Reality television is beginning to bring Mulholland Drive to a street near you. It’s no surprise that our generation is fixated on instant gratification and the finest return on investment that involves the least amount of work. The old California dream, the leap of faith into the vicious guts of Hollywood are phasing out and giving way to a new and more unrealistic concept of fame.
Keeping up with the Kardashian’s latest drama can be a full time job for its viewers. Being socially linked in via a Twitter account can help us spy on the stars and follow their every move.
It’s exciting to know what they had for breakfast and what their biggest dilemmas of the day are. Reality starlet Kim Kardashian tweeted on September 29, “Every year I pick a wrapping paper theme. Last year was silver & white, the year before burgundy & gold. What should this year be???”
MTV’s “The Hill’s” cast has expensive eyes yet live comfortably in hillside villas overlooking the Pacific Ocean, all while technically unemployed. Paris Hilton apparently “glows” at her VIP table in Las Vegas wearing some sort of make-up containing gold. Meanwhile, kids are skipping school to film YouTube videos in hopes of becoming the next Internet sensation.
According to The New York Post, Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino is estimated to have grossed almost 10 million dollars from his six-pack flaring antics. Realistically, people are homeless and dying. A fraction of one episode’s pay for Mr. Sorrentino could help the hard -working American man who comes home with news to his wife that he’s lost his job.
You can be rich and famous for doing absolutely nothing in today’s world, and this message is loud and clear to our generation. “I know you’re so against these reality shows, but if you had the chance to party for a living and get paid, wouldn’t you do it?” asked Brett Oliverio, a Monmouth Alumni. I pretended his question was rhetorical, and didn’t answer.
Honest, hard- working students part from their universities with high hopes of landing desirable jobs, most of which come to a quick realization that the economy doesn’t want us, but meanwhile Nicole Polizzi, better known as “Snooki” from MTV’s hit show “Jersey Shore” is making more on one episode than most doctors and lawyers make in a year.
Whether or not audiences are laughing with or at the cast of “Jersey Shore,” they’re encouraging, or helping to usher in the death of the real job as well as the death of the actor.
How far does the rabbit hole of reality television really go? Is it simple, mindless entertainment but reasonable to enjoy at face value? Gone are the days of prestige. Why spend years in medical school or law school when you can be famous for having fun, gossiping, fighting and getting drunk for a living?
Money, power, and sex sell well in the media, but the message that reality television is sending is no different from early Roman gladiator filled stadiums. Justifying despicable behavior at the expense of entertainment.
PHOTO COURTESY of nymag.com
