reality television : lucifer's playground

            Reality television has always been so intriguing to me. Like mice and monkeys, men and women (more times women) are placed into a controlled environment and observed. There is only one significant difference - mice seem to have a bit more dignity than humans. Basketball wives: a show of bitter, fighting women whose existence depends solely on the fame of the men they dated. The Real Housewives series: a plethora of shows that degrade the sanctity of marriage and family values. 16 & Pregnant: don’t get me started. Tough Love: although i enjoy this show, it's just a contemporary rendition of Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew.  AND if I’m not mistaken, I think I saw an episode of The Jersey Shore in which a cast member pulled her dress up & pee’d behind the bar of a club. I guess mice and monkeys are not as fun to watch.

            Some people are stunned that viewers fall victim to the lies of reality television, screaming, “It’s all scripted and fake!” Tis true. Producers film a fake friendship among strangers, create the fights and altercations, and even script the lines. Yet, what’s even more interesting is the indirect reality of “reality shows”.  REALITY TV IS ACTUALLY REALITY. Beyond the producers and marketing, it is a harsh reality that people will beat each other’s brains out, participate in self-destructive behavior, have unprotected sex, and ruin their reputes for a dollar & "mini-fame". that's the reality in which i am a little more scared. 

            A professor of mine believes that our generation has “surveillance paranoia”. We are born into an era that is accustomed to being followed and watched. Chatrooms in middle school. Myspace and AIM in highschool. Facebook, twitter, blogs, tumblr, youtube, and every other way for people to watch you. Consequently, this gives us every opportunity to construct ourselves into who we want people to see. This lifestyle has plastered a concrete-solid façade on our personalities. We cannot even be ourselves when we are by ourselves because we constantly need to feed a persona. Honestly, perceptions are dangerous. While we're so busy manipulating people's perception of us, we're likely to LOSE OURSELVES in the process.