Reality Used To Be A Friend Of Mine: The Problem With Reality TV - Part II

Part 2 in the three-part series "The Problem With Reality TV"

It celebrates the worst in people.

Reality TV producers learned long ago that when it comes to their TV choices, the average person with the average life isn’t interested in watching... well, average people with average lives. Rather, it seems what the average viewer wants to see are extremes. Extreme situations -- people stranded on desert islands, couples racing around the world, men and women competing for the same person's affections or to see who can lose the most weight. And what’s even better is when these people have extreme personalities. When it comes to casting reality shows, producers trip over themselves to choose people that are exceedingly arrogant (Omorosa from The Apprentice), shallow (Audrina from The Hills), duplicitous (Survivor's Jonny Fairplay), daft (Sunset Tan’s Olly Girls) or disgusting (every single person on Rock of Love.) Indeed, it’s fair to say that at best, reality shows feature a disproportionate number of people with, shall we say "gross" personality traits.

Reality TV stars and contestants (as well as those who’ve simply auditioned or applied to be on these shows) commonly possess the most narcissistic of personalities. According to psychiatrist Dr. Drew Pinsky (ironically, a reality show star himself) these people genuinely feel like they deserve be on television and that their lives are so interesting, people should actually WANT to watch them.

So what do we wind up with? Shows full of egotistical people with horrible personalities. These people's vanity often makes them antagonisitic, which inevitably leads to conflict and the types of behaviors and actions that show producers and network executives believe makes for good television and higher ratings.

So in effect, reality TV “personalities” (I henceforth refuse to refer to them as “stars”) are celebrated for their conceit, rudeness, foul mouths, ignorance, depravity, and general distastefulness. One of the worst offenders in this regard is The Real Housewives series, which, in chronicling the lives of a group of vapid, over-privileged women, actually encourages their pretentiousness, social climbing, and bad parenting.

And the saddest part is, it seems the very worst of these people are the ones who get the most recognition, often in the form of their very own series. Thus, we've had to endure empty-headed, playing on her looks Kendra going from The Girls Next Door to Kendra; fame-seeking, money-grubbing Megan graduating from Rock of Love to Megan Wants a Millionaire; and the vile, classless "New York" spinning off of Flava of Love to I Love New York.

And then there's I Love Money, a show that unapologetically seeks out the worst of the worst from other reality shows, and then showcases their unadulterated greed and willingness to debase themselves and each other for fame and cash.

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Reality Used To Be A Friend Of Mine: The Problem With Reality TV - Part I