(Big Brother 12)
Can't you see it now? There I am ... Joan B. Average, Scriptwriter, an animated version of me on your screen after you clicked on TLC or E!
There I am... an animated me being chased by my laptop. It smacks me on the head and instead of seeing stars, benjamines whirl around my head. It turns into one bill that I'm chasing and following it to my laptop and superimposes into a live me hard at work at my desk.
Then what? Does the camera follow me knitting in that long post office line because my local federal employees are a tad slow. Or maybe you can get an attractive glimpse of me plunging the crap out of my kitchen drain so I can finish washing my dishes ... sorry, no dishwasher here. Very attractive.
Why not join me on my mini trampoline while I'm watching Food Network and wishing I was eating Bobby Flay's latest throw-down cuisine ... chocolate bread pudding ... yummo!
It doesn't take long for you to realize that reality shows are like watching yourself living your life ... BORING.
Here's the million dollar question. If reality shows are so boring why can't we stop watching them? We can put it to the potato chip philosophy. You know it's salty and fattening but can't stop at one.
Another course of thought, let's escape our lives and solve somebody else's problems. We can fix what's wrong in another person's life all within a commercial break.
Not so fast, let's first distinguish between the boring and the glued to the screen reality show. Often the ones that follow the daily lives of people can put you in yawn mode real quick. But those where contestants are competing for their dreams keep you tuning into the time slot.
Let's see, we have the Lisa Raye reality show, the Terrell Owens reality show, the Fantasia reality show and the list goes on and on like popcorn.
Then you have the dream job reality show I mentioned, the life with sextuplets and twins reality, the 19 kids and counting sprinkled between the little people shows I love. The latter are the most inspiring. TLC launched December 15, 2009 the "Little Chocolatiers" featuring Steve Hatch and Katie Masterson, the husband and wife team behind Salt Lake City's Hatch Family Chocolates.
(TLC's Little Chocolatiers)
What if reality shows were produced in the fifties? Can you picture Lucy and Ricky Ricardo in their Hollywood mansion arguing about leaving the seat up, or leaving the gas tank on "E" ... yada, yada.
Life can be messy, fun, difficult, wonderful, sad and miraculous all in a five-minute time span. And we get to see it everyday in high definition.
From Bridezillas to Hoarders: Buried Alive ... reality shows are also a cry for help. If we look at them closely, we may see pieces of ourselves that make us cringe. We don't have to live a depressed, joyless life. You are what you think. You think negative thoughts your life becomes consumed with negativity.
It's amazing how quick the designers on Heidi Klum's Project Runway are to criticize each other. Very rarely is there something positive said.
Then there are those reality television shows that are inspiring and end each episode on a positive note with a valid lesson learn. Run's House comes to mind. Run's house follows the hectic life of Reverend Run aka Joseph Simmons aka Rapper Run DMC, hip-hop music pioneer and his wife and seven talented children.
Run's House stands apart from the other MTV reality show programming. This show portrays one affluent African-American family's values and morals. Unlike many MTV shows, there is no sex, profanity, foul language, or violence to worry about.
A&E won't be left out of the reality show drama. They're pulling in the ratings with "Dog: The Bounty Hunter." Surprisingly this show has a moral and spiritual spin to it. They often have prayer with bail jumper right after they slap on the handcuffs, and always end with words of encouragement to help them change their lives. Unlike Run's there's also a lot of bleeping out profanity.
Reality shows can be a wake-up call in our own lives and a seed for change.
