Something Rich and Strange

Last week one of the contestants – I mean co-stars – on a D.C.-based reality TV show revealed that her marriage had ended because of the program. Apparently hubby was none too keen about being followed around constantly by a camera crew. He was, he admits, embarrassed by the whole thing (I’m taking this as proof that the universe might not be coming to an end as quickly as I had anticipated).

That said, should anyone be surprised that the unreality of putting your life on display, and exposing parts of it that would normally remain private, might be too much for any relationship to bear? Reality TV is certainly littered with evidence that this is the norm, not the exception.

But what is really troubling is that while adults can decide when to walk away from circumstances that will likely characterize them as scenery-chewing egomaniacs, the children who are dragged onto this improbable stage have no say. They are ancillary victims of their parents’ poor judgment (the parents themselves being the primary casualties, though one could hardly apply the term victim here).

So instead of the home movies that innocently chronicled summer vacations and birthday parties, the kids of reality TV will now be able to watch their parent’s marriages unravel before their eyes (pause and rewind), if not “live” as a participant under the lens of a ubiquitous camera, then later when the show airs. This can be particularly painful given that these programs often air months after filming wraps only to open newly healed wounds. Even worse, the sorry examples of adult role models that inhabit reality TV are likely to pass along their shameless quest for attention to their children. Thus is reality TV propagated and populated.

Unfortunately, we won’t know the effect it has had on children for a while. In the meantime viewers will hopefully have the sense to tune out and turn away. Unfortunately, averting your eyes from a train wreck might be easier.