It's hard to say exactly why I enjoy watching reality television - certainly not because it is high quality or bears any resemblance to anything that could be called art. Seeing America's wealthy housewives pick fights with each other because they have nothing better to do is hardly a shining example of programming in our country, and these shows hardly ever represent anything close to what I would call "actual reality." Still, I indulged in more than a few "Flavor of Love" episodes in the past and I've been known to stage the occasional "Real Housewives of New Jersey" marathon. I have little to no respect for most of the people on these shows, and I definitely don't care about the fate of Flava Flav's love life, so the only reason I can imagine for enjoying these programs is that I find watching them to be cathartic. And I don't think I'm the only one.
I think we definitely find something soothing in the fact that, no matter how bad things are in our own lives, at least we haven't reduced ourselves to attempting to date middle-aged has-been stars or throwing public tantrums about the snubs of our mansion-dwelling neighbors. We feel a sense of relief knowing that this is someone else's reality and that it is perfectly OK for us to laugh at it. With shows like "The Real Housewives" and "Say Yes to the Dress," we can watch real people making idiots of themselves and openly mock them without feeling any guilt at all. Not only can reality stars not hear us, but they chose to put themselves into these bizarre and often highly embarrassing situations, and thus have opened themselves up to viewer criticism. All the humiliation they suffer is of their own making.
Recently I have found myself addicted to a new type of bad reality television, however. During the last few weeks I've caught myself stopping on TLC whenever I see that "Sister Wives" or "Toddlers and Tiaras" is on. These shows are not captivating for the same reason that some of my older reality addictions were; instead of tuning in for the opportunity at cathartic mockery, it's more like watching a train wreck. I want to look away. I know that I should look away. But I just can't look away.
If you're not familiar with the shows, "Sister Wives" is a program that follows a polygamist family called the Browns through their daily lives. Viewers see the comings and goings of a husband, his four wives and their numerous children. "Toddlers and Tiaras" tracks the experience of extremely young contestants, usually under the age of 9, as they participate in the beauty pageant circuit.\nThe trouble is that these shows don't offer the same cathartic experience as the other programs I mentioned. Instead, I feel a tiny bit of guilt every time I watch them. A guilt that culminated last week, when after missing the latest episode of "Sister Wives" on TV I searched for a place to catch it online. When glances at the TLC website and Hulu proved fruitless, I actually gave in and paid $1.99 to watch the episode on Amazon. This was the low point of my trashy television addiction. I realized after I bought it that a fraction of the money I spent had probably gone to this family whose lifestyle, though weirdly fascinating, is utterly reprehensible to me.
Even though I'm still watching someone else's reality, the sense of relief is gone. Unlike the contestants on "The Bachelor," the children in shows like "Sister Wives" and "Toddlers in Tiaras" do not get to chose the way they live and have the results of their parentally-imposed lifestyle thrust into the public eye. But I will spare you my rant about irresponsible and selfish parenting choices.
In this case, I want to point out that we also have a responsibility as viewers. Until I personally paid to watch that episode, it was easy to forget that television shows are a product just like anything else. By watching them, we are consuming that product and helping to perpetuate it. Even when I watch less despicable reality shows, I am helping to keep a certain image popular. Right now I don't think my programming choices have been helping to perpetuate a very good image. What about yours?
Katie's column runs biweekly Tuesdays. She can be reached at k.mcnally@cavalierdaily.com.
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