After arriving in America I have to admit, a new guilty pleasure of mine, has been to watch the mind blowing reality series called "The Real Housewives of ....." For those of you unfamiliar with the show, I will try to explain. Basically, it is a reality show following a group of housewives, living privileged lives around the US, spending time back-stabbing their friends, lying to their surroundings, being conniving and obsessing over things that has no meaning and creating the biggest dramas you will ever see on TV. The show has millions of fans, bloggers, twitters and has run for more than 7 years, where each year, a new city is added with a new group of housewives, just as mind numbingly into fake tans and botox as the others.
When I first starting watching the show, I quickly became fan of the one from New York and the one taking place in Orange County. The shear volume of drama going on in these shows is beyond what I have ever seen before and so I was hooked. Some days ago my husband and I were dining with some new friends and we got into talking about the show, because an article recently argued how massive amounts of reality TV is unhealthy for your intelligence and will make you downright stupid. Both men at the table agreed, that the "Real Housewives" is a perfect example of this statement and an argument to stop watching the show. However, I am not sure it is that simple.
At this point in time you could of course argue that any type of reality TV is a waste of time and I agree there should be limits to the amount of time you spend watching it. However, there must be a reason why so many people choose to spent their time following these women and here is what I have come to believe;
1. First off, it is always intriguing to get a peak of how other people live their lives, especially if there are scandals and drama involved.
2. These women are not all stupid, some are actually quit savvy business people. They get the most out of what God gave them and hey in America that is called "Good for you!"
3. The women who participates in the shows, actually believe they are entitled to behave the way they do and that makes it even more interesting to watch as in "I cannot believe she just did that".
4. Probably a lot of the fans wish they were on the show. I really don't know what to think of this, but I am sure it's true.
So, what to make of the phenomenon. Clearly it is targeted at women and gay men who can enjoy a good round of drama. My husband clearly thinks it is the worst show on TV and I do believe that if I publicly endorsed the show at my next job interview, I would not get a call back. At the end of the day I have decided to cut back on my share of real housewives as it gets to you like a drug and I personally find it more sad than bad. Lucky for me "Toddlers and Tiaras" have just started, so as long as I don't tell my husband, I can get my reality fix through toddlers posing in beauty pageants - cause that's not wrong at all :-)
For those who want to learn more about the "Real Housewives" or "Toddlers in Tiaras" please follow the links.
the-real-housewives-of-new-york-city
toddlers-tiaras
For those who would like to know what the impact of TV has on you brain go to this link
reality tv and your brain
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