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Wednesday, July 29, 2009

REALITY IS...

I have days where it just seems that the things going on in this world really get to me...and today is one of those days.....it started this morning when I was watching tv and they showed the "newly engaged couple" from The Bachelorette...I am probably one of the very few people out there that doesn't get into all of this reality tv crap...in my opinion its NOT reality at all!!! I do not know exactly what it is that drives people to watch what "they" call a reality tv show. When the concept of reality first entered our entertainment world we were intrigued, shocked, excited and for some outraged. As time went by with the "reality craze", seems to have turned into a scripted show, so now to me the fact they act reality just seems ridiculous! And yet it seems to be what alot of people find entertaining. Is it because we want to see people fail. We want to see the winners be the nobodys and the losers be the drop dead gorgeous man or woman we'd all fantasized about. But , that is not the case. The beauties win and the not-so pretties are kicked aside. We can watch tv, read a newspaper , or even read the headlines on the Internet and sure they give you the news of whats happening in the world but it is followed by "Who will be the next American Idol?" or "Who will win the dance title"? Or "what kind of ring did Jillian get?" The idea that the true reality isn't as important as a winner for a tv show apparently is. Is society becoming less and less caring for what's really happening in the world? The excuse of wanting to "get away" from reality is bogus. Our grandparents and the baby boomers have all thrived. If nothing else,"reality" made them stronger. As the years go by and reality is apparent, it has turned us into bitter, ignorant and selfish individuals. However, we all want to run away from reality and see what is on the tv to give us some hope that we can still go on. REALITY..isn't dating a number of guys/girls at the same time and then deciding at the end of a few weeks which one you want to marry...we have names for those kind of people, and they certainly aren't glamorous names either! Over the course of about 1000 hours of time on the secluded location for "Survivor" it is edited to give the public a very small percent of what actually happened. This is all selected and prepped by professionals whose jobs are to make the show as dramatic as possible. Even when they have their alone interviews where they reminisce about their experiences, they are prompted with questions and suggestions of what to talk about in those scenes. Survivor, Amazing Race, Real World, and Rock of Love, are created to attract the most viewers possible. Thousands of applicants are screened, the few chosen to be on the shows are picked because of their attractiveness to the audience, and their ability to create conflict. This ensures a dramatic and conflict riddled season. If the scenario is plausible, and if it follows through to a logical consequence, then many adults will consider it reality, the viewers sometimes forget that the participants are surrounded by camera crew, sound crew, and directors. So many attempt to make a difference in the world, there are too many people and not enough empathy to make a difference. If the producers of these shows would want to make a change then they should open the world's eyes and air a single mother working 3 jobs to feed her children, a war veteran on the street corner trying to hold back his pride, the forgotten, the poor, the homeless, those that truly need aid. That is reality of how horrible society is becoming and though we might want to "run-away" from it....we can't its all around us. And pretending its not isnt going to make anything any better! Why place a tragic headline on the front page if the second title is the results to a reality show? It's as if no one wants to pay attention to what's important. We cannot focus on tragedy and sadness constantly, however, we need to set our priorities straight and look at what we can do to help a person out, not see them fail. We are capable of doing so much, but so many choose not to do anything. The "American Idol" results seem to outweigh the anguish and pain the family of the American soldier that just gave his life for our freedom. As reality tv shows will continue in their popularity, it’s important to remember that what is called ' reality ' on these shows, may not necessarily be so. Even though they are based on parts of real events, they are still created for a target audience, they are constructed and edited by professionals to create the most commercially viable product possible. And this brings me to an email I got today.....makes a person stop and truly THINK..its
Billy Graham's Prayer For Our Nation:
'Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem. We have abused power and called it politics. We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and Set us free. In Jesus' Name, Amen!'
THIS MAN SURE HAS A GOOD VIEW OF WHAT'S HAPPENING TO OUR COUNTRY!

6 comments:

~Tom~ said...

I have to agree with you here. I refuse to believe that it is possible to fall in love with a total stranger on a TV show. For those actually on the show, it is so far from reality that it is pathetic. Try living with that bachelor/bachelorette out in the real world. One with a 3 bedroom ranch, bills to pay, a job to go to, and all the other things they take a break from while they are on the show. I have yet to hear of any relationship that continued working after the lights and cameras went away.

Sally's World said...

I am so with you on this, reality tv shows, there are so many now, i remember when people who made tv shows had to use imagination, its incredible, that they can just go into any workplace and film things and call it entertainment, they can set up a house/jungle/island, stick a few wannabes' on there to love/hate/shag/try to kill each other and there you go.

the prayer is amazing, if only we all listened, true, honest and touching words, sometimes dena your blog does remind me that there are wonderful, loving people out there who really care about others, thank you for sharing today xxxx

Delena said...

I watch Bacherlotte and Big Brother because I need some fluffy (not reality )shows to watch after a day of real life. garbage in/ garbage out. I know they are fake and silly but I am just trying to relax, crochet and sit back and be brain dead for a few hours!

Alicia @ boylerpf said...

You have no idea how much I totally agree with you on this subject. I can not understand how people can watch these shows and think they are real...or even a semblance of reality. And who in their right mind wants to see a bunch of people hollering at each other and have the audacity of calling it entertainment? I do not get it. And believe me, Billy Graham has it right on with what is wrong and missing from our country..the biggest one is a lack of morality. If any one of the points he brought up were backed by decent morals, I don't think we would be in the state that we are. GOod post, Dena..loved it!!
Now I'm off to stand in the rain to cool off!

Sandra said...

Well said! I must admit that I am not totally innocent in all this reality tv. I like American Idol and America's Got Talent. That's about the extent of it, but I know people who really get into ALL the reality stuff.

RileyScott said...

I don't do reality TV. I think it's stupid, it's definitely scripted, and don't get me started on the "public votes" ones either.

That being said, I don't agree with most of your post, and I think you know me well enough to know which part. This is your opinion, and you're welcome too it.

I do believe that society has just been driven to the curb by greed and selfishness. Maybe I'm too jaded, but I lost my faith in people and especially "the system" a long time ago.