Real Housewives? Or Desperate TV actors?

Although Bravo’s Real Housewives of Orange County and the Real Housewives of New York City are addicting TV shows, one must really wonder how prominent, wealthy, and status-worthy these women really are.
These two reality TV shows are based around TV cameras following these five ladies around, in their hometowns. Real Housewives of Orange County was the first breakthrough Bravo series, and since then, Bravo has expanded their realities series to different parts of the country, including New York City and Atlanta. These ladies strive to live the “good” and wealthy lifestyles, while juggling their “dramatic” home lives, children, husbands, and careers. The reality of these perfect lives is obviously tweaked. With the cameras on call 24/7, the housewives act catty and self-centered while confessing their true feelings to the cameras. Their necks are draped in luscious diamonds and their perfectly tan bodies seem overly worked . The constant shopping sprees, beach-life, city-life adventures and other hobbies they part-take in are truly nothing than the opportunity to brag about status and wealth.
When a new housewife joins this reality TV show, chaos often erupts and dramatic gossip swirls in and out of the ears and mouths of the housewives. This high school drama captures the viewer’s attention and draws them in as each episode passes. Just recently on The Real Housewives of New York City, Kelly, a thirty-something fashion model, turns her nose up and acts like she deserves each lady to bow down to her at each event. Her criticism of the other ladies and their lifestyle proves the point of the show: dramatic “reality” of competitive, self-centered, wealthy ladies, who mostly earn their “income” from their prominent husbands.
Nonetheless, as I was thinking about the show and discussing it with my friend, I thought, “Wouldn’t that be fun to have a Real Housewives of Washington, DC?” As I thought about the extravagant shopping sprees in Georgetown and the nightlife parties with politicians could be, reality hit me. No one from a status-worthy family in Washington, DC would subside to this form of national humiliation. The conscious mindsets most people have in the DC area are not about being on TV or about parading their lifestyles, money, and status around so all could see. The conservative high-profile status is what makes them prominent and glorified; it is not the dream-life of acting it out to the whole nation on a reality TV show.
Therefore, I pose the statement once more. The ladies on Real Housewives are not actually status-worthy because of their actions and acting-abilities. It is not the power of TV that makes someone “famous” or accomplished, but the actual duties one performs and how it betters society’s life. However, I cannot rag too much on this reality TV show, because it has been one too many times where I have caught myself watching the Real Housewives of Orange County and New York City marathons for hours on a Tuesday afternoon.
- Monica Augustyn
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