Reality Shows

[Scar My Machine]

I was discussing a segment from the Tonight Show with a friend (think it's called J walking) where Jay Leno approaches people at random on the street and asks common knowledge questions (questions such as, who's our current vice president, what country can Tokyo be found....) and almost all that I've ever seen on this segment can't answer simple questions. We agree that, if this is any indication of the level of intelligence our schools produce then is it any wonder why most (or maybe all) foreigners think Americans (most of our population anyway) are morons.

Then it made me think of all the reality shows where, let's face it, you see mostly juvenile "adults" (or in some cases, high school students) throwing fits, gossiping, back stabbing and pandering to the lowest common denominator.

Is it any wonder this country is turning into a laughing stock? How can we gain the respect we once had? Am I the only one that feels this way?

Edited November 13, 2010 by Scar My Machine

[TitsMcGee]

Reality shows are the bane of this country's existence. I watch very few of them, and the ones I do watch are "American Pickers" "Hoarders" "Pawn Stars" and "Intervention". I stay away from the MTV shows and things like that. I believe they drop peoples IQs. Even the shows I watch I don't watch on a regular basis. Frankly I like to read more than watching TV.

Wait..does Jeopardy count as a reality show, because I watch that too. And I sit there and answer half the questions right.

[phenom]

Just like I could care less about what others think about me and how I choose to live my life... I could give a FUCK what the rest of the world thinks of the US.

Why WASTE your life caring what others think of you when only your opinion of yourself matters?

[TitsMcGee]

Just like I could care less about what others think about me and how I choose to live my life... I could give a FUCK what the rest of the world thinks of the US.

Why WASTE your life caring what others think of you when only your opinion of yourself matters?

Because right now those people are paying to keep the US going. And at this rate if we're not careful the movie "Idiocracy" isn't too far off.

[Scar My Machine]

It's not about caring what other nations think in a general sense but rather it's about us caring about our countries future.

We used to be a great nation, with many inventors, smart people that cared about whether or not they took advantage of our free education (k-12).

Seems in the last 10-15 years we are breeding a popular notion that it's 'cool' to not learn much, to not pay attention to what's going on in Washington. I see this trend getting worse, uninformed people that didn't take education seriously breeding and passing along their lack of interest in learning.

Look around and I think you'll notice sooner or later.

I myself hope that Idiocracy does not turn out to become true. *shudders*

[Hellion]

Unless its stuff caught on video as it happens I'll watch it,though I do like American Pickers and Pawn Stars.I refuse to watch garbage like MTV I still don't know why they even call it MTV its all reality bs.they ought to call it Moronic TV instead.

[Slogo]

Unless its stuff caught on video as it happens I'll watch it,though I do like American Pickers and Pawn Stars.I refuse to watch garbage like MTV I still don't know why they even call it MTV its all reality bs.they ought to call it Moronic TV instead.

HEY! Beavis and Butthead are coming back. MTV will be watchable at times now.

I like Pawn Stars but that's a show you can actually learn from. Don't really mind Next Iron Chef but once again, you can learn stuff from that show because people are actually doing something that requires them to not act like idiots.

Edited November 14, 2010 by Slogo

[TitsMcGee]

HEY! Beavis and Butthead are coming back. MTV will be watchable at times now.

I like Pawn Stars but that's a show you can actually learn from. Don't really mind Next Iron Chef but once again, you can learn stuff from that show because people are actually doing something that requires them to not act like idiots.

I don't consider cooking shows reality tv, I find then educational myself.

[killyosaur]

Do you honestly believe that Jay Walking or any reality television is an accurate depiction of the education we get from the our school system? Are you honestly that naive? I don't mean to be mean by asking that, but really, that seems to be a question posed by someone who doesn't bother to dig any deeper than to watch a reality show segment and say, wow, we really are dumb as a country. Really? You don't think for one second that the writers and producers of reality television or Jay Leno's segment don't mill through hundreds, even thousands, of hours of footage looking for the choice moments or answers or what have you, that are viewed as comical or entertaining due to the stupidity of the people in that footage? I'll bet most of the Jay Walking footage is unusable because most are of people who answer the questions correctly. I know for a fact that most footage found in reality shows are cut together from multiple sources and hardly are ever contiguous, watch the shows where people have the option of changing their clothes, the reason they have on multiple outfits in a single episode is often because the footage is from different days. IF there are people out there in other countries, believing that we Americans are idiots because of reality television, or any other person for that matter, they are the real idiots. Reality Television is not reality, it's barely non-fiction, it is created with the intention of entertainment and nothing more. I mean really, would you find those segments on Leno as entertaining and funny (if you do indeed find them funny and entertaining) if every person in them answered the questions correctly?

