Before he met me, the husband was a desultory tv watcher at best. The usual suspects: televised golf and football, documetaries, and shows like Big Machines. However, since me, he has become, not by choice but by necessity, an avid if often reluctant tv watcher and, in the process, has become somewhat of a reality savant. Suddenly, he is able to predict, with astonishing, mystifying accuracy, the results of any given day of any given reality contest, from who will win the Road Rules/Real World duel to the victor of a Survivor obstacle course/puzzle challenge to the maker of the best doggie outfit on Project Runway. It's uncanny, really, because not only can he predict the victory, he gives reasons for his choices that include phrases like "horrible fabric choice," "tentative runway walk," "exceptional plating," "confused color palette," or "inneffective strategizing." And I know he never thought about these things ever before.
Which leads me to one of two conclusions: one, here is proof positive that reality tv is not the vacuous wasteland of its reputation. Instead, it can develop keen observational powers in its viewers, pushing them to insightful and educated cultural analysis. In that sense, we might say reality tv is performing a service that some of us try to accomplish in our classrooms, giving the average viewer the tools with which to critique effectively the world around him or her, alerting the viewer to the fact that there are (hugely subjective) standards by which behavior can be judged and the trick is to justify one's standards and articulate the reasons behind one's decisions. In other words, hurrah for educative properties of reality tv! Or, two, the poor husband is a victim of (my) circumstance, and I really should set him free from my enthusiasms. Yep, I'm going with conclusion one, too!
No comments:
Post a Comment