Keeping up with Television

Growing up I remember watching Friends, Seinfeld, and Home Improvement during primetime with my family. I miss the arbitrary humor in social situations that provided entertainment and escapism. Nowadays escapism can be defined much differently; it has become a guilty pleasure next to chocolate bars and overspending.
Every time I flip through the channels I wonder how some of these shows make so much money and who is their audience. Since reality TV has become a national obsession I started realizing most the people around me are watching shows they know are “stupid.” I also realized I have divulged in this phenomenon. In my defense how can one avoid it, it is EVERYWHERE! What angers me the most is the strong audience appeal who have made characters or “real life” people in shows like The Hills and Keeping Up with the Kardashians television stars. It seems most audience members have accepted most reality TV shows are in fact SCRIPTED. A majority of the public makes these people feel good about themselves by putting them in the lime light for WHAT? ACTING? Stars like Kim Kardashian and Lauren Conrad prance around in their designer clothing which was probably given to them attending junkets and events where they are paid thousands of dollars to show there face for a couple hours.
We have familiarized the art of acting into this whole new world where the true art is no longer appreciated. By putting these “stars” into the lime light real actors and actresses who moved to Hollywood with an unrealistic dream to be famous are less special. They are the ones to proved to the world they deserve to be in magazines and on talk shows. Lauren Conrad began on a reality TV show called, Laguna Beach. She wasn’t the star, but she became the star on a spin off called The Hills. Both shows are simple; in fact soap operas are more entertaining. The main characters “hook up” with each other while betraying their friends and talking badly about one another. It is common to find guilty pleasure in feeling better about yourself. I am confused, do people feel the same way about Lauren Conrad as they do Jennifer Anniston? Lauren Conrad even presented awards at the Emmys, Teen Choice Awards, and MTV Video Music Awards. What qualified her to do that? Does Lauren Conrad have a real fan base or is the enjoyment of watching reality TV in that it is “stupid?” Are they really stars?
Keeping up with the Kardashians is about mom Kris Kardashians who was married to Robert Kardashian a famous attorney known for defending O.J. Simpson. She is now married to Bruce Jenner who was an Olympic Champion. The show focuses on Kris’s three daughters who she had with Robert Kardashian. It is about silly family conflicts, being in the lime light, and the daughters being spoiled. The poor husband Bruce Jenner is the most level headed person on the show, however he hardly has a say.
Since their reality TV show the Kardashians are everywhere. Especially Kim Kardashian who is now considered a model, I guess, featuring in magazines and on TV shows next to “real stars.” What her talent is, besides looking pretty, I don’t know. Kris Kardashian has qualified to be a gossip correspondent, not a seemingly high qualified position, but it shows people care what she thinks about gossip and “real” movie stars.
Now I am wondering are reality TV shows and their stars permanent? Maybe it is a fade and the real talent will rain over the TV channels like in the good old days.

Krystle Aldana

Photo credit: el-angel-exterminador.com