I make no secret about my love for Reality TV. I just love it. The competitive and non-competitive type. American Idol, Hell’s Kitchen, Apprentice (and now the Celebirty one! Oo-la-la!), Jon and Kate Plus 8, Roadies, Cribs, Channel [V] Popstars, etcetera etcetera! And even for the shows that I love, I come back to youtube and watch endless videos of the lives of the characters and interviews and what not.
I remember when I was small I used to love watching Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. I like to peek inside others lives or maybe at that age it was just excitement of knowing how wealthy Macaulay Culkin’s life was. I guess I have always of sorts been fascinated by the lives of the famous. I like to know what life around them looks like. Not in the obsessed paparazzi way, of course! It’s more like a behind-the-scenes kind of things. The making-ofs.
But its not only the flashy lives of the celebrities that are fascinating. The competitive ones. Following people face challanges and the thrill of the result and elminations. The first one I can remember following through and through is Survivor Season 1. I do not like that show anymore. Then the Indian ones like [V] Popstars, which I wish they still showed. I am obsessed with watching these regular simple people go on to become something bigger than they thought. It’s like three months back you were living your life with the 10 people who knew you and suddenly now the whole nation or the world wants to know you. Quite an experience isn’t it? And it’s like going on the ride with them to see what its like to become someone.
Now as to how ’scripted’ these unscripted shows are, I do not know. But it still makes for fun entertainment. My lunch these days is watching Jon and Kate plus 8. People criticise the show alot, saying they are exploiting the children. I love how everybody also has something to criticise and act like they really care about the welfare of the world and its people. These things are all made for entertainment purposes. It’s their life. If they want to televise their lives to give you some smiles for a few hours every week, what’s the deal? I generally ‘dislike’ little kids but I like to watch them on TV. Jon and Kate Plus 8 really is my new favourite thing to watch on TV since American Idol got over.
I really don’t have any criticism for reality TV. Some people say its too fake. Well, it must entertain, musn’t it? Others say its shallow. Does everything have to be justified and make sense? Mindless entertainment? So what? If it gives you something to laugh about then who cares?
Fascinating to what all can go on in an empty mind isn’t it?
I wonder if you’ll judge me as shallow now.
It feels incomplete to write about reality TV without mentioning the awesomeness of Adam Lambert, so here goes!
Filed under: Rambling
