Reality TV Show Love Island Has Now Finished But What’s it’s Doing For Everyday Reality?
So, another year is passing us by along with that at another serving of so-called reality TV. You know, that ridiculous program which they claim is real-life but is completely constructed which they try to pass off as some form of ‘reality’ under a great big magnifying glass which is very Big Brother like. It’s also somewhat intrusive to. But seriously though so, just what it is actually doing for us? When is comes to be trials and tribulations on our everyday lives in the reality in which we actually live in just what good is it really doing us?
In the latest series there were reported to be around 7,482 complains of misogynistic behaviour made to Ofcom. In the age of the #MeToo movement just how is this sort of behaviour actually helping us?
What’s it doing for us as a society when were trying to combat problems such as misogyny? What message is it giving out and how is this helping us with in regards to our behaviours towards each other?
Now I openly admit that I myself watched reality TV just before it became the massive phenomena it is now. The very first reality TV programme I watched was Castaway 2000. Even though this was the Beebs second serving of reality TV, in this particular series there was more of a social experiment in which a small group of people were sent to live on a remote Island, the main goal being to try and establish a form of community. This particular show was as close to reality as the viewer would get to without having to leave the comfort of their living room
Then like everybody else I was swept into the miasma of Big Brother that launched on Channel 4. And along with the masses, I was swept into the drama of the Big Brother household. Slowly but surely, as more seasons of the show were brought to us other shows of similar formats were also shown to us. Geordie Shores, Ex on The Beach, The Valleys, The Circle, Come Dine With Me
The latest being Love Island, and its celebrity counterpart, Celebrity Love Island. Now I know that these programs apparently should only be viewed as light entertainment but the attitudes presented on the shows leaves me to think otherwise. And I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who thinks this.
Two other reality TV shows that caused me to question just how much good they are doing in regards to the real life everyday social situations. Here are two more examples; Married at First Sight, a reality show show in which a man and woman who have never even met and barely even know each other meet each other for the first time at the altar and marry each other. What happens then is that the newlyweds have to spend a certain amount of time with each other before deciding if they want to stay with each other or are they separate ways.
Personally, I would have to ask just what in the hell it is they think they’re doing agreeing to take part in something as ridiculous as that. I mean come on, where’s your sense of self-worth? If anything, they have been encouraged to sacrifice varying degrees of their pride just to get 15 minutes of fame on TV. (had no one told these guys that fame isn’t always what is cracked up to be?)
The other one that springs to mind and is, Just Tattoo of Us. For anyone who does not know so what that is is thing Tattoo Fixers meets Jeremy Kyle. Basically two contestants go to a tattoo parlour, one of them gets a tattoo that the other has chosen for them. The person who gets tattooed has no idea what it is until the end after the reveal it’s handbags at dawn
Left to me, one of the main questions I would ask in regards to the sort of shows is what is it about them that makes them addictive? I mean why are we so into watching peoples own personal dramas and faults on TV? What is so entertaining about watching two friends having a bust-up on live telly? What is it that is so thrilling about watching a couple break up because one of them has been cheating? What is it about watching a group of people together that it makes it so entertaining, especially when there’s massive fights and mental breakdowns?
Overall, when you look at all these reality TV shows, they only become massive attention grabbers when an argument or fight kicks off. Basically, it’s like we’re somehow obsessed with watching people spiral out of control. It’s as though our own mental well-being thrives on watching the downfall and misery of others.
Overall, if you look at all these shows we really have to ask ourselves in what way are we benefiting from it? Why is watching the misery of others whether it be relationship breakdowns, personal meltdowns or watching people go from one disaster to another.
Now I admit that when it comes to all these programs I watched the first series of every one of them. As time went on and each program returned for another run it was basically the same dramas all over again but with different people. Eventually I just asked myself, “Why am I even watching this? Is this all there is in regards to life?”
But overall, why am I watching a programme which is basically designed and to drive people into a mental crisis when there’s so much of that crap happening in the real world? I mean seriously, is there not already more than enough trials, tribulations, heartbreak, meltdowns and crisis enough as there is in today’s society without TV programmes having to ram it down our throats?
In a magazine interview I member reading an interview you with a renowned British journalist who supposedly said “if you don’t like reality TV then you don’t like people”. Well I don’t like reality TV, it doesn’t mean I don’t like people, I just don’t like watching them go through meltdowns for entertainment purposes
