Why are all these "reality" television shows so popular these days? Has our country lost its mind?

2015-01-24T22:52:49-05:00

Today I see an advertisement for a new reality show called "Sex Box." I hang my head in shame. Other shows like Sister Wives say they receive tax benefits for all their illigitimate children spawned by the same "husband." Then bring on the cross-dresser shows, Jersey Shore, mafia wives, illegal moonshiners, Honey Boo Boo, spouse swapping, Amish gone wild............I guess I am just an uptight, confused, old timer who is lost in the past. Remember watching the Waltons? What would John Boy do? Is something wrong with me for never wanting to watch anything other than the History Channel?

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 24 at 2015 11:27 PM

2015-01-24T23:27:20-05:00

It all goes back to sensationalism and emotionality. So many people love to see others fail instead of just doing the right thing. I used to watch a few of those shows but after a while I started seeing them for what they are: mindless distractions from reality and the truth. I do watch a few shows on TV but I'd rather watch History or Discovery Channel stuff as well as documentaries.

Response by PO2 Steven Erickson made Jan 24 at 2015 11:28 PM

2015-01-24T23:28:00-05:00

I believe that the health of a society can be judged by what it considers entertainment. I equate most of today's TV to the days of Rome's "Bread and Circuses".

SFC Mark Merino, my DAILY semi-comical, but fully sincere head-shaking response is...

We're Doomed...

Response by CPT Richard Riley made Jan 24 at 2015 11:44 PM

2015-01-24T23:44:12-05:00

I rarely watch television because there is never anything on. Occasionally the 'news' if you can call it news, but older shows from the 60's, 70's and maybe a few into the 80's on the retro station. That's the best I can do.

Response by Capt Richard I P. made Jan 24 at 2015 11:48 PM

2015-01-24T23:48:53-05:00

Viewers like to feel morally and intellectually superior to famous people by viewing their foibles. Studios like the low production costs...a match made in heaven!

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 24 at 2015 11:51 PM

2015-01-24T23:51:18-05:00

indeed

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 24 at 2015 11:51 PM

2015-01-24T23:51:59-05:00

SFC Merino, do you actually need an answer to your second question. About your first question, I think it may be that people love drama and can't live without it in their life one way or another.

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 24 at 2015 11:54 PM

2015-01-24T23:54:10-05:00

Don't have a TV.

Response by 1LT Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 24 at 2015 11:54 PM

2015-01-24T23:54:49-05:00

SFC Mark Merino. It has been said that television has enormous potential to inform, educate, entertain, uplift, influence the viewers. But, the reality is you cannot produce and fill hundreds to thousands of channels with serious meaningful content in time of extremely heavy competition within the non-demand driven broadcast television market . . . and even worse in the presence of strong competition from numerous high quality pre-paid on demand customized streaming services. Reality TV is cheap to produce . . . sell advertisements . . . and people watch rubbish. Warmest Regards, Sandy

Response by PV2 Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 24 at 2015 11:57 PM

2015-01-24T23:57:48-05:00

I just assume watch the Science Channel.

Response by PO3 Jonathan Cooper made Jan 25 at 2015 12:15 AM

2015-01-25T00:15:12-05:00

I've stopped watching tv outside of news and sports. Don't want to get sucked into the Brave New World.

Response by SPC(P) Jay Heenan made Jan 25 at 2015 3:24 AM

2015-01-25T03:24:04-05:00

I hate them all! CAN SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME HOW IN THE HELL THE KARDASHIANS BECAME 'FAMOUS'??? I do watch some TV. Rehab Addict, I love Criminal Minds and some of the Food competition shows. Other than that, I watch a lot of NatGeo and some other channels depending on what is on.

Response by LCDR Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 25 at 2015 3:52 AM

2015-01-25T03:52:19-05:00

2 simple answers. "I have no idea why these stupid shows are so popular," and "YES! Our country has lost it's collective mind." That is all.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 25 at 2015 8:20 AM

2015-01-25T08:20:16-05:00

I am not a face of reality tv. Simply because their so called reality is SCRIPTED and thus defeats the purpose for simple ratings. I remember a time when BET and MTV played MUSIC. ACTUAL MUSIC. now I have to watch VH-1 to find any sort of music without the liked of Laguna Beach or Real Housewives of whatever. (Yes I am showing my age with these dated shows). I simply they go back to music, and what started these businesses in the first place.

