Barbara's Random Thoughts

Today's review from Powell's Books is particularly good. It's about a book by Davy Rothbart called Found: The Best Lost, Tossed, and Forgotten Items from Around the World. This sounds like something I'd love to page through in the bookstore, but probably wouldn't buy:

Within the span of a few pages, one can find a burnt tooth brush found in the ruins of Waco, a ransom note from a grade-schooler holding another child's binder hostage for $3.50, and a poster directed towards building residents, asking them to lock the front door in order to "prevent unauthorized people from entering the building and defecating in the washing machine."

The review draws a parallel (as well as many contrasts) between reality TV and the glimpses of reality this book offers:

But, this record of daily life is undoubtedly more "real" than most reality programming. No one in its pages is forced into staged situations, no one is over produced, highly edited, publicly humiliated, pumped with silicone or forced to drink offal and intestine milkshakes. Instead, they are captured quietly in time, the waste of their lives reexamined, recontextualized, and earnestly appreciated.

I've been thinking a lot about reality TV lately. The reality TV addiction started for me a couple of summers ago when Suzanne got me hooked on American Idol. Then came Joe Millionaire. And Average Joe. I watched the last half of The Apprentice recently, and also got sucked into watching the last two seasons of The Bachelor. Man, I need a life. But this stuff can be so addictive!

The contest type shows aren't really that bad. American Idol, The Apprentice--people pretty much know what they're getting into, and they're the ones that are putting themselves out there to be embarrassed or showcased on national television. But the more I think about the dating shows, the whole concept becomes more and more unsettling to me. On shows like Joe Millionaire, Average Joe, and The Bachelor, real people's emotions are manipulated and edited down just to provide us with "entertainment." These are real people, and their bickering, embarrassment, and heartbreak are aired for all to see. Yeah, sure, they sign up for the shows of their own free will. But it's sad to me that television is thriving from manipulating people's lives--even if it is only for a few months.

So, yeah. These are the thoughts that come from my watching "After the Final Rose" last night, and I guess the above review just hit me in such a way as to bring this rant to the surface. I gotta stop watching reality TV!