IYRM Blog

Ever wonder what has made reality shows the most prolific new form of entertainment on television? Starting to wonder what events may or may not be off limits to this new voracious form of “entertainment?”

            Reality Shows fit nicely into the narrow, uncreative quantitative mindset that now permeates most forms of entertainment including the music and film industry.   It is:

·        Inexpensive to produce

·        Demands little or no creativity on the part of the writers, producers, participants or viewers

·        Feeds off of the somewhat typical occurrences of people’s lives (if you don’t include Ozzy Osbourne and Gene Simmons….or Paris Hilton!)

·        Is less violent than feeding Christians to the lions or staging expensive gladiator fights…Also doesn’t require that there be a Coliseum which can be flooded to stage battles between ships!

            Yes, the Romans had nothing on us.  As the Romans saw their Roman Empire and domination of the world and power subsequently decays, they had enough foresight to know that they needed to divert the masses with entertainment which fed the mass’s need for vicarious conquest.  They understood the media of their day in much the same way that Marshall McLuhan drew upon it; that the medium was the message and the Roman’s media were live reality shows set in the Coliseum.

            Given the current crop of entertainment executives devoid of any apparent creativity, Reality Shows make SO much sense!  These are individuals who believe that creativity can best be defined (and managed) if they can be endlessly replicated without resorting to creative types.  Indeed, these MBA’s and CPA’s (and lawyers) believe that Paint by Numbers and Karaoke ARE examples of creativity.  They are individuals for whom those who “play” Air Guitar could perhaps be one step away from having actual talent!

They are the natural heirs to a society which has sought to slowly strangle its creative resources through a system of education and hurdles to higher education which have left many creative types disenfranchised and marginalized.

And into this vacuum have slipped those who believe that any “talent” can be

replicated and copied to a point at which the line between creativity and plagiarism

totally fades for them.  Having fed the American public pablum for so many years, and having largely gotten away with it, they have become emboldened, and no “reality” is safe.

            And like good Romans, many of us sit in our homes and vicariously experience the pitfalls and pratfalls of those attracted by small to large sums of money to expose themselves to public approval and approbation.  And by taking the opportunity to prove Andy Warhol correct, those who participate go for the Golden Ring, and those who watch remove themselves from having to participate, standing back from the fray.

            By participating in only a vicarious manner, viewers distance themselves from the pain and embarrassment, danger and disillusionment while simultaneously drawing the conclusion that they are superior to those who ARE participating, and in doing so, they channel their Roman brethren, who took solace that those Jews and Christians (and Muslims) thrown to the lions were indeed their moral and intellectual inferiors.  That it is okay to demean and mock those who appear to be in pain, even though they “asked for it,” and in so doing, they insulate and desensitize themselves to the plight of those who, perhaps in a more meaningful manner, they might be inclined to feel sympathy and empathy.

             GO Reality Shows!  We applaud your representation of the mundane, the shallow, and superficial slice of life you choose to portray.  We accept with humility and as little dignity and enthusiasm that we can muster that we are a step away from the destruction of the empire!  Just ask the Romans….All Hail Caesar!

Hello and welcome to the In Your Right Mind Blog, the sounding board for any thoughts or ideas I might have that I'd like to share with you.

The blog is the place where I'll sketch out ideas, with more fully developed pieces being placed in the essays section of the site.

I'll also link to any interesting articles I might be reading and facilitate discussion of the subjects.

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