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#Post#: 19754--------------------------------------------------
Reality or Clever Manipulation?
By: Nikola Date: January 20, 2020, 3:42 pm
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I read an article, unfortunately in Czech, where a sociologist
comments on the impact some reality shows have on society. She
uses Wife Swap and Come Dine with Me as examples. I've never
really understood people's need to watch these shows, even
though I like a crappy show from time to time. There's something
particularly repulsive about these, though. Here are some of the
sociologist's observations:
It reinforces the belief that people from certain groups (poor
and uneducated especially) should be ashamed of themselves and
so should the audience, if they belong to the same group.
Imperfections are highlighted and blown out of proportion, the
camera zooms in on stains on the carpet, cobwebs, run-down
furnishing and appliances and even physical imperfections in the
participants.
People are ridiculed as uneducated (mispronouncing foreign words
is a popular feature that often goes viral) or bad parents (nice
moments with kids are skipped and only bad parenting is shown).
A slightly less obvious issue that the sociologist mentions is
the emphasis on active lifestyle of lack thereof, especially in
unemployed people. She feels that they are being shamed for
staying at home and relaxing instead of taking a walk or doing
something more meaningful.
She believes that this only further divides society and might
even affect various election results. I'd like to know what you
think. Are reality shows a tool for shaming people and showing
them as a complete failure when they're not? Is it the
participants' own fault because nobody forced them to take part
in such projects?
#Post#: 19755--------------------------------------------------
Re: Reality or Clever Manipulation?
By: SHL Date: January 20, 2020, 10:12 pm
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I think this is a fascinating critique on these horrible TV
shows. I‘m not sure if what the sociologist says is the intended
result, but it could be the actual result, unintended.
Gosh, in the US we’ve got terrible TV, like “Arrested
Development” (surely for those with the maturity of a 12 year
old, but sold to adults) and others the names of which I forgot,
because I refuse to waste my time on this mind-numbing garbage.
I wasn’t sure European TV had junk TV like this too. I just
can’t watch TV anymore at all.
You’ll never guess what I watch: YouTube clips of airline crash
documentaries in the recent past, dubbed over in German. Maybe
odd, but I find them interesting. Very often tragic of course,
and sad, but always interesting.
#Post#: 19757--------------------------------------------------
Re: Reality or Clever Manipulation?
By: Nikola Date: January 21, 2020, 1:35 am
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[quote author=SHL link=topic=1417.msg19755#msg19755
date=1579579930]
I wasn’t sure European TV had junk TV like this too. I
just can’t watch TV anymore at all.
[/quote]
Trust me, not only does Europe have them, it comes up with them
from time to time. Big Brother was originally a Dutch concept.
It was there the "Nineteen Eighty-Four" term was first used in
reference to the audience watching a group of people arguing
about who made a mess in the bathroom. Wife Swap originally
comes from Britain.
[quote author=SHL link=topic=1417.msg19755#msg19755
date=1579579930]
I think this is a fascinating critique on these horrible TV
shows. I‘m not sure if what the sociologist says is the
intended result, but it could be the actual result, unintended.
[/quote]
That's a fair point. I think they only care about what increases
viewership so whatever gets them there is acceptable from their
point of view. If it turns out, however, that these shows have
the power to reinforce certain beliefs and shape people's
(voters') opinions, what would stop someone from using this to
their advantage?
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