I have so much to say on this topic. Then again, I got nothin' new. I mean, what more can be said?
Sitting on the old worn couch, in my MIL's house, in the middle of a struggling burb, in the heart of MI and paging through the Sunday paper, I came across a few perfectly written lines from this article "Jon and Kate Plus *=A Waste of Time" by sports columnist/cultural commentator/bestselling author Mitch Albom.
"I may empathize with these people [Jon and Kate, Adam Lambert, Susan Boyle], but I don't feel sorry for them. No one put a gun to their heads. Once you turn your life over to the cameras, you move into a Bizzaro World of attention. You are -- whether you realize it or not -- getting what you wanted.The same can't be said of laid-off autoworkers, young widowed mothers, abandoned children or unable-to-find-a-job graduates. They live in the real world. And you'll excuse me if that reality renders the reality TV world pathetic."
Will I stop watching reality TV (I confess I am not a Jon & Kate watcher, but it isn't all that hard to find out what's going on)? Who knows. I mean, it is escapism at its best. But, the whining, crying, "poor me," "boo hoo, my life is so hard" does not really make my heart melt or my soul move.
If anything, it just makes me cringe as that sour tasting burning sensation crawls up from the back of my throat.
For now, I'll just continue to collect pennies while figuring out which bodily organ I can live without (if necessary) while assessing all my belongings for potential eBay bids.
I know. Sounds like fun, eh?
Maybe I'll just go to the park with JR where the real world is pretty darned perfect. I mean, who needs reality TV when you got an old swing, a patch of grass and a toddler who is ready to run?
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
The REAL Reality
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
28 comments:
You know, the whole J&K+8 drama is ripping the life out of me. In the first season, she says something along the lines of, 'should this be bad for our family we will pack the cameras up and send them on their way' and now it IS hurting their family. But she is on book tours and of course she riding the firestorm of huge ratings with the sad circumstance of their separation. This is the time to pack teh cameras away. This is the time to get back to your roots. Is it any of my business? Do I know what is really going on? No, and no. But you put your life out there, you are bound to be judged.
*whew. that felt good.
This is so true. Nothing like nature and kids to get you back to what's important. When I'm feeling overwhelmed with life, I slip out the back door and play for a while.
Reality TV is stupid. I've always thought that because there's not much "real" about any of it.
I'm not a reality tv watcher and no my heart does not ache for them. Perhaps I'm callus, but real life has misery and joy, ups and downs and seriously...I have plenty in my own world to keep me occupied that I don't need to watch theirs. Now...give me a good drama where the girl gets the guy and everyone lives 'happily ever after' and I'm all in... ;)
~K
Amen Mitch!
Even now, that my kids are so much older, spending quality time with them is the best reality I can find.
Toddlers make the world a better place - I swear they do!
the thing about reality tv is that it is so far from reality. everything comes down to ratings and money...
I've got my own reality to manage.
I still can't figure out why otherwise rational, intelligent adults will watch crap like this, buy magazines becuase there is an article about it, whatever. I have a hard time, too, feeling sorry for any of these people. Granted, I know nothing about them and had no idea who they even were until I went to buy some M&M's and saw them on the cover of a magazine, but still. Don't sleep around, don't be a dick/dickette, and this wouldn't happen. don't cry to us "real" people about how horrid and heartbreaking it all is because 1) both parties will have plenty of money, 2)neither party is going to be lonely,as is obvious, and 3)the problems that beset REAL folks aren't going to apply in this case. And I was going to write a whole bunch more but then I thought, why? : ) Got to the park; have a good time with The Boy. That is the real stuff.
Your reality is SO much better than those other ones. : )
The amusing thing for me is Reality TV is rarely if ever truly based on...reality. Now lets take the camera's to the street and show the homeless, soup kitchens, unemployment lines. Hear the story of a single mom waiting for some kind of child support, catch a view of the broken furniture and despairing neighborhood. Now you a little closer to reality.
