We often think of reality television as being silly or stupid. It’s what we watch when we’re at home feeling sick and there’s nothing else to do.
Reality television is engrossing in a sort of unnerving way at times that there are people in the world living so differently than we do.
I’m sure I’m not the only one who has gaped at the paparazzi-filled lives of the Kardashians or watched “19 Kids and Counting” (or is it 20, now?) and was thankful to be just one child of two.
However, television networks are becoming so desperate for new content and higher ratings it seems producers will reach out to anyone with an alternative lifestyle to give them their own show.
This can be damaging at times, not only to the subjects of the television shows, but also their viewers.
“Jon and Kate Plus 8” detailed the lives of a family of ten until the parents publicly separated.
The events in the spinoff show, “Kate Plus 8,” — which included the producers lying to the children about it being Christmas morning to induce a genuine reaction — prompted Kate’s brother to claim that the show had given the children psychological issues.
That is not such a hard claim to believe.
But what we often do not explore is airing some reality TV shows can inadvertently glorify wrongdoings, which prompts viewers to aspire to similar lifestyles.
Animal Planet recently cancelled the show “Yankee Jungle” about a family-owned zoo following evidence that the zookeepers were guilty of animal welfare violations.
This show in its time seemed fun and playful. Many would love the idea of living on a zoo containing almost 200 animals. Besides, Animal Planet is traditionally an educational network.
But it failed to educate its viewers about the proper tending of wild animals, and instead glorified a family who once received a comment from a state investigator that the living conditions for the animals were deplorable.
Mother Jones also reports the zoo-keeping family was found guilty of illegally smuggling in rare or exotic species, and a former volunteer supplied the news outlet with photos of desecrated animal bodies on the family zoo property.
What’s at work here is a similar mentality that surrounds publicized mass shootings and profiles of serial killers. The idea is if you’re awful enough, you too can be famous.
And unfortunately, the reality television genre is perpetuating that idea.
meickhof@indiana.edu
@maggie_eickhoff