[phenom]

Is it any wonder this country is turning into a laughing stock? How can we gain the respect we once had? Am I the only one that feels this way?

Just like I could care less about what others think about me and how I choose to live my life... I could give a FUCK what the rest of the world thinks of the US.

It's not about caring what other nations think in a general sense but rather it's about us caring about our countries future.

-

We used to be a great nation, with many inventors, smart people that cared about whether or not they took advantage of our free education (k-12).

When you say we are a laughing stock to the rest of the world (implying you care what they think)it's pretty clear it's not about our countries "future". So you DO care, and that is fine. I personally just don't care what others think of me. I live how I want to, and it does not really affect me if I bother, offend, upset, or insult anyone. Just like I could care less if anyone treated me in a shitty way... oh well, just blow it off and relax.

But speaking of our countries future, all the more the reason NOT to care what other countries think. They want to laugh at our citizens, fine. There is alot to laugh at. But they are pretty fucked over their too. When a massive amounts of people will sit for hours and hours and watch while a ball is kicked around ... and they call us dull ... sure.

And besides, it's our foreign policy that bothers people, and I personally LOVE our foreign policy as of the last 10 years or so. As you said, it is about our countries future. Our current policy is to PROTECT the future.

And the "our country used to be great" comment... dude, get some friends or something. Turn of the Blink 182 and step outside. Life is not over.

Everything will be ok.

[Slogo]

On that last comment about us being a former great country...here's my take.

America used to be the kid on the playground who would stand up to the bad guys for everybody. Now we're kind of a bully who doesn't give a shit about anyone but ourselves. Yeah we give the lesser kids some milk money occasionally, but it seems like we do that specifically so we can rub it in their face that they'd be screwed otherwise.

I'd like to see a return to the foreign policy of America post WW2. Yeah we had a couple of wars (one of which most certainly shouldn't have happened) but we held a certain amount of respect in the world. There are people today saying we should go to war with N. Korea. While I think that option should be on the table in the event of a serious crisis. Does anybody in the world seriously think we could do that right now?

As far as America being stupid, look at the 2-party system of the past 30 years. One party lost it's nerve and the other party lost it's mind.

BTW Phenom...you have the coolest avatar on DGN. AND YOU ARE ENTERING A WORLD OF PAIN! LOL

Edited November 20, 2010 by Slogo

[aequorea]

The interview clips aired on TV are the stupid funny ones. I consider myself to be a fairly intelligent person, but I have certainly said my share of dumb shit.

That said, I agree that education is not valued as highly as it should be.

[phee]

I would like to see a Reality show about 5 racist rednecks forced to live in a loft in Harlem NY.

It could be called "Cracker Hunt"

[darknight1]

Reality TV is just ridiculous. It's to a point where I can't stand the thought of watching TV anymore. So many of these shows they have on now are scripted. I mean seriously - you have Survivor, dozens of "reality" shows on MTV, and god only knows what else that are touted as "unscripted"...what gives with people's interest in shows that do not even accurately depict reality? The reality too that more people seem to vote for the next "American Idol" than actual political candidates who I suspect could make a difference in taking this country back to a path of sanity speaks a lot about our country's line of thinking - the "me first" culture if you will. The voting situation could be applied equally to various propositions nationwide that could adversely effect specific groups, such as medical marijuana users (and I mean those that actually need it for pain management thanks to diseases or other medical ailments), LGBT individuals, gay marriage, or even propositions that could harm the ability of a college student to keep advancing his or her educational opportunities in the future. Reality TV, quite simply, is a disease.

[taysteewonderbunny]

Reality TV is just ridiculous. It's to a point where I can't stand the thought of watching TV anymore.

Spook and I don't, pretty much. There are a few exceptions. I'd like, eventually, to be able to watch "Walking Dead" and we might sometime purchase past seasons of "True Blood," but more likely, we'll read the books and watch current episodes at our friends' home. Otherwise, our entertainment consists of face-to-face interactions with friends and acquaintances, games, social network sites like this one and facebook, and old tv series on video like "Kids in the Hall" and "Monty Python," and READING.

I suppose I'm also really "radical" in that I get my news from a newspaper. Yes, an actual printed paper delivered to our door four days out of seven. Because I AM liberal, I felt my news should reflect a viewpoint different from my own so that I might have more of an opportunity to listen (and maybe understand) differing opinions; I consequently subscribe to the "Detroit News" as opposed to the "Detroit Free Press."

So, our entertainment and informational requirements are met in those ways. We don't really see the need to have television.