Scripted Reality

I've been an outspoken hater of most all Reality TV but lately it's getting to a point that just blows my mind.

Reality TV is defined as a genre of television depicting SUPPOSEDLY unscripted situations. The word supposedly is in there because most anyone who can count to 10 knows that reality TV isn't real. It's scripted. People are pushed into certain roles and situations and video is edited to depict certain characters in certain ways (i.e. villains, heroes, mean, nice, etc).

Reality TV to me is the new generation of soap operas. For a long time, reality TV stuck tightly to celebrities and rich people showing off a life that most of us will never live. As much as I hated it, at least it could be looked at as a cautionary tale of how money and power can change people. Now the new trend seems to be to find the most pathetic people they can and shine a spotlight all over them.

We have shows like Swamp People and Redneck Island and now this Honey Boo Boo thing. Why? My theory is that by looking down their noses at these people, the ones watching the shows feel better about their own lives. How messed up is that?

I have, do, and will always hate reality TV. Even when it was sort of real back in the old Real World days it still got old fast. If I want to watch TV and movies, I either want fact like a documentary about some major event/person or fiction where I can get lost in another world. If I want reality, I turn off the TV and walk outside. THAT is reality. Totally unscripted, unsponsored, and unpretentious REAL reality.