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Originally Posted by flamingdog
Basically, what I'm saying is, it only exists because we let it.
It's fucked up, yes, but it's who we are.
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We can say that about anything though. Democracy, New York, the Ice Capades. They only exist because we let them.
There's nothing inherently wrong with reality shows or stupid entertainment. It's when crap like that is ALL that's available that things go awry. And reality shows are particularly bad. Ever notice what happened with Big Brother? That show TANKED in the ratings, yet they brought it back. Why? It wasn't much of a risk. All the actors were free. It was shot by untrained tape apes (sorry, they're not photographers
) on cameras that cost a tiny fraction of what a real show's cameras cost - basically, even if the ratings SUCK, as long as they get some, cheap, advertising on it they've paid for the show and then some.
So that's where your premise might get derailed. With the exception of the heavy hitters - survivor, the apprentice, etc, reality shows aren't necessarilly mega-hits, but they're so cheap that they don't need to be, so even if the public for the most part stops watching, they'll still survive.