REALITY TV, OR NOT REALITY TV, THAT IS THE QUESTION?

Reality TV! Does it really exist ? The ones that I've seen, are at best pseudo-reality. Upon closer examination, most of the Players are just mugging for the cameras. I am not an aficionado, nor am I an avid viewer, not even a casual viewer. Honestly, I don't really watch them, (I don't want to waste my viewing time watching bad acting). But I have seen portions of some, in addition to the news, tabloids covers and TV previews, and these are what what I base my opinion on.

These shows were preceded by, what was to me, the real Reality Television. In the '70's, on Public Television, there were cameras placed in the home of the Robert Loud family, now that was real, Reality So, this is reality? They\'re cheap to produce and feed our appetite for snooping. No wonder reality. These people really bared their souls, not even acknowledging the camera. Honestly, I watched that show, and I was intrigued by what I saw. I felt as if I was peering through the window of someones home. The show was of poor, visual,quality, but you could see enough to understand that this was real Reality Television....... nothing like the shows of today.

These shows are suppose to showcase the lives of the Players. Do they really? Think about it, some of these Players are, seemingly, always in a good mood, unless a situation arises that calls for them to "act out." Life appears to always be a party, or some other good time event. Think about your own lives, is this real life? Now because I don't really watch, I don't know all that happens during the show, but what I have seen, when I can stand to watch for a few minutes, is very poor acting. But acting nevertheless, and that seems to be alright with the public. You know, when the actors were threatening to go on strike, I think it would have been a big mistake, because the biggest Players in the industry now appear to be "Reality Show Players." They become "Stars," by virtue of partially revealing their lives to the public, lives that are sometimes already in a downward spiral.

These Shows appear to be playing into the hands of the voyeuristic,(voyeur: a prying observer who is usually seeking the sordid or the scandalous), side of our nature. We seem to be looking for something scandalous to happen in the lives of the Players, and oftentimes it does. You see, during the show, things appear to be going okay, but the reality comes in after the cameras are turned off. Just a little aside here, when did it become okay to stand outside of someones window and spy on them? (I'm just saying). That's what it appears to me. I always feel, the less that I know about a person, the better I can feel about them, if ever I met them, my opinion of them is not preconceived , and I can form my own, which is what I prefer. Yet I know, these Players don't care if I like them or not, it's all about the dollar, and in the grand scheme of things, who am I to them, anyway.

John and Kate, Bobby and Whitney, Jessica and Nick, what do all of these names have in common? They all had their lives played out in public on pseudo-reality television, and their marriages ended after the fact. I sound like an avid viewer, I'm not, I read a lot and this is what I get from reading about them. I digress. In some of these shows, children are involved, what a shame. Life is tough enough on young ones, without having their young lives played out in the public for all to see. It remains to be seen the effect that this new type of entertainment will have on the children of these "Players."

You have people like the lady with the fourteen children, trying to get a Reality Show. You've heard the saying "be careful what you wish for." Does she really know what troubles she is heaping upon her children? Her reality, at the very least, could be fourteen maladjusted children. Just look at some of the real life child movie stars, how they turned out. Some are dead, or drug addicted, some emotionally maladjusted, and still others are reclusive. These are some of the sad results of being in the spotlight too young. I would venture to say that some of the parents did not know the ramifications of putting their children in the spotlight at such a young age. Now, however, it has been documented, that introducing them to the public before they can handle it, can be harmful. So why would anyone, knowing all these things, want to put their children in harms way like that? Perhaps some are living vicariously through their children, wishing they could have been where their children are now. Of course not all child stars met with this fate, however enough of them did, so that it merits concern.

What I prefer is, real acting........ made up lives. Real life is oftentimes so tragic, that I prefer to see made up lives, so that I can hope that these people, (stars), are alright in their personal lives. I don't want to see real marriages break up with small children in the middle of it all....... that's all so sad.

Well, I guess I might as well accept it, pseudo-Reality Television is here to say, however I don't have to watch, as long as there are books and my beloved computer, I can keep busy. So, for now, for me, Reality TV or Not Reality TV, I say NOT!

As of April 21, 2011, I learned that there is a movie being made about the Robert H. Loud family real reality show. Diane Lane is playing the lead role. I look forward to seeing this movie. I didn't catch when it was coming out, but I'll update it when I learn the date, and time of the release, or showing. I just found a clip, take a look. The Loud family TV show aired circa 1973. This was actually the birth of reality TV.