Why We Watch Reality Television

Most people say when out in company that reality television is terrible. They claim it’s garbage and that the networks should put better material on the air. Here is my take on it folks and it may upset some people. Networks put reality shows on for one major reason. PEOPLE ARE WATCHING THEM!

Hollywood is a business. Sure you ask a writer, an actor or a director if it’s about the art and about 99% of the time you are going hear that it is. The “numbers” people (producers, executives, etc.) will tell you its not. They want to make money. Reality shows get ratings. People watch them. There may be as many different reasons for watching as there are programs. Here are a few:

1. We love to people watch. Go to any mall and sit in the food court sans cell phone. Within about thirty seconds you will be watching the people around you. If you are a writer you will be creating dramas about these people and asking questions. Why didn’t someone tell that guy his shirt was ugly (to big, small, offensive, etc.) Is that girl who looks twelve the mother of that baby in the stroller? Where did grandma get those cookies? Is that old man sitting on the bench waiting on his wife?
2. Another reason we watch reality television is we as Americans love a good underdog story. I admit that I’m a sucker for a good story and reality TV can manufacture/display some of the best. I watch competition shows like The Voice, American Idol, Top Chef, because people are chasing their dreams. We get this brief insight into the “regular” people and think if they are chasing their dreams then why not me? I watch the ultimate reality show ever two years in the Summer and Winter Olympics. Not a reality show you say? I beg to differ. These are non Hollywood types that are shopped to American homes by their personal stories and compete to win a prize (metals).
3. We love celebrities even washed up and past their prime celebrities. America is a country without royalty (we did fight a war over this). So instead of Wills and Kate we use entertainment people. If we can get a glimpse into some celebrity’s life and see that they are human we feel connected and maybe better about ourselves. Much of these celebrity reality shows are depressing in my opinion. Other than a curiosity viewing I usually stay away from them. Anyone who watched shows like Being Bobby Brown and The Anna Nicole Show knew that tragedy was in the making.

Real life may not be perfect and it definitely not scripted but it’s easier to laugh when you can compare yourself to someone else. That is why there are Teen Moms, Jersey Shore, Honey Boo-Boo, and any of the housewives. It gives us the ability to say I’m may not be where I want but at least I'm not alone.

My thoughts about "The Great Gatsby"

I am trying to see at least one movie a week at the movie theaters this year. While it has been hit and miss I did make it this week. This week the movie was The Great Gatsby, a film that I have been excited about since hearing it was in production.

Let me state that I was not forced to endure the torture of reading this classic when in high school like many of my friends claimed to have been. I wanted to see this movie for two reasons. One - I am a huge Baz Luhrmann fan. From the quirky Strictly Ballroom to the modern take of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet to my personal favorite the tragically romantic Moulin Rouge. His amazing use of costume and music to create fantastical worlds full of larger than life characters astonishes the filmmaker in me.

The second reason is Leonardo DiCaprio. Now some of you might think that I discovered Leo during his Titanic heyday but that is not the case. I first noticed him on the big screen in “This Boy’s Life” (on TV it was when he was Luke on Growing Pains). His talented turns in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape and The Basketball Diaries told me that guy was the real deal. He is an actor that is protective of his personal life so that he can disappear into each of the character he portrays. I have no qualms in saying that he is one of if not the best actors of my generation. I read once that James Dean’s death was the best thing that happened to Paul Newman career because the roles that would have been offered to Dean went to Newman. I often wonder if the same couldn’t be said for DiCaprio and the great River Phoenix. But I digress…DiCaprio’s turn as Gatsby is spot on in a somewhat spotty film. I found myself drawn to Gatsby as much as Nick was and wanted to throttle Daisy for abandoning him.

The Great Gatsby is full of the Lurhmann’s charm and style. What it lacks is the emotional connections of the above mentioned films. Part of the problem is, again I haven’t read the book, is in the character faults written in the original draft. I am going on what I have read in other publications and talked about with people who have indeed read the book.  Had Gatsby been written post WWII or post 1960’s it may have ended differently. In 1925 (the year it was written) Daisy was a former Louisville debutante who married old money. Women at that time were encouraged to marry, raise a family and if needed, make good of a bad situation especially a bad marriage.  So good girl Daisy went WAY off the script by having an affair with her “star crossed lover” Gatsby. I wished though that she went further and made herself deserving of Gatsby love/obsession. All that said…Thanks to Carey Mulligan I did like Daisy for about half the movie.

Tobey Maguire’s Nick was okay for this viewer. The first thirty minutes of the movie I waffled between thinking he wanted to be Gatsby and be WITH Gatsby. I felt he got better as the movie went on.

The rest of the supporting cast was good if not great. I do wish to give a big shout out to Isla Fisher and Jason Clarke as the doomed married couple Myrtle and George Wilson. Clarke in particular did so much with very little screen time.

My final verdict on the movie…if you like the book you will probably love the movie. For me it was 2 ½ Stars out of 4.