No life isn't always that horrific either, but it's never been about the silver spoon spouting from someone's mouth either. Reality is life that happens when there is never a camera to catch it. Reality is ups and downs and never really having the answer.
Any wonder why I don't watch reality tv. I'll take the pup on a walk anyday over the television anyway. (Hugs)Indigo
You know exactly what's important.
Amen.
Reality tv...about as real as blogging. Hey there, now, wait aminute!
Really though, we're all showing the side we choose to show. It's just that somebody else has their hands on the camera in their case.
You ain't kiddin'! I've never really gotten into the concept of reality TV. I find it boring at best.
i hate reality TV, because there isn't a darn thing real about it. never watch it. (urmmm... except when that Grease show was on... I confess to watching that... and even voting)
I really liked that quote from the article!
I hit a breaking point the other night on TV period - reality or not. It actually sort of sucks...all of it!! Instead, we're taking the girls out for dinner picnics or evening strolls, working out together, etc.
Maybe it's a summer thing but i sure hope it sticks because it feels great not to care, you know?
Ugh. Don't even get me started. I used to watch Jon & Kate but I can't stand it anymore. Yuck. I am so sick of all these richies crying poor me, I'm getting too much attention. Then step away from the DAMN CAMERA!!! Ugh.
I love Mitch Albom, and couldn't agree more with his words and yours.
The park is a much better escape.
Yep - the kids have the reality all figured out...
Those Jon & K +8 people are a disaster. I don't know what's wrong with them. In the beginning, I think it was fairly legitimate - they were trying to make some money to support all those kids. J was still working and providing for his family. But now? It's a multi-million dollar scheme. I feel sorry for those kids.
I don't watch a lot of "reality" television because I have all the "reality" that I can deal with in my own life going on. I do take guilty pleasure in watching Tori and Dean and I will tune in to watch New York act like a spoiled brat on VH1 now and then, but that's about the extent of my reality watching.
Like I said, got enough of my own reality right here thankyouverymuch LOL!
You are so right! It's particularly pointed here in MI too, where reality is constant layoffs, foreclosures, and bankruptcies.
I can't believe you are (were?) so close to me and I didn't even know it. I'm sitting in a burb in SE MI as I write this. It sure would have been nice to meet up for coffee while you were here. Any chance you're still around and in need of a playground companion and/or a little Java?
Reality tv is an oxymoron because you canNOT be real on tv. Period.
I hear ya on the pennies and the park... I am planning on going through our garage to see what I can sell on Craigslist this week...
:(
I don't normally like anything Mitch Albom has to say (he hates ND football - nuff said), but this time (and in his 1st book), he got it right. I do feel somewhat sorry for the Gosselins. They were trying to document and make a little money...then they got the endorsements and the reality facade went away and was replaced by money. They moved from teeny tiny house to bigger house...then to yet another bigger house. They got caught up in their own hoopla & those poor eight children are caught in the middle. Go and take care of J and yourself. That's "real."
Thought you and your readers might be interested in this..who doesn't like the chance to win 1 or more of 25 amazing prize packages??
Although I am still happily accepting (and pushily begging) for donated prizes for my fundraiser, I decided to get the ball rolling.
http://www.firstgiving.com/hallietwomey
PLEASE click on the link and enter to win. And forward it to as many people as you possibly can.
I am DETERMINED to raise a tremendous amount of money in my Dad's honor.
And by donating, people have a chance (or many chances!) to win some fantastic prizes!! Seriously, the prizes are unreal.
So it's a win-win situation for everyone!!
Thanks so much!!
Hallie
Yeah, no tears here, either...
I couldn't agree more! Thanks so much for saying it!
John & Who?? Just kidding ;) Never seen the show, but the drama about it all now does have me interested. But not enough to actually buy a magazine. ;)
I've never really understood the appeal of reality television...I don't particularly think there is anything real about it. And the whole Jon and Kate thing is shameful. I'm not a mother yet, I'm not even married, but I should hope that I would never be so selfish. The park is WAY better. ;)
Post a Comment