Hear/Say

Funny, how reality has become such a subjective term. Think Speidi, for example– her plastic surgery– which I’m sure wasn’t something MTV necessarily pushed (coz that’s unethical, yo) and even if they evilly did, Heidi’s just an idiot for going along with it. Anyway, let’s assume she chose to become Alien Cat Lady #2; I’m pretty sure that drew more people into The Hills, even if she wasn’t featured as much as the drama with Spencer ensued. Er, HER drama with Spencer ensued.

She haz sad

I’m sorry, this is all superfluous. I’m not ranting about reality tv again, but the idea of reality tv…er,  of our juxtaposition of realities seen through television and how we relate to it. While “IN THE BEGINNING” aka back-in-the-day when Grace began watching television and it wasn’t a Bulls game, like 90′s or so, I suppose, there was a reality portrayed on television that was quite unreality– yes, they had dysfunctional families (read: Susan Somers, Step by Step. Actually, that’s not fair of me. I recall her good mothering skills. Um, Full House? With a strange mix of family members living together under Bob Saget’s firm, fatherly hand? Sabrina the Teenage Witch,where she lived with her two aunts), but they always came together in love: inevitably, indubitably, without question. There was never anything stranger than sex or drug use, as I recall–  or stealing. Then again, family sitcoms are still the usual, as Two and a Half Men is actually enjoyed by mysterious people watching magical boxes in the swamps of … wherever. But that premise was quite the star-child of sitcom television before reality hit the fans– I forgot to mention Home Improvement, which I watched for Jonathan Taylor Thomas. This has nothing to do with my topic, but LOOKATHISHAIR:

ps lovin the vest.

The unrealistic nature of Bob Saget and his two adult male relations +sister in law living under one San Franciscan roof with his three children happily is pretty much accepted as fantasy fiction today. Step-by-step, for example: I have a feeling that if it were to be sold as a script today, half the children would be vampires and the other half, werewolves. With a little baby wizard in the oven. Or something. Something dark, something… edgy, unexpected.

Which is why we have Family Guy and the Simpsons. To lure us away from the reality in which we exist in order to have the freedom to point out ridiculous things that *do* happen in life. Racist jokes, pedophilia, incest, and the desolate, ugly younger sister whom everyone hates and wants to toss out with the garbage (who hasn’t met a Meg?). The cartoon allows for a more complex portrayal of values and/or social issues.

Conversely, it seems like reality television has replaced the family sitcom: in pretending what is happening on screen is real, we’re allowed to criticize, gossip, and tear apart these people who pretend to live their lives on screen (for god’s sake, they don’t act– only with each other) to make the audience feel better about their abilities to cope and negotiate with life, love, and sex.

On another, freakishly third limb of a hand, we have Pixar. We have cartoon fantasies becoming a reality more similar to the one in which we live: one that looks touchable, edible, and emotionally engaging. The life-like wimper and hesitation of a child, or their behavior; the painstaking detail of feathers on a crazy, 8 foot bird.

In tandem with the phenomenon of 3-d television, where the experience of a movie seems to have taken priority over the quality of the plot– and the quality of engagement has not evolved into anything more complex than the reassuring fact that it is 3-D, or “life-like” and therefore, more exciting.

And so how do we presume? What is it that we want as television-consumers? Just as fashion fads are like a pendulum swinging between avant garde and post- “” (mainstream fad being the middle of the swing), television shows need to have constantly refreshing premises. It’s amazing how any show lasts for more than 3 seasons, much less 11 seasons– the writing has to be fresh, clever, and enduring. It has to capture the audience’s attention, and spread amongst the people like wildfire. Will Jersey Shore retire after this next season? Or: what’s next on our plate in terms of television entertainment?

This is where I throw in the Internet subculture.

Think Tim and Eric awkward: how they use regular looking actors to accomplish a more complex appeal. There is an irony to the amateur feel of woozy screens and skipping audio tracks: it makes viewers wonder “Am I entertained? What does it mean?” when really, it doesn’t have to mean a thing. But it can evoke a precise discomfort, from the pain of an amateur ventriloquist puppeteer singing off key, or a really old man named Richard Dunn harassing Dave Navarro.  This is a different “reality” television: the use of ordinary people. A la Youtube.

The awkward moments posted on Youtube do spread like wildfire, memes of lolcats, wtfcat, falling grape lady, etc. are extraordinary in that they can also cross mediums: text, images (lolcats), video, audio. It can also cross from entertainment to everyday use (I haz cheeseburgers. I haz a cigarette. I haz it.) The most endearing, unique, capturing kind of entertainment today are viral clips.

Think of accidental Youtube marathons with friends. Doesn’t sound so appealing, but when you’re on a roll, you’re on a roll. And it’s always nice to have something new to share and contribute.

So instead of reality television, how we’re ironically appreciating the painfully awkward beauty of every day, grim reality.