Reality Television

As emberrassing as this may be, I found yesterday's discussion in class pertaining to 'reality television' to be quite interesting, due to the fact that I am secretly hooked on a few reality shows myself (Jersey Shore, Real Housewives). A few of the groups, including my own, talked about the fact that although people are constantly scrutinizing these shows, there must be a reason that they are still around, right? I admit, the ones I can't get enough of are particularly vain and the character's can be rather pathetic more often than not, but why do I, along with millions of other people still manage to run home every Thursday night to catch the new episodes? I found the reasons we came up with in class to be rather insightful, and I can definitely relate. It is simply an extension, or embellishment of reality, whilst still containing very relatable situations that could happen to anyone. For example, who hasn't been jealous of a girlfriend/boyfriend in the past? It is almost a way to vent over issues we may be having but are too embaressed to admit, or simply a means of relating to the characters (with a little added drama of course!) Therefore, I have concluded that this is exactly the reason why I continue to watch these shows; as awful as they can be at times, they do still seem to confront and deal with everyday situations and portray them in a humorous manner, so as to lighten up and/or make fun of the situation, and in turn, making us all feel a little bit better about ourselves! Well, that is my conclusion at least, I am sure many of you would disagree.

Briah