No Cons, All Pros for Reality Shows
Dontavious Tindell
I. Getting the Phone Call:
When I finally got the phone call from the producers of the reality TV show "The Coolest Kid in School" telling me I had been accepted as a part of the show's final cast, you’d think that my mom would’ve been happy about it—even proud. I’d shown more initiative in applying for the show than I’d ever shown in trying to improve my grade point average: I’d made an awesome audition tape, filled out a huge 15 page application (including four essays!), and done five different stressful interviews before a panel of producers in order to make the final cut. The phone call informing me that I was on the show was a dream come true for me. But for my mom? No way. She immediately changed her tune from supporting my dream of starring on a reality TV show to doing nothing but questioning it. It’s not so much that she’s opposed to this reality show (focusing on pitting teenagers against one another in a televised popularity contest), it’s all reality shows that she thinks are, in her words, “hate-filled, degrading, and wicked.” She could not be more wrong, though.
II. My Mom is Over-reacting:
Let’s just face it. People who hate reality shows are really just old, humorless sourpusses. These are people whose last favorite TV show was something produced 40 years ago in black-and-white. They want tv shows to look like what they want reality to look like and not look like what it actually is. In old TV shows, the good guys always win and morality prevails. But reality is not like that—and thus reality shows aren’t either.
III. Defending the Reality Show Genre
Reality shows, as the name implies, reflect “reality” without any preconceptions or judgments. What happens on a reality show is what really happens in life. We all know, for example, that in real life it’s not WHAT you know, it’s WHO you know. Reality shows demonstrate this truism in episode after episode. Reality shows put a microcosm of American life on display for all to see. They allow everyday people the chance to be on television and become famous!
My mom claims that reality shows have made young people more rude and aggressive, but without reality shows, young people would be even more aggressive and rude because they wouldn’t have a legitimate outlet for their anti-social impulses. My mom refuses to recognize that reality shows dominate the airwaves because they are so popular. If they’re so corrosive and decadent, how could millions of people tune in every week to watch these shows? Can millions of people be wrong? What I truly can’t understand is why my mom isn’t excited about the money I could bring home from "The Coolest Kid in School"—almost $100,000 that could go straight to my college fund! If for no other reason, my mom should be excited about me getting on a reality show because I’m now going to be on a reality show.
People clearly enjoy watching reality shows judging from their ratings, but even more than that, people enjoy being ON reality shows. I want my chance to know that enjoyment firsthand. I know it will kill my mom to watch me willingly walk into a group of people, some of whom were chosen precisely because they are likely to cause drama and argue with me, but you know what? It’s no different than me leaving home and walking into the real world where those same kinds of people exist too. So, Mom, I know you don’t understand my happiness at entering what you call “a world of pain,” but it’s my choice. You’ve supported me this far. I hope you’ll continue to support me once you see me on the TV screen.
Which statement best summarizes the speaker's point of view in this essay?
A) Reality shows are good because they show good prevailing over evil.
B) Reality shows are good because nobody really takes them seriously.
C) Reality shows are good because they are almost all well-crafted and well-produced.
D) Reality shows are good because they acknowledge reality as it is, for better or worse.
