Real crimes yet no real punishment?

Has anyone other than me noticed that reality stars or stars in general never receive more than a slap on the wrist for crimes regular Joes like us would receive jail time for? The laws protect people with money and status and that is unfair but as the saying goes "Life is unfair." Others stars who could not escape punishment after countless run-ins with law have received shortened sentences, powder puff jail lock ins, and are given other opportunities "regular people" would not be given.

Sarah Palin's Alaska

       I've talked about celebrities coming out with reality shows to boost their career/notoriety but TLC has just released a show documenting the life of former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. The New York Times and the A.V Club have already put out articles shining light on how they feel about the new reality show, but I felt that I should offer mine as well. I think the show is a positive choice for not only Sarah Palin and her family but I think the show will offer a positive outlook for young professional women and the others who watch her show.

      

      In so many cases reality television showcases women as housewives, as promiscuous chicks just looking to have a good time just like the guys, or better yet young women chasing after some man who has already established himself in the world, but does little to shine light on the positive women trying to establish themselves. Sarah Palin is a career woman who has her family standing behind her while she pursues her dreams and I couldn't be more impressed with the way she handles things.

     During the presidential elections the press expressed their negative views on Sarah Palin as a mother with pregnant teen daughter, on the idea that she was a high maintenance diva, and just a whole lot of other negative media coverage she received. The A.V. Club recently wrote an article where Sarah Palin was called "Mama Grizzly" where they said, ".... that she always finds a way to make stuff about her." The article states, "The first problem with Palin’s rhetoric is that it lacks any kind of sincerity Next, there’s the way she exploits her family in order to make herself look like a beleaguered homemaker instead of a career politico."

In politics you can’t win if you try because no matter what you do you cannot please everybody.  I think that Sarah Palin has more to offer than what was presented and I'm glad she has given the world the opportunity to look into her life and get rid of the negative views that were thrown into the media during the elections. So thanks Sarah Palin for changing the face of women in America!

HBCU’S vs. College Hill

Want to know what happened to College Hill?                                   

Some of you may have been fans of the BET’s hit show College Hill which was like a Black “Real World” with college students from a different HBCU every year. College Hill received huge amounts of criticism from the black community; Alumni and parents sent e-mails and called the various universities disappointed over the way HBCU’s were portrayed. It has been rumored that the show will not be continued because of the negative stereotype the show gives Black students and schools.

According to the BET network during the shows second season Langston University along with some other HBCU’s complained over the negative attention the show was producing. They stated “We are not denying this type of thing goes on," David Stevens, national president of the Langston University Alumni Association said, "but we are questioning what are the motives behind presenting many of the negative aspects without showing the good that goes on." “Hudspeth said the show presents stereotypical images of black people. "BET represents the merchandising and exploitation of stereotypical and oftentimes destructive behavior of black people for the benefit of profit", he said. Cast member Idesha Browne from the Virgin Island season stated that "everyone has to take into consideration that this is TV."” Wikipedia

I don’t know how you guys feel but I’m actually disappointed that the show is off air. I know I say a lot of negative things about reality TV shows and the message it sends to viewers but regardless of the way I feel these shows are still thriving. Why is it that the one Black television show gets canceled because of the drama and partying but its okay for people on other shows to look like idiots? Reality television itself is a negative interpretation and distorted view of how people in actual society live, so why all of a sudden is this a big deal? What do you think? Does college hill give viewers the wrong interpretation of HBCU’s?

Parenting on Television

Trending among the popular reality shows are shows that offer the positive and negative challenges of parenting. Popular shows include Teen Mom, 16 and Pregnant, 18 and Counting, Jon and Kate Plus Eight, and etc. Networks pick families with extreme circumstances or situations and turned it into a media frenzy. Is displaying your family’s business and putting your children on television necessarily the best thing for your family?

The Duggar Family from the hit reality show “19 kids and Counting” recently received negative criticism for expressing their excitement for having more children after giving birth to their 19^th premature daughter Josie. Yes, this family has nineteen kids with the same mother and father! Usually an older child is responsible for taking care of one of the younger children sort of like a buddy system. Can you properly give nineteen children the individual attention they need? Is there pressure for the family to continue to have children in order to please the network and make a little extra money?

One of my favorite shows in right now is MTV’s Teen Mom. It’s so funny how they have a show dedicated to teen parenting because back in my mother’s day (1960’s) if your friend was pregnant at a young age, you were advised to stay away from them and they were like out casts. In today’s society there’s an epidemic; everybody and there mama is pregnant!

 Of course during the show the message is being sent that you should wait to have kids and that it’s hard. While I love this show I can’t help but to look at the picture and wonder why out of six girls, only four continued for another season. Did they choose to stay from in front of the camera and raise their children? Or perhaps did the network decide to only pick the four girls they thought would bring the most drama and excitement to the show?

