The Hollywood Hoax

Posted on January 26, 2010
Filed Under Culture, Media | By Ashley Singh

I watch The Bachelor, Big Brother, Survivor, The Real World, American Idol, Project Runway, The Real Housewives of New Jersey, and Top Chef, to name a few. What’s the common denominator? These are all reality shows. Reality TV has taken television by storm. It all started with The Real World in 1992. I was too young to watch The Real World back then, but I do remember my uncle who is nine years older than me watching it. I distinctly remember him saying to me that he wanted to be on the show. I never took him too seriously as far as that went. When I was allowed to watch The Real World, I remember being fascinated with the whole concept: “This is the story of seven strangers picked to live in a house and have their lives taped. Find out what happens when people stop being polite and start getting real…The Real World.” But today I ask this question: are these people being exploited for the sake of entertainment?

When I watch The Bachelor, I’m just wondering, are they serious? And when two girls went home this week, one of the girls said, “I didn’t get to say goodbye to them.” And then they are so invested in the whole thing that all of the women are on the warpath to take down the most hated girl in the house who they are badmouthing her to Jake (the bachelor), hoping that he’ll see the light and send her home. Not only are these people opening themselves up to a relationship, but they’re opening themselves up to the rest of America. Then they play the music, and they edit the show to make certain people look bad to rev up the drama factor.

I stumbled upon this article the other day about how American Idol is all smoke and mirrors. I know, that’s not a news flash, but after I read this, I can’t take the show as seriously as I did in the past. Back when Kelly Clarkson won, it was really a singing competition, and most people only watch the show for the first month or so while the audition process is still going on, when all kinds of craziness takes place. According to this article, the producers (after the contestants jump through many hoops) actually tell the people that “they’re here because they’re either really good or really bad.”

This is my problem with the whole thing—they look for people to exploit in order to further the show. My opinion is, what’s wrong with it being a singing competition? Honestly, why do we need all the people dressed crazy who believe that they can sing when they really can’t and then go on to face the judges only to run out of the building fuming with tears streaming down their faces? It kind of makes me a little embarrassed to say that I’m a communications major because people always blame “the media” when in reality it’s producers and editors. My point is take it all with a grain of salt, but just remember that when it comes to television, what you see is not always what you get.

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