Blog #2

This past week I thoroughly enjoyed the discussions we have had in class. As a HUGE Big Brother fan, I loved the reading on that show. I have seen every episode of the show and will have to agree that the producers of the show are the real people in control. This is true of many "reality" shows. Although it may seem that the people in the show are controlling their own fate, in reality, the producers are calling all of the shots. This way they can control the conflicts and drama, which in turn, creates great ratings and money. I have also seen this scenario in several movies of the past decade, such as The Hunger Games. The rational-world paradigm also plays a big part in these shows. People want to have a sense that this could happen in our near future or has already occurred. Also, we have seen that if characters were not interesting to the audience then they would be written off or killed. This is certainly true because we as the audience would like to see someone who could represent ourselves, and if we don't, then we will tune out. You notice a lot of reality shows these days tend toward the younger generation. This, in my opinion, is what started this downward spiral of television. I, for one, do not want to watch shows about pregnant teens or self-medicating young people whose only claim to fame is the destruction of their self-worth. Why is it that in today's society it is completely acceptable to be proud of sexual promiscuity and drug use. This really disgusts me. Television and movies are proudly displaying this too much for the younger generation. Why? Because of money. We all know that Hollywood and most of the world thrives on this. If it does not make money, then it will not last. Hopefully, one day this will change. But, in the meantime, we will have to endure the horrible shows like Two and a Half Men and Keeping Up With The Kardashians. This is because we love to watch other people's drama and lives unfold than to have to deal with our own realities. Producers of these shows know this and will continue to profit from this. God Help Us All!!!