Earlier this week, Shain Gandee of Sissonville, WV died of carbon monoxide poisoning. Who is Shain Gandee, you ask? He was a member of the cast of MTV's Buckwild, a show about a bunch of young adults in West Virginia. Mr. Gandee's death was tragic-he was 21 years old. If it were not for this show, we wouldn't know who he was.
That brings up an interesting point, for me, anyway-exactly what is this show about? A bunch of young people living in West Virginia. And by living, I mean drinking, getting into trouble, hooking up-things that would make people watch a show like this. I'm sure these young people have daily routines, hold down jobs, visit with family-but mundane things like that don't generally rake in viewers. The show is billed as a bunch of twenty somethings "having fun". Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia objected to the show after seeing a preview, feeling that the show profited off young people making bad decisions.
People making bad decisions equals viewers, unfortunately. If you have any doubt about that, look no further than "The Jersey Shore" which made celebrities of another bunch of young people drinking, getting into trouble, and hooking up. Or is that Big Brother? Or the . Real World?
There are the Kardashians with their many shows. Here Comes Honey Boo Boo. The Gypsy Shows. The Shahs of Sunset. Myrtle Manor. The various "Wives" shows-Housewives of Beverly Hills, Atlanta, Basketball Wives, Mob Wives.
What do these shows have in common? They are about people that are marginally famous behaving badly. And they are multiplying. They are appealing to someone out there. A lot of networks have some form of this type of show in their lineup. It's scary that more of our young people know who Honey Boo Boo is but can't name the governor of their own state.
There's little to be learned from these kind of shows and they don't seem to have any point. Networks and advertisers will keep creating and supporting them, though, because people watch. Have we become so bored as a viewing audience that we would rather watch girls get punched out in bars or guys drive four wheelers through the woods? I'm sure a good bit of these shows are scripted-I can't imagine that the "reality" portrayed represents the majority of these people's lives. At least I hope not.
To be fair, I haven't watched many of these shows. Most of my tv viewing is sporting events, a few dramas and comedies, and documentaries. I am hoping these real life soap operas run their course and make way for smarter, more interesting shows. Looking at the lineup for a lot of networks, I won't hold my breath.
Just my two cents.
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