To Be or Not To Be Reality Television

Blog Entry # 3: 9/09/11

To Be or Not To Be Reality Television

          Who remembers the days of “The Real World” and “Road Rules”? These two shows, which were on MTV, were the first reality shows I ever watched. I only watched the first three seasons of The Real World. The attraction of The Real World in San Francisco intrigued me because of one of their main characters. They had a gay character, Pedro, who had AIDS. His story and life intrigued me into watching the show. Being gay myself, I liked that they had a leading character who was gay. I liked how they put all of these people into one house and watching them interact with one another’s lifestyle. Road Rules came on after The Real World so I just got hooked on watching that show. I liked watching it because it was more a competition than a gossip column. Watching these shows got boring after a few seasons because of the people gun slinging nasty things at one another. Therefore, I quit watching these programs.

          After years of not watching any reality shows or even much television, I started watching a few shows that I thought would be interesting. I started watching Survivor, the Amazing Race, and Big Brother. Especially, Amazing Race due to the competition between the competitors. Now, I am currently hooked on watching “Wipe Out” and “The Biggest Loser”, when I get a chance to watch them. I like watching the competition part of these shows rather than all the gossiping that goes on between the competitors. If the show gets too gossipy I tend to quit watching the shows, even though, I’m still interested in watching them. I don’t know if the shows are beneficial or harmful to our society. I only watch about 5 hours of television all week, therefore, I don’t know what reality shows are on television these days. I suppose it would depend on which reality shows are being viewed by what viewing audience. For example, young teens may find shows that have issues that they are interested in. Especially, the teen oriented style shows. Young teens may relate to these shows and the issues that the program(s) brings to the forefront. These types of shows may help young teens to learn about current issues at hand, how to handle the issues and situations, learn about themselves, and how to relate the issues to their lives. The program(s) may also show them that they are not alone when it comes to certain issues and situations. Therefore, seeing how other people handle things may show them ideas on how to handle issues in their own lives.

          Reality shows aren’t a guilty pleasure for me. I do enjoy watching the shows and the creative competitions that the shows have the contestants perform. But in all reality, I’m not so hooked on these shows that I can’t live without them. If I did have a guilty pleasure it would be with the Biggest Loser, Amazing Race, or Wipeout. Any one of these shows I would enjoy being a competitor on. Especially on, the Amazing Race. I think I would do real well on that show because I’m a competitor, athletic, resourceful, and patient enough to handle difficult situations. For laughs, I would probably find “WipeOut” to be the cool show for me to compete in. I’d find it very humorous to get my booty kicked around in the mud and water. Then I can really say, “I’ve got mud in my face.” The Biggest Loser would be most beneficial to me seeing as how I’m diabetic and could afford to lose a few pounds. This show would allow me to learn more effective exercise and eating habits via a good dietary program. Therefore, I do enjoy reality shows but not for guilty pleasure yet rather for a sense of personal purpose.