Reality TV Teaches Nothing

Along with the story about protesters of the Iran election, the other big news this week was the announcement Monday that the Goslins have filed for divorce. I don’t watch the program, but on Monday I felt I had to be part of this “history.” And, TBS the cable station on which the program Jon and Kate Plus Eight airs milked it for all it’s worth. But this is not the first time a reality TV couple decided to divorce in the midst or as a result of their TV experience. What some people refer to as the very first reality program, The American Family, aired on PBS in 1973. The Louds, who were the featured family on this program that was based on 300 hours of filming, met the same fate. Yes, reality TV of this sub-genre has been around for quite a long time. I guess there are some lessons that we never learn: the Louds should have served as a warning to Jon and Kate – excessive exposure on TV leads to divorce. Or, would they have gotten a divorce anyway? Frankly, it doesn’t matter, because this played out before viewers—and there were 10 million of them (a huge audience by cable standards)—who once again witnessed the demise of an American family. The program has gone on hiatus until August, but you better believe the culture will be churning this story for quite a while. Which leads me to the point of this blog: I don’t think we ever learn life lessons from watching TV. I think that TV sends us a lot of signals about what is right or wrong, moral or immoral. But I don’t think those messages stick. Like a greased pick, they’re hard to hold on to. Perhaps this is because there are so many competing messages out there. Perhaps this is because we watch TV with half our attention. Regardless, the Louds had very little long-term impact on the culture, and the Goslins will do the same. It’s a shame. There’s a lot at stake, not only for this family, which God help them, have eight kids to raise (the point of appearing on the program, I think, was to help pay for their college educations), but watching this program made me feel bad, not just for the Goslins, but for all of us. You would think that more than 30 years since the first reality program destroyed a family that someone would have learned a lesson, but I guess not. We are still going around the same circle; churning the same story with, of course, variations. One point of note: the Louds’ son Lance “came out” on the program, which didn’t play well with his father. Remember, this was 1973. So, this time it’s eight children whose lives are being affected. This is serious stuff. I just hope, this time, someone learns something from the experience. Otherwise, all of this will have been for naught, just to keep the entertainment wheel spinning.