Reality shows

I've never quite understood the fascination with these shows and never watched one....the commercials you get exposed to are bad enough.  Good article in the Globe and Mail today by John Doyle.

"Now, you can say that America’s Got Talent isn’t in the same category. You can say that a talent show does not coarsen the culture in the way thatSurvivor and Big Brother do.

Well, maybe you’re wrong. Here’s the thing – there are no nice reality shows. They are all about competing, scheming, ego and avarice.

I put it to you that, as one crude reality series starts anew and two others end successful seasons, it’s not that these series have coarsened anyone or any society.

They simply reflect our innate interest in coarseness itself and, by proxy, satisfy our elemental urge to be uncouth and utterly uncultivated."

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/television/face-it-there-are-no-nice-reality-shows/article14351766/