There’s no doubt that we’ve all been intrigued by this growing form of television, by one show or another. Whether watching the Bachelor on ABC, Real World on MTV, or Rock of Love with Brett Michaels on VH1, we’ve all been sucked into this exciting new world of television. I myself am an avid watcher of Real World, as well as, the numerous dating shows out there. However, I guess my question about these shows has started to become, “Is all reality TV thriving on the sex, drugs, and drinking of its cast?” Don’t get me wrong, these factors do make for one interesting episode after the next.
Take for example, Rock of Love with Brett Michaels. I was extremely hooked to the first season, which in my opinion provided the least amount of sex and drinking. However, now that the second and third seasons have been introduced, I’m starting to see more of the sex and drinking. While watching an episode of the third and newest season the other night, I became somewhat disgusted at the fact that he actually admitted to eliminating a girl because she took a vow to have no sex for three years. In my opinion if all he wants is a groupie to begin with, he shouldn’t need a TV show to get one.
Another example of how sex, drugs and drinking have become a huge entertainment in reality TV, is The Real World on MTV. In this series 7-8 strangers are picked to live in a house together for several months. I admit to having watched numerous seasons of the Real World. But now thinking back to all the episodes that I have watched, almost every single episode showed them out at bars partying and “hooking up.” There have been numerous episodes in which, fights have broken out due to the excessive drinking and partying of the roommates. And there is only a handful of times, when I have seen the producers step in to stop the fighting and/or drinking.
The Bachelor, however, is one show that I do respect as far as reality TV goes. This show has still kept most of its morale as far at the sex and drinking goes. The drinking is kept in moderation and the sex is still somewhat nonexistent, except for the kissing.
I guess my question for this week regarding reality TV is, Why is it that sex, drugs, and excessive drinking sell so well? And why to the producers of these shows seem to encourage these things so much? If the Bachelor can still survive its countless seasons without providing sex and drinking in excess, why is it that most of the others can’t?
The following are trailers for the newest season of Real World, Brooklynn:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIWZCJ2ZD2A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viRH5yX6rw0&feature=related
This URL is the trailer for season 2 of Rock of Love:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QA8Vm4SWgeE&feature=related
I agree with you. Reality tv shows are just becoming cheap ways for people to get their sick kicks. Bret Michaels isn't looking for love.. he is looking for a paycheck. The producers of these shows have simply found out that sex sells. They also found out that drinking plus attractive people usually leads to sex. Well, at least they are doing their homework. I miss the first season of Survivor. That was an original idea. Then, they tried to do the same thing over and over.
ReplyDeleteOf all the shows you've mentioned, the only one I watched was Rock of Love, but I have seen other reality shows and I do agree that the story lines are simply shallow and about superficial, materialistic, immoral things like drinking and sex.
ReplyDeleteI don't know why, but I don't get into all those reality shows on Vh1 and MTV, but when I was younger, I used to watch a show called ElimiDate, which kind of reminds me of MTV's Next, where 4 girls or guys compete for a date with this guy/girl. And of course the content of this show was similar to Next, only worse. My sister and I loved it, we particularily liked the drama, but our parents hated our watching it. It just goes to show how addicting these shows can become, almost like soaps.