We’ve resisted the urge until now, but the Emerald is finally weighing in on the whole “reality-based television” trend.
CBS is leading the way with at least two shows — “Survivor” and “Big Brother,” which gobble up two hours of prime-time television each Wednesday — and only the TV poobahs know how many more of these programs are headed down the creative flume.
Please, for the sake of humankind, stop the ride now; we want to get off.
The emergence of these two shows has generated endless debate on newspaper op-ed pages, at office water coolers and in normal daily conversation. Even Bryant Gumbel and Jane Clayson, hosts of “The Early Show,” CBS’ morning “news” program, host a Thursday morning roundtable discussion on the previous night’s “Survivor” outcomes.
Are we missing something here? Why do the pertinent questions relate to which loud-mouthed lout was thrown off the island? Shouldn’t the questions be more pointed and relevant?
First and foremost: When are we as a society ever going to extinguish our excessive, obsessive desire to peek into others’ lives? Is that asking too much, to just set aside our voyeuristic tendencies and maybe — hey, here’s a novel idea — focus our energies instead on a few real problems?
It’s sad really, the sometimes ridiculous contrasts brought about by “Survivor.”
Millions of viewers got all squeamish when they heard about some idiot on that island recently eating a rat. OK, not to sound melodramatic, but can’t we be more concerned about what isn’t being eaten?
According to a 1997 report released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, almost 100 billion pounds of safe, edible food — meat and poultry, fruit and vegetables, milk and eggs — are thrown away every year by retailers, restaurants and farmers while 25 million Americans are hungry, including 12 million children.
And we’re all in a tizzy because someone ate a damn rat?
Wednesday night’s premiere of “Big Brother” was just as disheartening. The show — evoking beat-us-all-over-the-head references to an Orwellian society — is scary because the cameras are never off, giving the house residents zero privacy.
Come to think of it, however, that sounds similar to any civil protest in Eugene: the police are videotaping the protesters, who are videotaping the police, all cameras whirring non-stop.
Why not leave out the Orwellian society part and just stick with the beat-us-all-over-the-head aspect?
We as media consumers possess the ability to throw these shows off our viewing islands, one at a time. Television shows — especially serials — do not stay on the air unless people are watching them.
The fact that “Survivor” has, well, survived and thrived is proof that TV watchers are eating them up. It’s kind of like downing that dirty rat. These shows are a disgusting representation of what U.S. society will consume to keep its television habit alive.
So, here’s a shift in concept: Turn the damn TV off. Go outside, and enjoy the measly three months of sunshine that we get in these parts. You don’t need to identify with characters on television, because if you want, you really can have a life of your own.