Is there anybody out there like me? Is there anybody out there who can’t stand all these reality-based TV shows? Not so much “Survivor” or “Temptation Island”, but I’m talking about shows like “Real TV” or “Jackass” or even those “real police” shows on TLC or Discovery. Am I alone here? Am I the only one that just doesn’t get enjoyment out of watching innocent people get in MAJOR car accidents, or watching some moron make himself puke, or watching people severely break legs and arms and stuff like that. I know what you’re going to say… “Hey idiot, just turn the damn channel!!!” Believe me, I do. I don’t watch those shows anymore. But sometimes you can avoid those shows and still be exposed to them. For example, in my area, I was watching channel 9 - which is the station that air’s “Real TV.” The show wasn’t on, but they played a promo for an upcoming episode. It only lasted 5 seconds, but it went like this…
They show really poor “camcorder” quality video of two guys arm wrestling… the voice over says (in a real happy-sounding voice), “Look away if you don’t want to see what happens to this arm wrestlers arm!” Then they show one of the guys arms snap right in the middle of his forearm. Then of course, you hear all the people in the background “ooohhing” and “ahhhing.” They showed this guy having a compound fracture! It happened so fast, there was no warning what-so-ever!
Now realize, I’m not some old fart who gets offended by everything he sees and hears. I’m a young male. I’m the exact audience that these shows are geared to. I’m in their “demographic”. I know most people out there just love getting shocked by watching people get hurt, but I just don’t want to see it. I just can’t understand the appeal of watching people die or get injured.
The worst was a few years ago. On late night TV, they had a advertisement for a video called “Banned From Television”. They had a warning before they showed it, but I didn’t see it - I caught it half way through. Anyway, at the end, to really get your mouth watering, they showed a person getting hit by a train. It must have been video from a surveillance camera or something, but it was horrible! As a teaser, they cut away just before you actually saw the person die, but it was more than enough. I didn’t actually have to see the innocent person die to know what happened. It disturbed me to the core for weeks after.
But it seems to me that these things keep getting worse. What’s coming next? The public just keeps getting more and more desensitized and television producers have to keep showing more and more graphic and shocking things. It’s a vicious circle. But guys like me, who are more sensitive and just don’t want to see it, seem to get left behind. I remember when these awful things were at least limited to video - such as the lovely “Faces of Death” videos. At least then, if I don’t want to see that stuff, I could avoid it.
You know, there’s this really great reality TV show. It’s called “Real Life.” Here’s the deal: you actually get up from you couch and walk outside! It’s amazingly real. You walk around. Experience things. Talk to people. People even talk back to you! You can even feel the heat of the sun, the feel of the concrete beneath your feet, smell things. It’s so real!