Remember when talented was a prerequisite for fame? People had to develop a skill, and then work hard at that skill, and then with time and effort and fate they sometimes actually became famous.
Then reality TV happened. It started out slow, first with a curious social experiment of “seven strangers picked to live in a house.” With a snowball effect, the shows kept coming and coming, but unfortunately they also kept getting worse. People started attaining fame from sex tapes and quickie marriages. And then came Jersey Shore.
If you are tightly secured and fortressed under a rock and have not seen Jersey Shore, God bless you. But most living, breathing Americans have learned of this ramshackle reality show featuring seven people who call themselves “guidos,” as well as other equally annoying and nonsensical nicknames, selected by MTV to live together in a house on the New Jersey Shore, where hijinks ensued. When the show first aired on MTV, people criticized it for being derogatory towards Italian Americans (guido is historically a racial slur), bad for the state of New Jersey, and overall mental krill.
But then the fights, the cursing, and the poofs grew on people. The fist pumping and orange tans inspired pageants. Even sweet sweet Michael Cera got in on the Jersey Shore style.
However, there's a fine line between laughing with someone and laughing at someone. Sure, these crazy characters just signed on to do a second season with MTV, and they’re walking every red carpet known to man, but at the end of the day, isn’t this exploitation? And aren't the criticisms that the show perpetuates stereotypes still valid? Or is this just harmless entertainment?
So, the question of the day is: Is reality TV harmful or harmless?
Bonus question: Would you ever be on a reality show?
Related Post: A Reality TV Certified Geek
Topics: The Internets
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