The reality of reality shows

I have always found reality shows to be entertaining, mostly because of the type of reality shows I was watching. When I watched Oprah, Jude Judy, Wheel of Fortune or Who's line is it anyway, I did not automatically think, “I'm watching a reality show,” I thought “wow, this is really entertaining.”

Today when I hear the phrase reality show, I think of people acting stupid, being drunk, causing unnecessary fights. Basically showing the more stupid side of our society. Shows like “Jersey Shore,” or “keeping up with the Kardashians,” are just just false images of what peoples lives are like, and to be honest, WHO CARES?

I wanted to write about a subject that I have found to be a growing problem.

It just seems like you give a producer and director a random topic, like coupons, and they'll make an outrageous reality show out of it. Add some actors, some ridiculous drama, throw some cash around to keep the actors happy and you got yourself a teenage television hit.

Oh, and television executives are cheap and think viewers are morons. Sorry to pull back the curtain and reveal this harsh truth to you, but I feel it is my journalistic duty to be honest and expose frauds whenever I see them. Pulitzer, please

Seriously, though, it’s not like any of this breaks startling new ground, but it’s still interesting for anyone who hates reality television as much as I do and wants an excuse to yell and scream about it a little. The worst one I worked on in terms of manipulation was probably a dating competition show.

That one basically just put some oversexed drunken kids in a house and let them go wild. Sometimes the producers would ask a contestant something like, “what do you think about Steve? You don’t like him?” And the contestant would say, “no, I’m not going to say that I don’t like Steve.” And the producers would ask us to cut everything except, “I don’t like Steve.”

Now, most of us know that's how shows work sometimes, but if we are so engulfed in it and find it entertaining, why would we care about it? It's funny, it doesn't deal with our own drama, and we get to see people talk about others behind their back.

One example I find humorous is the show called, “Bad Girls Club.” Basically the show is a bunch of hussy girls 21-30 years old running around in a fancy mansion, drinking, partying and fighting. Literally, that sums up the show. And like most reality shows they do the whole, “I hate her, she's dumb,” “this girl needs to grow up,” all that jazz. And then when they have a reunion with all the girls, they are some how all fine and friends and have kept in touch.

How is this possible and even remotely logical if the things they said on the show are RECORDED and put out in the public? Are they shut in some room for months while the show airs and they aren't allowed to watch?

But in all honesty, people who watch these shows are not going to think about things like this. This is why I wanted to shed some light on this topic. You can't watch something on television and find some truth to it, because without knowing it you could make it a part of your everyday life.

 I wont lie, I got addicted to watching “Bad Girls Club,” and after a while I started talking sassy and mean, more than a usually do, because I thought it was cool and I had been entertained by the same thing. That can be a bad combination for anyone.