Reality Television

Television has really lost its appeal in the past couple years, at least for me. Not only has the plot of many shows have become bland, but the actors have been lacking too. To my dismay, reality TV has filled the ranks of most television networks with all of them having variations of their own reality TV shows.

With the influx of outrageous TV shows such as “16 and Pregnant” and “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” the amount of good television shows has been extremely diluted. These shows give out such a negative perception to the viewing audience. It creates the perception that living high and mighty like they do in “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” is okay and that getting pregnant at 16 rewards you with a television show. Younger audiences are most affected by this. Most of the younger generations who watch television like to mimic what they see on TV, and I would not want to see how they'd be if they watched shows like that.

Despite all the hate on reality television, there are good reality TV shows. Although there aren't many, they still exist. Shows like “The Biggest Loser” and “Masterchef” are fairly good reality television shows that show good intentions and good moral values. I need not to mention the success stories from “The Biggest Loser“ since they speak for themselves. “Masterchef” however, has shown me that there is a light at the end of the dark tunnel I call reality television. In one of the seasons, Gordon Ramsay allows a blind woman, Christine Ha, to compete in the competition and in one instance, she second guesses her apple pie. When Gordon Ramsay notices this, he not only assures her that her apple pie is beautiful and near perfect, but to believe in herself and her cooking. Christine Ha then goes on to win the whole competition. Watching that really gave me hope that reality television could be okay, even good if given the right people.

Personally, I grew up with shows like “Mythbusters” and “Dirty Jobs.” These shows, although they were considered reality TV, were interesting and worth watching because it was teaching something. They were shows that taught me cool scientific things. It also taught me life lessons like if I wanted to go anywhere, I'd have to be willing to get down and dirty and do the hard work. All in all, reality television in general is really the worst, but there are a few diamonds in the rough if one is willing to look for it.