Do the stars of these shows get caught up in the lime light and change themselves in order to give the people what they want? Both Amber form Teen mom and Kate Gosselin lost a significant amount of weight. What do you guys think?

                                       

Hoarders on A&E

Lets’ talk about the new reality show Hoarders. For those of you who do not know A&E has a show named Hoarders that offers a look inside the lives of people with the inability to part with their material possessions whether it be trash, clothes, or whatever. Basically this show gives us insight into the houses of the creepy cat woman down the street or the crazy woman up the road whose house can’t possibly be any cleaner than her appearance.

I’m sorry but I find this show absolutely repulsive! Supposedly the hoarders have some form of obsessive compulsive disorder called disposophobia which makes them cling onto their belongings, but this is just disgusting. Having a whole bunch of purses, books, or newspapers is one thing but when you have so much food and trash rotting in your house that you have a live possum in your house or your kids are reporting you because their tired of living in filth, something is wrong. 

Watching this show just makes me want to clean. Why is it that they have to be on television to realize that their house a mess? Maybe these people are mentally ill to some degree, some even in denial because there is no way you can co-exist in a house that is so filthy you have creatures in your house and are okay with it.

Real Wives of Real TV

GIVE ME A BREAK! Among the popular reality shows are various series’ that supposedly acknowledge the woman sitting at home behind her prominent husband. With that concept in mind networks have come up with, “The Real Housewives of DC, Beverly Hills, and Atlanta; Basketball wives, and Football wives.” I aware that I have not included all the shows but I’m sad to say there’s too many to name.

Now I’m conflicted when it comes to these shows because I like the fact that there were a group of producers willing to shed some light on women living in their men’s shadows but being a major contribution to their marriages and families. However, I can be less impressed by women who are only important because of the fact that they married into money. What values is this setting for young women in America? That you don’t have to be independent or smart as long as you find someone who’s willing to support you? That looks are more important than being smart and keeping your values?

Let’s talk about content of some of these shows. In Basketball Wives most of the women revealed that they have been cheated on in some point of the show. While some chose to work out their relationships, a few others decided to call it quits. A number of different women have developed or created clothing lines, real estate companies, and various other businesses that they established AFTER getting with their husbands.  So is it wrong for me to assume that these women saw a franchising opportunity and ran with it? Why are people tuning in and viewing these shows?  Does it have to do with gaining insight into a different lifestyle, an inspiring goal to get with the right man, or the drama the show promises?

What about the “Real” Housewives of DC and Atlanta? Most of these women are social climbers who have made their way up by marriage. Of course not all, a few were famous or had established a name for themselves before. What makes shows like this interesting is that because of their “statuses” these women are able to get into the most exclusive parties, wear the most expensive designer clothes, and hang out with various notorious people. I know that this makes viewers what to emulate this lifestyle because they see all that’s obtainable without having to work for it.

Real TV 2

Last week I talked about various networks and their idea of reality television. I was in the supermarket and saw the most recent bachelor gracing the cover of People and OK magazine. What is it about matchmaker shows that catch viewer’s attentions?

Most reality shows are recorded within a span of 12 weeks or less (for those who are mathematically challenged about 2 months) and within that short period of time it is made to seem that the bachelor/bachelorette has fallen in love. What a load of crap!

All those women/men in the house, there’s no way the bachelor/bachelorette has time to get to know anybody less knowing propose to them by the end of the season. To be honest most of the participants on the show are strictly there for the publicity to either boost their acting career or just get noticed which actually hinders them from getting a real acting job because casting teams don’t take them seriously. In the end guess what? The bachelor/bachelorette doesn’t even stay with the person that they chose at the end of the show which proves that you can not make a stable relationship on reality TV. So, what is it the fights/ confrontations, challenges, or the idea of finding true love?

The Reality Television Take Over

Reality television is taking over! Being the perceptive being that I am, I began to realize that all the programs on television are slowly being taken over by reality TV shows.  Networks such as VH1, MTV, and BET have realized that “real” TV programs are bringing in the most ratings; each show providing more drama and action to our television screens than the last. I began to ask myself, “Are these television programs really real?” Are the reality programs we watch on television every day scripted? Does reality TV depict the lives of every day young adults? Do we subconsciously find the lives of reality TV stars more interesting and become eager to tune in to see what will happen next week on our favorite reality show?

Last week I was able to catch an episode of one of the highest rated MTV shows on cable named “Jersey Shore.” The show depicts the life of young Italian adults who party, drink, and participate in various sexual escapades with random people they meet at the club. Every other episode of this show includes a fist fight or confrontation in which someone from the house is written off fake. Why is this the number one rated reality shows on television? This subject brings me to my next question; exactly how many people can find love on TV? We’ve been subjected to Daisy of Love, Real Chance of Love, Rock of Love, and Flavor of Love; just to find out that none of these people remained with their spouse of choice after the show.