Sunday, June 12, 2005

What I don't care about

Scott over at I Know What I Know (That title always bothers me a little bit! I hope against hope that I know a few things I don't think I know. Otherwise, I know precious little! But never mind... It's an interesting blog.) posted a list of things he doesn't care about. His list included, among other things,
1) Paris Hilton
2) Makeover shows.
3) Reality TV shows.
4) TV shows about cruelty.
5) Britney Spears-Cooterfunk
6) Jessica Simpson
7) Brad and whoever
12) Michael Jackson
16) Screaming head shows passing for “debate” or “discussion.”
17) Television shows about the crazy things rich people™ do.

I find that my list would have to include these very things. So I began to wonder about who does care enough about these things to make them so popular.

A student project at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point a few years ago looked at reality TV. One student, Cassandra, did research led her to the conclusion that a lot of it is about the conflict and competition. I think that explains most of the above-listed things Scott and I don't care about. As a nation, we seem to delight in looking at the stupid things rich people do and the conflicts that they become embroiled in as a result. We argue and call it discussion.

Personally, I am tired of it all. I would tend to agree with the grandmother of another UW-SP student, Lindsey, who said,
Whatever happened to shows like I Love Lucy or Gunsmoke...
Now, I am not particularly a fan of either of those shows, but almost anything is better than TV fare today!

And unfortunately, it isn't just TV. News on my search engine of choice regularly lists important things like the fact that some 18 year old star has broken up with her boyfriend. Are our own lives so empty that we have to live vicariously through others? And even if they were and we did, couldn't we find better people to live through? What is wrong with us?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think we all secretly love playing a silent role in this glamorous reality that we are 100% removed from.

I always say how much I hate the big deal that is made out of Britneys weight, and those body makeover shows where the vainest of people miraculously have a better life and new found happiness because their butts are no longer big and faces are now pretty.

BUT I have often put down an interesting novel in the lunch room at work and began to read an old edition of Cosmo insead. I also secretly love makeover shows and watch them when noone is looking.

I think we are social beings are we like to compare and compete, and we are all vain to some extent and we try to hide it but magazine editors and TV producers all know that his secret love exists! haha.

Nancy, I have figured out how to make comments without signing up to blogger. You are given the option to choose an identity when you submit your comment. I just overlooked this before. My bad.

Anonymous said...

Ula, I agree with you about the "silent role" we play and about our being social animals. And I think that we allow the media to exploit it to the degree that Tom Cruise's love life becomes vitally important --too much so.

Nathan Lowell said...

It's been a long time since I've watched "mainstream" TV. We had the cable company pull the plug on our premium movie channels recently -- partly in protest over the increase in prices but largely because we just didn't watch them.

We also discovered that we can rent any movie we want from the local video emporium for a fraction of what those channels cost us.. but that's a different issue.

I care about FoodTV. Altho, I confess my guilty pleasure is watching CSI reruns on Spike.