Television blog entry 1

19 September 2011
09h30

My name is Samantha Parrish and I am currently studying journalism at UJ and LOVING it! I love writing, reading, partying and spending time with friends and family. My passion has always been journalism and I WILL work in the fast paced industry one day. As much as I love the degree I am doing I cannot wait to get out into the big, bad world and start a life for myself! I hope you enjoy my blog, feel free to leave some comments ;)

BLOG POST 1: Living in a "real" world

“Keeping up with the Kardashians”, “Ice loves Coco”, “16 and pregnant” and “Jersey Shore” are currently reality shows that are broadcasting weekly on MTV and E. These shows document the lives of the rich and famous, in my humble opinion some are only famous for being famous. These shows give us the feeling and false hopethat we too can live these lives that we watch religiously on television every week.

Keeping up with the Kardashians and Ice loves Coco documents the lives of the upper crust of society whose lives revolve around photo shoots, spray tanning, family drama, celebrity parties and most importantly, money! In other words, their lives revolve around all the things that us normal people only dream about. 16 and pregnant airs on MTV every Sunday and documents the lives of teenage girls who fall pregnant and their struggle to raise their babies as single, school going teenagers. To put it quite bluntly, it glamorises teen pregnancy and gives it a sense of acceptability in society. And finally, Jersey Shore gives us a look inside the wild lives of young adults who are living in Italy. Their lives consist of waking up when the rest of the world are finishing work, getting into fights, sleeping around and partying and getting drunk. Not really the kind of show any parents would approve of.

I believe that these shows make people want to try live their lives through someone else’s. These lives look fun, glamorous and easy compared to our, often mundane lives- lives in which we have to actually work for our money. The scary thing is that everyday people aspire to live the lives of the rich and famous when in reality, it is nearly impossible. Whether these shows should be broadcast and whether they add any moral fabric to society is a total matter of opinion.

Do you feel that these shows add any value to their viewers? Leave me a comment :)