Response by CMSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 25 at 2015 10:51 AM

2015-01-25T10:51:04-05:00

I call it the "Freak Show mentality". People have a heightened sense of the macabre. "How much sh*t do people store in their homes?", "How many wives can he have and how do they organize the abnormal day to day?", "Do those women really know what their Goodfellas husbands are doing?", etc.

I come from NJ. We always had a bad rap, but are still proud of our state. Bruce, Sinatra, we don't pump gas, Lol. Ever since the onset of Jersey Shore, Real Housewives of NJ, etc, I we lost some of that unique pride in our little state of loud, warm, big-hearted people. :)

I generally do not like the cheesy reality tv. I do like the cooking shows, mainly because I am amazed at the skill of the home chefs. Have you seen "Masterchef Junior"? There are 8-9 year-olds that make chicken roulade stuffed with goat cheese, wrapped in prosciutto with olives. Sidenote: I had Honey Nut Cheerios for dinner the other night. ;)

Response by SSG Corry Struve made Jan 25 at 2015 11:02 AM

2015-01-25T11:02:56-05:00

I can't stand watching most of them and I especially don't want my kids to see any of that crap! There isn't anything to take away from them.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 25 at 2015 3:21 PM

2015-01-25T15:21:45-05:00

Even the specialty channels have turned into reality game show dump sites.

Maybe MTV and VH1 led off. You won't find music there anymore. Food network. Competitive games again. Even my beloved history channel has done this.

Having said that, I would much rather watch a theme based competition reality show on my favorite TV channel then watch these voyeuristic reality shows that are cropping up everywhere.

I think the reason these voyeuristic shows are so popular is because most American lives are such poor quality, that they ( the viewers) need to see shows that illustrate that there are people with even bigger problems out there.

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 25 at 2015 6:37 PM

2015-01-25T18:37:12-05:00

The History Channel has lost sight of it's orginal goals as well, long gone are the days of the Hitler Channel. I digress, reality shows are popular due to financial interests. They are relatively cheap to make and can pull in enough advertising revenue to justify their existance.

You see this a lot in modern cinema as well, many modern films are commercials for themselves. You also have incredibly simplistic films that had absurdly low production values bringing in massive revenue from the box office.

More can be seen in much of the villainisation of intellectual thought and analytical thinking, This is based upon the levels of hysteria, sensationalism and pandering for rating that news outlets are overtly guilty of.

Another thing to remember is that the days of philosophers are gone, not many are interested in Nietzche, Camus, Aristotle, or various other philosophers. Moreso into juvenille "philosophers" like Ayn Rand who based a movement upon a gross misunderstanding of Nietzsche.

TL;DR Television programming is crap, cinema is crap and we should read more.

Response by LTC Yinon Weiss made Jan 25 at 2015 7:19 PM

2015-01-25T19:19:47-05:00

I would love to see a "RallyPoint Reality Show" -- I can see episodes following around our Member Admins and top member contributors as they work to maintain good order on RallyPoint while trying to keep up with other life responsibilities. For everything they do, they deserve the recognition!

I bet we would have some good viewing!

Response by SPC Stewart Smith made Jan 25 at 2015 7:28 PM

2015-01-25T19:28:23-05:00

I miss when the History Channel and Discovery Channel were worth watching. The vast majority of these shows are, in my opinion, terrible. I must admit I partake in the occasional episode of Swamp People.

Response by LTC Jason Mackay made Jan 25 at 2015 7:34 PM

2015-01-25T19:34:00-05:00

Mark, even the History Channel has been infected by soap operas, uh...reality shows (ice Road Truckers, 24-7 Pawn Stars, what ever the gold mining non-sense is called, deadliest catch etc). In my mind this mess goes back to the Hollywood Writers Strike. Management saw this opportunity to leverage their position and out came the reality shows. Then that is all that is on with few exceptions. Then I am sure they noticed the reduced costs, less for actors, less for scripts, less for sets etc. Viola! Crap TV.

I miss sitcoms (Big Bang Theory is a dying breed) and documentaries, real documentaries, not reality jackasses and shakey cameras.

The appeal to the masses is that their lives are so much like tasteless pablum they have to live through the bachelor, survivor, and their ilk. Recommend they enlist.

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 25 at 2015 9:00 PM

2015-01-25T21:00:36-05:00

The channel I watch all the time on digital antenna is MeTv "Memorible Television". It plays all the classics like Hogan's Heros, The Carol Burnett Show, Black Sheep Squadron, etc. I just like the old shows.

