“reality” TV

Time was when turning on the TV was an escape from everyday life. There were Sitcoms, and dramas, and variety shows and news. Then along came “reality” TV. And we were introduced to the The Apprentice, and The Kardashians, and “Real” housewives. And people got off on watching people do things they wanted to do but no one in real life ever really did. And then “reality” started bleeding into reality and reality became “reality”. Actors became politicians and a reality star became president. News became entertainment. TV is non-stop, 24/7/365 on 500 channels. And if you can’t find it there, its streaming on your phone or computer to watch over and over again.

People idolized “reality” stars soo much that they believed if they acted like or dressed like or did what they did or said what “reality” stars said, they too could become rich, and happy, and powerful, and admired.

So, like in “reality” TV people started acting like “reality”; engaging in irresponsible, unhinged, retaliatory, name calling, lying, cheating, racist, misogynistic, homophobic, abusive behaviors and expecting that there would be no consequences. And guess what? In “reality” world, they aren’t! If you are admired enough. Otherwise, you fade into oblivion. And also, everyone gets to watch everyone else’s “reality” play out in real time on social media. On social media, everyone gets to weigh in from afar and opine on everyone else, WITH NO CONSEQUENCES! No matter how serious (COVID) or trivial (someone’s decorating) EVERYONE gets to weigh in on whatever they want about everybody else! Its “real” entertainment REAL TIME!! How fun.

Some people come out on top and become “influencers”, and some get “cancelled”. Tribes get formed, sides get taken, everyone digs into their opinion and people you don’t agree with become stupid. Or better yet “retarded”, or just fuck you!

Idols are made and worshipped. In “reality” world some people seek to be seen all the time doing whatever they are doing. They, and everyone else measure success on how many likes, ratings, followers, and how much attention they can get.

No publicity is bad publicity!

I never watched The Apprentice, or Kardashians in any formulation, or Real housewives anywhere, but I knew all about them. There were 5 commercials for the Kardashians ongoing life chronical during the Oscars program on Sunday night, in just 3 hours. Jada and Will commercialized their lives for the past few years, ad nauseum. They have had some marital difficulties; their children are very special. Chris Rock made “Good Hair” and is starting a nationwide tour next month; he’s divorced now but he loves his children and knows all about marriage. Ironic, huh? Instagram has been proven to harm the mental well-being of adolescents. And while I’ve never heard it studied and proved, I am pretty sure there is some emotional damage being done to adults as well.

Propaganda is insidious. We think we are th8inking on our own. But really, we’re trained how to think based on our choice of media. More often we come away from the media based on an opinion about who said it rather than what was done. But we move on because there is too much to digest with all the news and entertainment mixed together every day.

I was really excited about the Oscars, and I loved “King Richard” the movie. I really wanted Will Smith to win the Best Actor award for his excellent work and for bringing the Williams family story to the screen. I was so excited to see Beyonce sing “I Believe” on Compton tennis courts. I was also really interested to see three women host, hoping that Questlove was recognized for “Summer of Love”, hoping CODA would be recognized, and I wanted to see Bruno not get talked about! I got caught up in the hype and watched some of the movies I hadn’t seen so I could evaluate the choices being made by the “academy”. And of course, there is always the fashion.

Let’s be serious, the Academy Awards is the grandaddy of false idol producing TV. Wouldn’t it be something if the slap wasn’t “real” at all? Here’s the thing, don’t worship false idols, they will always let you down, hard.