How many reality t.v. shows are there now? It seems like there are a lot. I must admit that I don’t watch any of them, although it seems that most people do because they are shocked when I confess that I don’t know what happened on American Idol this week or which of the celebrities is no longer on Dancing with the Stars.
Occasionally though, I’ll have a free evening when I’m not working or reading or playing tennis, and I really don’t want to do much of anything. When that happens I might just switch on the television and look through the channels to see what’s on. I just happened to do this last night and ended up watching one of the reality shows for a while (The Biggest Loser – the weight loss show). I have to say that watching it left me feeling somewhat sad and a little confused.
It seems that each of these shows has something in common, and that is to create drama, conflict, and stress among the contestants. It becomes a game of manipulation or trying to make the contestants feel badly about themselves. That makes me sad and the confusion comes because I know they do it because that’s what people want to watch.
But is it really? Are we really that addicted to drama, conflict and stress that we need to watch it on television? I’ve heard people say that because they have so much stress in their own lives they enjoy seeing that it happens to other people too. Really?
Now, call me naive and tell me that this would never work – but what if, (and I’ll take The Biggest Loser as an example, since that’s the one I saw) instead of voting people off the show and manipulating each other to stay on the show, the focus was actually more on losing the weight and helping and supporting each other to lose the weight and feel better about themselves? We all know that it’s not just about losing weight, there are a lot of emotional issues that go along with that. What if the contestants had a vote at the end of the week to choose the person who had been the most supportive and encouraging to others, rather than voting for who should leave? What if they focused more on the person who had achieved the most in terms of weight loss instead of penalizing the person who had lost the least?
What if the shows focused on what’s good about people instead of their perceived weaknesses? Wouldn’t they all win? Of course it’s nice to win, but how fulfilling is it to win at the expense of others, and knowing that you won by manipulation?
It seems to me that these shows start off with a good idea but that it gets lost in all the drama because the creators feel that negative drama is what’s going to draw the most people to watch it. The show Survivor actually has little to do with who has the best survival skills, but who is the most manipulative, it seems – and then that’s rewarded.
Even on the shows where the viewers vote people off, they seem to drag it out so much to make it as painful as possible for everyone wondering if they will be the one to go this week. With the shows that have judges, do they really have to be so brutal? Rather than telling people how horrible they were or making fun of them, why don’t they advise them on what they could do better?
Eckhart Tolle says that programs like these are created “by pain bodies for pain bodies” and I can see that is true. So that when you watch them you are feeding the pain body within yourself, which ultimately creates more stress and pain in your own life.
I’m sure that as long as the ratings are high these shows will cotntinue to be this way. And if the ratings start to dip then they’ll just find ways to add more drama and conflict to bring people back. That’s what’s sad to me.
So if you hear of a show that’s positive rather than negative. That focuses on people’s gifts rather than making fun of their weaknesses and that rewards selflessness rather than manipulation, let me know – that’s a show that I would like to watch.
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TweetTags: eckhart tolle, reality t.v., Relationships, Stress
April 1st, 2009 at 10:43 am
I agree that these shows should be much more uplifting and positive. Furthermore, while we are on the subject would it be too much to ask if the news shows and talk shows spent far more time on the good news of the day rather than the negative? Wouldn’t this be a far better use of our time and a much better legacy to leave behind for future generations?
April 1st, 2009 at 12:26 pm
Linda,
You make an excellent point. I don’t watch much television, however, occasionally there are movies on that I enjoy, especially if it is about strong women surviving, or triumphing.
These sorts of shows do seem to be energy vampires. I used to love the Apprentice when it came out. Now, it annoys me and for many of the reasons that you have enumerated in your article.
Thank you for giving us something to think about. Do we wish to be uplifted when we turn on the TV? Or pulled down? The NBC Home Makeover program is a good example of people helping people and you do feel uplifted after watching. It is very successful too!
Blessings,
Catherine
April 1st, 2009 at 1:09 pm
Hi Linda
I completely agree with you. I too watch little television, but in particular, avoid reality TV shows. The Australian version of “Big Brother” finally ended here last year, and what a relief it was not to be subjected to what had become one of the highest ratings shows in Australia. I was at a loss as to how so many viewers could be content watching people ‘exist’ in a house with others without getting out to live a life themselves. It was a fine example of how tearing people down, talking behind their backs, and looking for the bad in them actually made them ‘winners’. The contestants too had to vote off other contestants, but had to come up with something negative in the ‘diary room’ to make their vote count. All very sad indeed.
Dee
April 1st, 2009 at 7:27 pm
I totally agree with you Sherry about the news and talk shows. How nice it would be to watch the news if they focused on some positive stories instead of all the doom and gloom. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
Linda
April 1st, 2009 at 7:28 pm
Catherine, I love to watch movies that have a good story. So many movies seem to be about nothing in particular, just lots of noise, violence and car chases (does that mean I’m getting old?) Thank you for reminding me about the Home Makeover program – that is a very positive one. It’s so nice to see a show where they are dedicated to helping people. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
Linda
April 1st, 2009 at 7:36 pm
Hello Dee,
Don’t you wonder what makes people even want to participate in these shows, let alone watch them? There’s no other word for it but sad. Sorry to hear they had that show in Australia too – they also have it in England and, from what I hear, it’s just as bad there. It would be interesting to know if there’s a country that doesn’t show that kind of thing.
Linda