After 20 years of reality--time for a change...

Alternate Real World:

Since Real World on MTV has been around for two decades, maybe it's time for new ideas for the show.  I thought I would suggest a few:

1.  Instead of the cast consisting of some white people and a token black, a token Hispanic and token gay, do one season of Real World with  2 gay housemates,  2 black housemates, 2 Hispanic housemates  and include a token white heterosexual.  

2.  Put the whole bunch of them in Keokuk, Iowa and watch the hilarity ensue.

3.  Make all the housemates Harvard and Yale graduates.  Give them the same unlimited alcohol they give all Real World casts.  We will learn that smart people can be as dumb as the dopey people that  make up the usual cast.

4.  Have the whole cast  be average looking.  

5.  Make the housemates consist of 4 Republican and 4 Democratic U.S. House Representatives and watch them try to come to bipartisan agreement on where to go for lunch.  The cameras then follow them as they go to the local "Hooters" restaurant.

6.  MTV gives a dollar to charity each time a housemate says "like" or has to be bleeped.

7.  Put the housemates in a dry county.  Then force the cast to have a discussion about a topic.  Any topic.

8.  Think three words:  "Real World, Somalia"

Please tell me this is not REALITY!!

            I have an idea for a hit TV show. It's a 'can't miss.'  It's copyrighted so don't try to steal it.  The name of the show?  "Bridezillas That Became Real Housewives That Raised Toddlers With Tiaras."   Sure hit, right?

            It's got everything that reality television needs.  It has people we can make fun of and feel superior to (even though some of them are richer than us). And it's got toddlers being psychologically abused by self-absorbed mothers with the IQ of a cumquat (the mothers, not the babies). 

            Yes, this is reality television today.  The highlight of each show is the inevitable rejection and heartbreak.  It is the bachelor rejecting a woman who after spending six minutes in a hot tub with a man realizes that they were destined to be together.  Until she gets rejected.

            It is the singer who knows she has what it takes to be a star and has focused her life on this moment of the audition.  The moment of audition was a better fantasy then reality.  She gets rejected.

            Reality television is merely human degradation for our entertainment. It is merely the celebration of failure for the sole purpose of making us feel superior to the slugs on Bridezilla. And it is the joy of allowing us to revel in how empathetic we all are as we watch these shows.

            Perhaps there is no money to be made watching normal people.  Perhaps the low cost of production and high ratings of many reality shows guarantees they will be here for a long time to come. 

            Perhaps sometimes we can take a moment to reflect on the thought that reality television celebrates human degradation.  It makes us feel good by watching someone else feel bad.  It makes us feel good watching people making fools of themselves. We are entertained as we shake our heads in disapproval and amazement watching a sixteen year old girl who is excited she can be on television, as long as she gets pregnant. 

            Feeling good by watching someone else feel bad is what bullies do in middle school.  It is also the mindset that reality television allows us.