Never have people watched so much television, yet have so little good to say about it. Reality television is frequently viewed as the car wreck of the small screen: it's the awful and shocking tangle of metal and dead bodies our mothers warned us not to look at, but we just had to.
But is reality television really that awful? Like pornography, does it exist purely as a monument to our basest and most primitive needs and desires. Or is there a very good and healthy reason why it has succeeded with a full scale invasion of main stream television over the past ten years?
First of all, let's not fool ourselves. Reality television is not "real". It might be cheap to produce, but it is carefully designed, orchestrated and edited to create a specific product. More unscripted drama than pure reality. But even at its most ridiculous and contrived it features real people, responding with real emotions and giving us a glimpse of their very real lives. Even if they are complete narcissistic idiots. Or delusional and more than slightly unbalanced. It's that small glimmer of authenticity, however warped or disturbing, that manages to penetrate the shell of suave disinterest that conventional scripted television has built around us.
When Susan on Desperate Housewives has a breakdown, it's intense drama and usually just a bit too much so we probably turn the sound down. When a contestant on America's Next Top Model falls to the ground in sobs after Tyra chastises her for pulling another contestant's weave out in the swimming pool, we jump up and cheer, or boo. Reality television pushes our buttons in a way that normal dramas and sitcoms very seldom do and gets through to us in a way that scripted television with its ridiculous conventions no longer can. In scripted television a blow to the head sends you unconscious. In reality television it just hurts, b#tch. In scripted television wetness and cold will immediately result in sneezing and the onset of a cold. In reality television you just put on a dry pair of clothes. Even though reality television might involve manipulation or deceit, it still remains true to the real world. The Golden Girls told us that we must be there for each other no matter what. Survivor tells us that if you are playing for high stakes, you should watch your back. Heroes showed us that your dreams of being special can come true in the most spectacular way. American Idol warns us that if you sing like a cat falling from a twelve story building, you should rather keep quiet, no matter how good you think you are.
Even if it is occasionally cruel and exploitative, reality television is still the closest and most authentic representation of the human condition - the good and the bad. And whilst we might feel for the humiliated contestants, we also see how they pull themselves upright, straighten their backs and walk out with pride. If Omarosa can still look the business world in the face and thrive, then maybe my much smaller mistakes can also be overcome. Even if I am not mistaken for being psychotically delusional. And that is a lot more inspirational that any episode of Desperate Housewives.
