My home screen has been set to Yahoo for years. It’s my friend and I know everything about it. I don’t subscribe to a newspaper anymore because the delivery car ran over my lawn and refused to fix it. No one in my neighborhood gets the paper anymore because of similar problems (very loud music as she drove through the neighborhood throwing papers everywhere she could find a puddle, her noisy car with screeching brakes, and so forth). I think we all get our news online now. I also tune into a San Francisco all news radio station, KCBS, while I’m working on projects. Once I’ve heard most of the stories I flip on my iPod which is connected to my Bose and that remains on all day.
I usually scan the Yahoo headlines and read a few stories before checking my email but not always. On that morning there was a major headline everywhere I looked: Jon and Kate were getting a divorce. It was shocking. I stared at the headline for a while trying to take it all in. Even my hot coffee wasn’t helping me. It would have been easy enough to click on the headline and read the story but I needed to process what I was looking at. Then, to my dog and two cats I asked, “Who in the hell are Jon and Kate?”
I actually do not live in a cave. I’m out and about in the world quite often. I have a large network of family and friends. I participate in events where I have conversations with strangers. I’m friendly and outgoing and meet people easily. I read. Why didn’t I know Jon and Kate? That’s a rhetorical question. I know the answer. It’s because I am very picky about what I put in my brain. Pickier than what I put in my mouth. My brain must last me a long time, possibly longer than my body (chilling thought) so I’m very careful what I feed it. That includes reading material and music and movies and activities. It does not include being picky about people because I believe having a large selection of weird friends is very rewarding. (You know who you are.)
Taste in all areas of life is subjective. I’m somewhat weird because I don’t like a lot of things everyone else does. But it doesn’t bother me that they like things I don’t like. It often bothers them that I don’t like what they like however. How weird. I think I’ll cover levels of weirdness in another blog but for now I’d just like to concentrate on reality TV.
I subscribe to basic cable service. I know people who do not own a TV. My son does not have any type of TV service though he has a TV to watch DVDs. My daughter has gone through periods of zero cable access and she rarely even watches DVDs. She used to leave the TV on all day on the Animal Planet for her dog. It kept the little dog company while she was at work. She turned it off when she got home.
I took a wonderful humanities class once with an instructor who had actually met Joseph Campbell. The semester was filled with special stories of the man’s experiences and the life of Joseph Campbell. Throughout the course the instructor often mentioned reasons why he had never owned a TV. He was in his early 70s. He said he had too much to do to watch TV. When asked what he did to relax he said he cooked wonderful dinners with his wife for their family and friends and listened to great music and wrote letters and read and went to the movies and worked in the garden and worked on projects around the house and often just sat quietly.
Not that I haven’t had a TV addiction. I have. It’s a great substitute for the wrong husband and helps when up all night with a sick child. Of all the nasty habits we can indulge in it’s a little safer than some like drinking, drugs, and other bad habits. We can still drive a car safely if we watch bad TV. But I believe it’s as bad for us as food additives, a high cholesterol diet, unclean water, and pollution. It’s pollution of the brain.
I have visited the homes of family and friends with expanded TV services and have always been mortified to observe what is foisted upon the American public. Or the world for that matter. Those nasty little satellites show the entire world what Americans look like. In particular, reality TV. Jon and Kate, et al. But that isn’t who we are as Americans. None of my family and friends would ever be eligible for a reality show. We’re just plugging along working, raising our kids, and keeping it simple. I don’t know a single person like Kate or any of the other “real” people.
Before criticizing me for complaining about reality TV if I don’t watch it, I have to confess I have watched a couple reality TV shows. One was the first season of Survivor. Halfway through the series I disliked the contestants tremendously and did not want any of them to survive. I completed the entire first season and after the last episode I knew it would get worse. According to my recent research, it has.
In order to do a proper job on this diatribe I have forced myself to watch a few episodes of some of the most popular reality shows. Of the shows my cable package doesn’t provide I was able to find them online. Some are so bad that I can’t bear to see a commercial about them. Others are so bad I had to stop watching them and read about them instead. So I ate a few light dinners to avoid stomach upsets and did watch a few (including the aforementioned Survivor and learned I’m a prophet.) Because many of the reality shows are limited by my basic cable access I’m protected from them. It’s a blessing.
