Reality Show Mania...Tired Yet?

By:  LA Williams

Now that we've moved well into our second decade of reality television, I suppose (perhaps) I should get use to the fact that they are here to stay.

What (exactly) is our enormous fascination with these oversexed, narcissists?  Is it the glamorous lives they pretend to have?  Or, the unfettered manner in which they brazenly hurt others?  Do we secretly wish our lives to be as exciting and drama-filled as the Real Housewives of where-ever? And, why can we not get enough of Jersey Shore or Celebrity Apprentice? 

Well, I think the answer is quit simple.  The reason we love these "tell and show it like it is shows" is they are a latent, passive-aggressive, sub-conscience response to the flowering, everything is perfect images that corporate America inundates us with, while convincing us to spend money we do not have on products we do not need.  I know that was a run-on sentence, but I don't care....this is reality, remember?  So, follow me on this one, please.  If I have to see one more car commercial where the 20's something wife, buys the 20's something husband a NEW CAR for Christmas, I'm going to puke.  I mean, c'mon!  Who the heck has that kind of money sitting around, at the oh-so mature age of 28?  Or, what about the middle-class couple that decides to have a sit-down dinner at McDonald's....pleeeassee..that's drive-thru all the way.  The true McDonald's, sit-down people are the over-stressed, slightly over-weight moms with two too many kids on her hands.

What about the movies?  Every "romantic comedy" portray these people whom possess all the money they'll ever need, and the only problem they have is that they have failed to realize their one true love, all along, is their best friend (of the opposite sex).  Or the dramas, whereby the couple lives in this upscale, middle-income home, while the woman is a stay-at-home mom, and the husband is an account executive.  C'mon, man!!!  "How the hell do they afford that lifestyle on an account exec's salary?"

Do you see where I'm coming from?  Do you see it?  Corporate America works hard to make us long for  certain (mostly unattainable) lifestyles.  This leads to a multitude of personal finance problems that I'll save for another discussion.  But, more to this point, leaves us secretly desiring more raunchy images (i.e. reality television).  I mean, let's face it...it's not like the libraries are flooding with patrons.  Thanks, Ben Franklin, but No thanks, says the American public...lol.

Until, we decide that maybe these cell phone (robots) aren't that important and decide that dinner (for the family) is at six o'clock sharp, our society will continue to spiral into this weird false reality of butterfly days and dragon nights.