Response by SGT Jim Z. made Jan 26 at 2015 9:34 AM

2015-01-26T09:34:52-05:00

Reason because it sells commercials plain and simple. Advertising dollars drive what is on television.

Response by PO2 Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 26 at 2015 1:07 PM

2015-01-26T13:07:25-05:00

Its the rubberneckin' effect. Everyone will slow down and stare at a accident on the highway, but no one pays attention when it is operating normally. This, of course, sells add space. I wonder what the figures are for the sales increases for billboards that happened to be near accidents...

Response by SGT Shaul Funt made Jan 26 at 2015 1:59 PM

2015-01-26T13:59:16-05:00

bad television equals soft nation

Response by PO3 Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 26 at 2015 2:08 PM

2015-01-26T14:08:04-05:00

Once the various networks caught on that people would watch this crap they quit making actual drama TV shows (for the most part anyway). These shows are cheaper to produce. This is why i don't even watch TV live anymore. I record a handful of good shows and watch movies, reality TV actually cured me of my TV addiction.

Response by Cpl Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 26 at 2015 2:35 PM

2015-01-26T14:35:26-05:00

What is reality television?

Response by SGT Steven Eugene Kuhn MBA made Jan 26 at 2015 4:28 PM

2015-01-26T16:28:39-05:00

It should be called DIVERSION from reality TV...

Response by CPT Jack Durish made Jan 26 at 2015 4:47 PM

2015-01-26T16:47:19-05:00

Oh, come on now. Is it really fair to tar all reality shows with the same brush? Is it fair to tar all television with the same brush? There's good and there's bad, and there's lots of mediocrity. Hasn't it always been thus.

Thankfully, broadcasting has been supplemented by narrowcasting. Independent networks have produced some highly competitive and elevated entertainment. I've simply loved Justified. A plethora of cable channels has greatly opened the marketplace for creative and not-so-creative writers and producers. HBO and Showtime have given us such fare as Deadwood and Rome, both truly outstanding. Additionally, some cable media is financing new production to be distributed solely to their captive audiences. Netflix led the way. Amazon is climbing on board.

Those of you who complain about Pawn Stars and American Pickers must not be interested in history. I've been a lifelong student of history and found some great morsels of lore among their tales.

Then there are the "game" shows. Personally, I believe that So You Think You Can Dance is far superior to the games show of yore. The Voice has built on the trail blazed by American Idol, both descendants of Ted Mack's Original Amateur Hour.

Sure there's trash. The Housewives of... I don't have to change the channel. I simply never stop there. Indeed, we all have control, don't we. Or, are you like those captives of train wrecks who abhor what you see but just can't turn away?

I've found lots of good things to watch, far better than before. And some of it are "reality" shows.

Not all entertainment is supposed to be "uplifting" or "high brow". Some is just... well, entertaining. Good for a laugh or good for a cry.

Now, get your noses out of the clouds and get real...

Response by CW5 Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 26 at 2015 6:14 PM

2015-01-26T18:14:04-05:00

Ya gotta keep up with the times, Uncle Mark. And the times, they are a changin'! Anything goes. I'm okay, you're okay. You don't judge me and I won't judge you. "Sex Box." Classic TV!! Just think, in a few years people will look back on this ground-breaking show and remember they watched it from the start. You have a chance to be on the cutting edge of what's cool, what's hip! Go for it!!

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 26 at 2015 6:32 PM

2015-01-26T18:32:39-05:00

The movie "Idiocracy" is coming into fruition.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 26 at 2015 10:26 PM

2015-01-26T22:26:40-05:00

I don't know how a Kardashian became famous, but I do know where all Reality Shows sprang from.

Response by CPT Chris Loomis made Jan 27 at 2015 11:03 AM

2015-01-27T11:03:54-05:00

I gave up on gauging society by what popular entertainment was in style around the time that "Beavis and Butthead Do America" hit the theaters....

Response by SFC Mark Merino made Jan 28 at 2015 2:11 AM

2015-01-28T02:11:40-05:00

I am a bit old fashioned I guess. I just saw an ad for the Iphone 6. I still haven't bought an Iphone 1. My flip phone with no "data" rings and I answer it just fine. Next year or so, I'll start yelling at kids to "get off my lawn".

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 4 at 2015 6:15 AM

2015-02-04T06:15:41-05:00

No we have lost our ability to get out from in front of the TV. so we turn to TV to live life through someone else on TV....such a shame!