When viewing TV dramas or sitcoms we know we are watching scripted fiction. Some are silly, some quite good, some for young people, some for seniors, etc. They are pretend. In the world of scripted TV I have found quite a few I like. They are well written and directed and the actors do a great job. I enjoy House even though I would never ever want to be admitted to his hospital since he almost kills all his patients and I believe he has killed one or two. Guess that’s sort of a reality fiction TV show. There are others I like and there are a few sitcoms I enjoy. There are great concerts, and amazing informational shows and documentary shows on the History Channel, wonderful travel shows via The Travel Channel, especially No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain, and PBS has something worthy of viewing every single day. And the yummy Food Network. (Which I don’t get with my cable package and have to watch at my mother’s.)
I know a lot about reality TV shows even though I haven’t watched them because of conversations with family and friends and at the office. Not a gathering goes by where the conversation doesn’t turn to American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, etc. Sometimes the conversations are heated! I usually sit there with a blank expression on my face praying for the conversation to end. (I am including “contests” along with regular reality TV because they have that nasty bickering chastising component instead of being true contests.)
And I am not singling out Jon and Kate. In my research I discovered Kendra (oh, dear Lord), The Kardashians (yikes), More to Love, various takes on bachelors/etts, prep school kids, Big Brother (oh, God), Top Model, chefs run amuck, and probably the worst of the bunch, the “real housewives” of various major cities. Though the fictional TV show of real housewives never interested me, it’s a scripted show with storylines and professional actors. With the truly real housewives, we’re talking actual people who are exposing their conspicuous and excessive lifestyles (via the aforementioned satellites), their hooker clothing and accessories (no offense to hookers because they do so much more with so much less), makeup left over from horror movies, their over-the-top home “decorating” that mostly looks like it belongs to a movie set for The Sheik of Araby (very old movie), their bratty obnoxious children, distant (wealthy) husbands, and foul-mouthed unintelligible conversations. Perhaps individually, and when they are not on TV, they are better people, better parents, better friends, better daughters and sisters, better dressed. I hope so. (I know they are not.) Not only do they have these horrendous shows those same housewives are often guests on TV talk shows. Ew.
And the reality “contests.” I watched a few episodes of Biggest Loser for dieting and exercise tips and soon began to hate these sniveling babies who were given the chance in a lifetime to turn their lives around and they cried and carried on and connived and plotted against each other and were prodded and screamed at and forced to play ridiculous games, in particular, the temptation challenges which brought out the gluttony and avarice in them, to the point I wanted to throw a projectile at my TV. A true contest where people compete with other talented folks would be okay. But the majority of the talent contests on TV are so mean and contentious I just can’t find value. It’s not in the spirit of sportsmanship by any stretch of the imagination.
Why do we enjoy demeaning and demoralizing each other? We must love it because of the number of these shows. It’s a form of mass voyeurism. We feel better about ourselves when we see others being pounded into oblivion. The viewing public is invited to participate by voting. What does the average person know about singing? It’s a popularity contest. Friends discussing the events on American Idol were often stunned by the winners. Contestants with great voices were not selected in favor of those with an over the top personality trait. And Simon. I can’t write what I want to in this posting about Simon. Except to say . . . no, I can’t.
Many people believe TV contributes to crime and bad behavior. It’s a bad influence. May even drive people to violent crimes, drugs, promiscuity, adultery, you name it. I believe it’s the opposite. I believe TV reflects our behavior, it does not create it or influence it. Why? Because Jack the Ripper did not watch TV. If he were alive today he’d have a realty TV show.
