Confession: I watch reality TV. I don't DVR it, or anything, but if I'm looking for mindless entertainment, I'll flip through until I find something like The Girls Next Door. (Kendra is really funny.)
But I never thought about how creepy reality TV is until seeing the preview for Denise Richards' reality show, due to start next week or the week after. (Soon, at any rate.) A few minutes later I saw an ad for Lindsay Lohan's mom's reality show.
Richards, who once acted in movies, is now marketing herself as T&A while her voiceover claims the show aims to set the record straight about who she is, which she says is anything but what she's been called in the press.
Lohan appears to have a camera following her and her equally spoiled daughter around while both scrape and claw at the doors to the entertainment industry for the fame they probably believe they deserve. (Lindsay can't be the only one who gets to have it, damn it!)
As a reality-show watcher, I understand my role and that there'd be no reality TV if people like me weren't watching. I'll admit curiosity had me catching a few episodes of Paula Abdul's follow-my-life show, and then regretting it (how to take her seriously as a judge on AI after watching her very public and unapologetic displays of immaturity and petulance?).
I am part of the problem. Yes. But that doesn't mean I don't wonder what it is that makes a person a) believe her life is so utterly fascinating the world will want to watch [is that not the height of arrogance?], and b) so desperate to be looked at.
Richards wasn't in too many movies, but she could at least, before now, be respected as a film actress. Now she's just a reality show diva. Period. She went from the career many in her profession aspire to to the lowest level on the totem, the entry-level job people take because they hope it will some day get them into the movies. It's much like when an actress you admire for her skills or a certain role in a TV show eventually ends up barely-dressed in Maxim. Respectability drops by about 105%.
I can't decide if Richards' move is creepy (not only because it seems weird to me to want to be watched like that, but because her decision strikes me as the height of selling out) or just unfortunate (was she in such a tough spot she needed the money?)
The Lohans are just parasites. Little else to say about them. They had nowhere to fall.
[P.S. And is having a blog equally arrogant in that it assumes people actually care about what you have to say? Hmm...]
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"Kristen J. Tsetsi has done something few other authors have been able to; she’s captivated me with a non-genre title. Homefront kept me turning pages, not because of suspense or exciting action, but because of the depth with which she explores the psyche of her narrator." Ian T. Healy / "Homefront is powerful." Andrew A., US Army, Infantry, Ordinance
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5 comments:
you will never find a perfect celebrity. for example.. paula abdul may have some personal problems but that has nothing to do with her position as a judge and her (well documented) knowledge of talent.
True - not that there was any mention of anyone (celebrity or not) being perfect.
I shouldn't have been so hard on Paula Abdul, though. It wasn't necessary. I actually kind of like her (from what I've seen on TV, she seems genuinely nice), but there's something to be said for not having your life publicized when you're famous. It's possible to know too much.
I loathe reality tv. It's mindless drivel and people looking to acheive their 15 minutes!
Don't worry, no judgement here. I'm just looking forward to a time when reality tv is gone and we start seeing some quality television programs put back on the air.
Hmmm.... I am usually a casual reality tv watcher myself, although I haven't had any tv at all for about 4 months now except DVDs.
I tend to think of reality tv as more of a soap opera shot in a different format. There seems to be a high demand for information about "famous" people, and you can find it in just about every type of media now (magazines, blogs, tv). I think it reflects one dimension of the times we're living in. Quick, easy access... kind of like fast food on tv, and we all know how bad fast food is for us.
I don't understand the mentality that it takes to agree to do reality tv. I think it would be absolutely miserable to be admired or adhorred by viewers based on a caricature of myself, but celebrities are probably pretty used to that.
I have a guilty pleasure of some reality tv as well. My favorites are Survivor and America's Next Top Model. Phew. I feel better having confessed that!
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