Our Reality TV President

In 1992 MTV launched a new kind of show. A strategically picked group of young people – the nerd, the good-looking guy, the girl next door, etc. – all selected to live together in “The Real World”. There wasn’t much real about it, of course. It was contrived, manufactured for desired confrontations and interactions, social commentary, potential attractions and repulsions. Over the years, as they rolled out yet one more group of young people after another they gave them jobs, businesses, things for them to do to make it more real.

“Reality TV” was born. America’s been a little different ever since.

We now have shows in which marriage proposals are foregone conclusions in the final episode, after contestants (stars?) selected for the show compete for attention and, supposedly, love, declaring it as each is ceremoniously removed, hopefully in tears. It is about ratings, after all. We can also be treated to “real housewives” who do not do housework, but proclaim gleefully of their intense materialism, one I remember saying she always knew she was destined for greatness – which, in her case, meant marrying an NBA athlete. These days, many of these women, so obsessed with all their money, are finding themselves in foreclosure, homes and all that stuff they were so obsessed with on the auction block. Reality can, after all, get ugly.

Over the past few decades we’ve learned that apparently everyone wants to be on television. Many will do almost anything to make it happen. Young women used to care about their reputations. Now, some will lift their shirts to expose themselves to be included on a “Girls Gone Wild” video. Sex sells. So, naturally, a staple of the reality show is the “hook up”. It’s a reality show mainstay, right behind backstabbing. Some are even specifically about the hook up.

With such show’s ever increasing popularity, it should come as no surprise that America was so anxious to put all common sense aside and elect its first reality TV President in 2008. He was, many thought, perfectly cast, a good orator with a multicultural background, an inspiring story, two cute kids, he talked about hope and change and when he did, some seemed to faint. That’s good TV. We were told how perfect he is again and again and again. No surprise so many decided to believe. This reality TV President loves to be on television. At times, it seems he gets his wish 24/7. It’s like Ed TV, but different. He’s as detached from reality as a “real housewife”, trumpeting his accomplishments on the economy as his “Recovery Summer” looks more and more like Fear Factor.



Unfortunately for America, this IS reality. It sometimes seems like “Biggest Loser” and other times “MTV Cribs”, but, we never get to say “You’re Fired” like in “The Apprentice”, or vote him off like they do on “Survivor”.

A good cast is always important, but perhaps this show might best be called “Reality Sucks”.