The TV industry and advertisers develop shows to attract an audience and if we weren’t attracted to the crappola that is on there they would not broadcast it. If we all loved basket weaving we would have countless shows about basket weaving. We have unimaginably awful programming because we like it. We are surrounded outside by a real world of pure violence and over the top competition for jobs (my college is superior to your college), housing, parking lot rage (hey, that’s my spot, I saw it first, I’m going to kill you), freeway shootings (hey, you cut me off back there, I’m going to kill you), religious fanaticism (my religion is better than your religion, I’m going to kill you), riots at sporting events, shootings at sporting events in parking lots, children’s’ sporting events filled with screaming out of control parents and coaches, classroom bullies, students killing their classmates, kids wearing hundred dollar or more sneakers (that they grow out of before they wear them out), racial and gender hate, gang against gang (my gang is better than your gang, I’m going to kill you), corporate greed unchecked (my company can screw more people than your company), politicians unchecked and behaving and lying outrageously before, during, and after elections, sports heroes living large evil lives at the expense of family and fans (and sometimes murdering their wives,) horrific customer service on almost every level and almost every day (we want to serve your needs but don’t call us), food contamination (in a rush to get food to market to topple the competition, safety standards be damned), airplanes flying into buildings (my God is better than your God even though it’s the same God), and let’s not forget wars, the ultimate competition. (War is a competitive business endeavor. Our neighborhoods should be so lucky to have that kind of money.)
So I had a talk with my cable provider the other day and complained that every few weeks I lose more channels. The “customer service rep” told me that if I paid “x” number of dollars more per month I’d get them all back. I told him I don’t like most of the channels and there are only a handful I want. I don’t want more bad channels. He apologized and said “so far” they cannot provide channel selection by the customer and they have selected packages that would appeal to almost everyone. Not true. I had planned on ending the conversation with closing my account except that I’m expecting company in the fall and will need at least basic cable because the first thing they asked was if I got American Idol. Heaven help me I do. But not for long.
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Sharon, Excellent observations and soo true! I do miss PBS and History channels and most cooking channels, however, I chose to listen to music jazz, r n b, classics and latin mix. When you do get caught up, your time is eaten up and nothing done, fixed, made, nothing! Some peoples thinking pattern scary, most is made-up to feel like reality…TRACK
We are so lucky we can find almost whatever we want online–so far. I suspect one day we will pay-per-view and in fact I think there are some pay-per-view online sites already but so far I have been able to find fantastic programming for free. My son firmly believes that realty TV is scripted and the “contestants” are told what to do and then they adlib according to a script. Once someone gives up watching TV it’s amazing what can be accomplished in life. I’ve written two books, I post a weekly blog, I’m painting my house (inside and out), studying languages, practicing the piano, etc. When I end my day I feel so alive. It’s my reality!
Great rant – very articulate and I so agree with your points. So much TV is made-up conflict and people-behaving-badly. I wish someone would make a reality show that featured only people engaged in making positive, constructive contributions to their lives, their families and their communities – facing and overcoming typical life challenges in life-affirming and character-affirming ways. The “Housewives” franchise in particular needs a stake put through its heart, not to mention “Jersey Shore.” Those gene pools are so shallow and could use a big dose of chlorine.
Oh, yeah. I’m ashamed they are broadcast throughout the world. When I’ve traveled sometimes people I meet ask the most bizarre questions about Americans. When I straighten them out they always are surprised that what they see on TV does not represent real Americans. You know, I didn’t even include Jerry Springer and others similar to his show. There was only so much room!
Lived in England and was having a company salesmen’s event prior to about 20 of the Brits and wives coming to Calif as a reward for selling ‘a million dollars of insurance that year’. Sat next to one of the men – LeRoy – who asked where he could get a gun? Why, I asked?? Well, Maggie, I’ve seen almost all of the James Cagney movies and…’ Told him he would probably shoot himself and he needn’t bother buying a gun. His wife almost cried with relief, because she had that same thought. Had to remind him that there are places in L.A. I wouldn’t go at night — just as there are places in London he or I wouldn’t venture at night – Soho??
Common sense prevailed. Sad that our sometimes ‘warped’ communication to the world is seen as ‘reality’. Which reminds me — none of the reality shows are reality — and the only clue to knowing that is to ask yourself — Who is filming this to be shown on TV? None of these beautiful (and they are always beautiful) people ever go hungry, go to bed at night without a shower etc. – or really get hurt, bitten by, or scratched!!
Thanks for your post. I do not watch TV. I don’t even think about it. It’s a way to fill up an empty life. I’m a doer not a viewer!
Great rant & I agree with you entirely! I never watch the so-called reality shows. My man watches Survivor & I go do something else. We watch a lot of programmes on Discovery & History channels, and home improvement shows. My pet peeve is sit-coms. What really bothers me about them is that damned laugh track. It’s as if they feel they have to let us know when we should laugh, otherwise we might miss the joke. In that case, it couldn’t have been much of a joke. Many evenings, I flip the channels, decide there’s nothing decent on, turn it off & do a crossword or go on the computer. Much more intelligent fare there. Vibrant Nation is proof of that!
