I don't get the appeal of Honey Boo- Boo and her family. I have watched about thirty seconds of her antics. I don't know who I want to slap- I think I am leaning toward her mother. What I have seen is bratty behavior, encouraged by a "Stage Mother" of the worst order. What may be considered "cute" in a four year old is going to be Hell on Wheels in a thirteen year old.. Her mother dresses that poor child up and gives her "go-go" juice to caffeinate the heck out of her to produce an 'entertaining" pageant performance? If this kid were an animal, PETA would be all over this! I am not advocating "Child Protective Services" but this is a train wreck. I certainly hope that they are putting some away of the money they are getting for dragging their lives into the public arena. That girl is going to need therapy.
I wonder why we are drawn to these "reality" shows, that if they are not heavily scripted are certainly "guided" in a direction. Let's face it, most real life is dull, punctuated with stretches of fun and some amazing things. I know I wouldn't watch a show about MY life, for instance. So what makes the lives of Honey Boo-Boo and the Kardashian sisters ( and the Jenner sisters thrown in to boot) something we waste time on? Is it the "I can't believe someone would do or say that" factor? Or is it a kind of schadenfreude; the relief that our lives may be dull but we don't have the problems thes people do? I would rather watch a well written drama or a comedy, but those seem to be hard to find on television these days. I have yet to find a show that I rework my night around, that I want to be home for and am upset if I miss it. I don't have TiVo or whatever that thing is where you can record a show and watch it later. TV isn't that big a deal to me anymore, so paying for the service was not something my budget really needed to absorb.
I do like some reality shows. I haven't seen the pageant show that Honey Boo Boo was originally in, but I did see a couple episodes of her family's show. Even though some of the plot lines are obviously "guided" as you say and a lot of the conflict is ginned up, it's kind of an interesting look at other subcultures and other people's lives. It gives us insight into other viewpoints. One episode had the mother making spaghetti sauce with a tub of margarine and ketchup. Interesting to say the least.
ReplyDeleteSome other reality shows I have enjoyed and learned from were the ones about Gypsies and Hutterites. Very educational. I was actually inspired to go to Wikipedia and do quite a bit of reading on Gypsies and Irish Travelers.
Other reality shows, such as the ones about people with dwarfism working and living their lives, help to educate about people with disabilities and inspire us.
I have never once seen a reality show about the Kardashians, and I hope I never do! Those aren't my kinds of shows.
Here's my problem with how "poor" these people are. All that pageant regalia costs a BUNDLE. They travel all over the place and enter her in competitions,which cost to enter them, but they are eating "redneck ramen" to make up for it. Isn't being on TV paying them any better than that? I think it's ALL made up. I watch shows like Gordon Ramsey's Kitchen nightmares" and wonder how much is a put on. I am getting jaded in my old age.
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