to slow down time. They can take the simple task of asking someone a few questions and extend it into an hour-long television series. People are beginning give up their real lives in order to watch the lives of people on TV. Instead of getting a workout, people turn on their televisions and watch American Gladiators run, fight and punch with little time to catch their breath. Instead of losing weight, people tune in to The Biggest Loser and watch other people sweat and diet their way to a healthier body.
Reality isn't in the boob tube. If the strike doesn't end soon, all that will be left on television is this reality.
Maybe it's time for people to go out and create a reality of their own reality.
A few miles down the road sits a stadium in which normal people are pitted against gigantic warriors as they joust, race and fire guns in order to be crowned the champion. In another building is a room where a council of children and a moderator determine who is smarter than a fifth grader. Is this some sort of twisted post-apocalyptic world? No. It's reality television and if things don't change quickly it is all we'll have left. In early November of 2007, the Writers Guild of America went on strike. These writers are the people who create and develop the scripted comedies and dramas that are seen on television as well as in movies. While the goal of most scripted television shows is to make a well-crafted, engaging world for it's audience to peek into, reality television's goal seems to be the opposite. It reveals how stupid and foolish people can be. The joy in watching these programs doesn't come from jokes or success. It comes from the failure and belittlement of the real people featured on the programs. When a contestant gets an easy question wrong, the audience laughs and feels smart by comparison. When someone is forced to eat a bug but cannot handle it, the audience laughs as they hold back their own vomit. When a man's dream is crushed as he is told by three judges that he has a terrible singing voice, the audience laughs and wonders how the man could be completely unaware of his flat, nasal voice and lack of social skills.
Reality TV producers have found a way to slow down time. They can take the simple task of asking someone a few questions and extend it into an hour-long television series. People are beginning give up their real lives in order to watch the lives of people on TV. Instead of getting a workout, people turn on their televisions and watch American Gladiators run, fight and punch with little time to catch their breath. Instead of losing weight, people tune in to The Biggest Loser and watch other people sweat and diet their way to a healthier body.
Reality isn't in the boob tube. If the strike doesn't end soon, all that will be left on television is this reality.
Maybe it's time for people to go out and create a reality of their own reality.
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