Reality TV, there is no escape from it nowadays. I found
this really cool timeline online to show exactly how we made it to the point
where Jersey Shore is one of the top shows many people choose to watch. After
looking at this timeline you can tell it all started out with ridiculous stuff
to begin with.
In 1988 there was “America’s Most Wanted”, a show that
re-enacts and dramatizes true crimes in hopes of catching perpetrators and “Cops”,
a show that follows law officers catching lawbreakers. These two shows are all
about following a dramatic and often violent storyline, which seems to be what
the audience wants opposed to shows full of puppies and happy things. In 1992
MTV aired the first “Real World” where MTV throws seven strangers in a house to
show people “what happens when people stop being polite and start getting real.”
Everyone who has ever seen an episode of the “Real World” knows how dramatic it
can be and I haven’t seen an episode from the first season but I highly doubt
that it is any more mellow than the ones that air today.
These shows are the first reality shows with much
recognition but today we have shows like the all-famous “Jersey Shore” where
young New Jersey-ians live together, drink and hook up. We also have shows like
“Pawn Stars” that shows how crazy the pawn/auction world can be, and “Undercover
Boss” where CEO’s go undercover to work alongside there employees. After
looking at the reality shows that started everything then looking at the ones
today I’m more confident that the world can make it without going crazy, it
started out mindless, raunchy and violent and today of course we still have
those types of reality shows but we also have ones that have a main story line
to them and an overall point. So, even thought people make fun of reality shows
and the people who watch them, I think we’re going to be alright J.
No comments:
Post a Comment