The Maury Show was initially aired on September 9, 1991, it runs five days a week and currently airing its 19th season. It is a Reality Talk Show hosted by Maury Povich. Maury has dealt with a variety of issues across its 19 seasons, including – but not limited to – teenage pregnancy, sexual infidelity, paternity test results, uncommon illnesses, makeovers, "out of control" teenagers, transgenders individuals, obese children, men controlling and abusing women, little people, bullying, and unusual phobias.
On November 18, 2010, The Maury Show aired the episode titled “Is My Best Friend My Husband’s Mistress?” It contends stories of individuals who suspect their spouse/partner of committing infidelity, which the truth will be obtained from lie detector test and cheaters would be confronted. These stories portray the issues we face in our daily lives; we sympathize with the victims who shed their tears, break down in public, and scream at those who they once imagined of spending the rest of their lives with. Also, infidelity is common; it is rather a popular topic among our conversations. Perhaps because it is a threat to the reality of what we expect and accept from marriage, which in our perception is a physical and emotional exclusivity, a commitment of companionship.
In this episode, story 1 focuses on Tanya and her husband, Jose. Tanya claims to have chosen the love of her life over her family and gave him her heart. Is he cheating? She indicates that she’s like Obama, nothing “gets away from” her. This tension, anxiety, suspicion is something we all experience. It’s a familiar emotion we find ourselves tangled in when we feel threatened by the abnormal behavior of our loved ones and the fear of losing their exclusive attention and commitment
Then, the lie detector reveals that Jose cheated on his wife repetitively, in fact, he regrets marrying Tanya. Tanya breaks down in tears and eventually has an anxiety attack, as Maury advises her, “you can always go back to your family, they will take you back. You never choose anything over family”
It is an implication, a lesson, and a tragedy we can all relate to at some level. Perhaps it is our own experience of betrayal, our own conduct of the wrong, or someone who we know and observed going through the pain. In the end of the show, follow-ups inform us that Tanya has officially left her husband
Story 2 stages Lekesha and her love, Paris. The last dramatic appearance of this couple on the Maury Show was 3 years ago when her husband confessed on his infidelity. She had forgiven him. Now they return because she suspects her husband of cheating again, with her best friend. Paris again confesses to infidelity with women who called him at home as well as an older woman; however, Lekesha appears to be disappointed rather than hurt. We can relate to this incidence - once the reality appears different from the real, we slowly adapt to it and eventually start to accept the changes. Lekesha perhaps felt less hurt as she was 3 years ago, because her perception on her marriage with Paris was no longer a loving, exclusive bond. The lie detector reveals that her best friend was telling the truth when she said she was not in any way involved with Paris.
Story 3 shines the spotlight on Sarah and Henry. 19-year-old Sarah suspects her fiance of being unfaithful to her. She says that she “would go to the end of the world and back for family” and he is the family she knows and loves. She bursts into tears as she reveals that “he’s the reason why [she] wakes up every morning” and that she would not know what to do if he does anything to hurt her. Henry denies being infidel; lie detector shows results of dishonesty and confirms that Henry has been cheating on Sarah. She loses control on stage and physically, violently attacks her fiance.
A teenager who fell in love and has a child with the man, the man who will soon become her husband and establishes an official family with her turned out to be unfaithful. We become more attached because of the age group - how our lives rumble because of relationships and families; how it hurts us more because we are young and experienced less, because we are unwilling to break the bubble of love is supposed to be like a fairytale. We find it difficult to leave the real and accept the reality
In short, Reality TV merely brings our daily lives, our drama, and present it on the screen. Thus, we relate to the shows, and we feel less distant from the “Hollywood” image of “celebrities”.
According to Zizek and his idea of Cynicism, which refers to that we know that the show is not real, but we don't care. When people discuss the show is not real, they feel a sense of discovery, however no one thinks the show is real, thus they haven't discovered anything. Thus, are those shows non-rehearsed? Random reality? It is reality, in perspective; it gives something to discuss. However, when we don’t see things in perspective, it’s merely an illusion of seeing “reality”.
The art of reality shows is that it presents us with the drama we could relate to and makes them believe that it is real. However, at the same time we don’t completely believe that it is. It reveals our inability to judge and to be perceptive.
Reality shows are like real elements and unreal components, and when we watch these reality shows, we accept both.
Zizek likens reality shows to our existence in capitalism, in the aspect that both are socially constructed - things we make and make believe. Both are outcome of history and of people’s actions, not by nature. We don’t think there is anything needed to do - we just accept capitalism is a fact, involving knowledge, manipulation, and power of relations. Thus, Zizek’s concept of cynicism, in short, means we know but we cannot and not want to do anything about it.
Reality shows mentioned in the reading “Take over, Make over”, when women have make over, they become more conforming to the idea of what is normal. It is a form of “normalization”, which means to make someone unusual into someone common. Is that not ironic? To make someone pretty is to fully change them into the image societal norm considers as “pretty”, despite the process involving artificial alterations. Again, we know it is not real, yet we let ourselves be taken over and go through changes only to be “normal” and “better”. Is that not cynicism? We know it’s not “us”, we know it’s not real, but that’s okay, we allow it, we make believe.
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