Fantastic rant Sharon. We have antenna, I refuse to pay for garbage TV, and get most of the basic channels, some retro old TV shows and PBS. Since my illness (won’t go into that) I do watch considerably more TV than I used to due to aches and pains beyond my control and not being able to be up and around as much, but I digress. I find with antenna I get to watch some of my favorite shows, which might not be your favorites, dramity like NCIS or Bones, comedy like The Big Bang Theory, educational/PBS like Nature and Nova, and drama like The Good Wife and old shows like Kojak or even Beaver.
I have never gotten into the reality crazy. Someone staying with us one time convince me, against my better judgement, to try American Idol, with our then 11 year old son. When Simon told one young girl, “You won’t ever make it in Hollywood, you know why? Because your too fat!” Well, that was enough for me, yes, you are right, it is best not to say what could be said about Simon other than, “What an A$$!!!” I do not for the life of me know what the draw is. With my loss of capabilities it even makes me more confused why anyone would waste a moment of their time on these idiot shows.
And every thing else you said about my god is better than your god, my corporation can screw people better than your corporation, etc., and so on, ad nauseum, RIGHT ON SISTAH!!! Wake up people. If I had the means and the energy half the people of the US of A had, I would start a movement to take people to the streets and scream bloody murder about our corporate media dumbing us down and not giving us real news, because… I truly believe it is our media, as well as the people excepting nonsense, that is responsible for ruining our country. Oh, I’m not talking about the TV shows, I’m talking about the nonsense news that should be renamed PRAVDA for those of you who remember the cold war, the news media that’s feeding us baby pablum instead of telling us what’s really going on in the world.
Okay, don’t get me started. Thanks you Sharon, for telling it like it really is.
June
Oh, we are on the same wave exactly. I adore Big Bany Theory and NCIS and Bones and most everything on PBS but they are scripted and I think there are scripted shows that are good and some that are bad. But reality TV is just generally demeaning and demoralizing and does not reflect any Americans I know. I’ve heard about some of Simon’s horrible comments. I do know very nice people who watch some truly awful TV and I don’t get it. And don’t me started on the news. Might be the topic of a future blog. Ewwwww.
So absolutely true! where are those “real” peole? who knows them besides the other “real” people in the program? I don’t know anyone like that….but I have friends who watch, why is beyond me! Talk shows I include in this as well. I have no desire to know anyone’s business, receive advise from people I probably wouldn’t even care to meet. I watch Jay Leno or David Letteman, but turn the TV off after the monologue. Watching sports is not the same anymore when, as you say, athletes are always in trouble, are impossibly conceited and some are really awful people…..
I love PBS and the History channel. A & E can have some good ones, but lately there are horors there too: “Dog, the Bounty Hunter”….. I watch very few TV programs: “Castle”, “Royal Pains” light and uncomplicated…lately” “Hot in Cleveland”. If I can get some of the oldies: “Gloden Girls, All in the Family, Friends…..I might watch….if not: there is Netflix or a good book!
p.s. Even though I work from home (I’m a freelance writer) and my computer is always on, I still subscribe to newspapers, something about holding them and getting ink on my fingers….
Ladies, like is way too short to be sitting in front of a tv. Pick a couple of shows and then move on. I’m always amazed when I hear people talking about shows they are following. Between my career, travel, sports, exercise, hobbies, learning new skills, friends, family, reading, volunteering, etc., when do you find the time?
No kidding. I spend every day with a checklist of things to do and some of it is work but some is fun. I do have music on all day if I’m home. If I have a little time at night and feel like a movie I’ll check out Netflix and select something I really want to watch. I can hook my computer up to my TV so I get the benefit of better audio and visual from the TV instead of my computer. In other words, I am very selective with my activities and find it rewarding to do so much at my age (65). My mom watches TV all day because she is ill but I’ve given her a lot of puzzles (all kinds) and books and CDs and yet she still watches TV. I have noticed a decline in her mental outlook which is why I had hoped she would like the puzzles and reading. She does but she would rather watch TV. When I visit we don’t! heh heh heh