Why keep up with the Kardashians if you can barely keep up with yourself?
Over the past fifteen years, or so, reality television has managed to dilute the mind of your average, basic cable consumer into a pulp of fabricated hopes, making for a summary of what society is currently feeding off today.
These quote-unquote icons’ lavish ways manage to blur the lines between non-fiction and full-on fabrication, merely doing so by tossing the word ‘reality’ ahead of ‘show’, for anyone watching to feel as if their taste in entertainment is more dynamic and ‘life-like’. Consequently, the core majority of viewers simply can’t grasp the fact that each of those petty arguments and horribly executed dinner time meltdowns are curated out of one hundred percent bullshit.
Andy Cohen, the host of Bravo talk show Watch What Happens Live, somehow manages to add even more bullshit to what is already an overwhelming heap of grotesque garbage. The late-night talk show has an occasional guest that will (potentially) raise an eyebrow, but for God’s sake, it’s literally an extension of the show that just finished
A couple of months ago, Cohen went on CNN to speak with his friend and fellow journalist Anderson Cooper. They went over tweets that President was sending out, and Cohen compared them to the likes of which you’d hear from women on the Real Housewives set. Though that’s a major problem unto itself, what the fuck is a reality TV star doing on a major news program? Yeah, everybody is entitled to speak their mind or have an opinion and whatnot, but are we watching CNN or Bravo?
This is a prime example of why there is no substantial difference between reality shows and the modern state of news broadcasting. Though the subject matter obviously differs, the two branches of media, consisting of Bravo, E!, Fox, CNN, MSNBC and everything in between is on par with poison and will fill your headspace with trivialities and anxiety-inducing stories until your ears fall off.
Reality television manages to make the most irrelevant details in life relevant. Meanwhile, the primary goal of your average news station is to keep you concerned and willing to listen some more, as they watch their rankings skyrocket. Albeit their stories are as irrelevant as they come, viewers gradually begin to show more of an aching concern for what’s going on.
Now, picture this and tell me if you spot a difference: Anderson Cooper, Chris Hannity, Tomi Lahren, Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski, Rachel Maddow, or whoever the hell it is, makes their way on to your television screen.
The reporter introduces the show with a tweet directly from the President of the United States. Whatever nonsense he managed to squeeze into 256 characters is then discussed by a pair of liberals and a couple of Republican strategists.
Bravo plugging each of their programs through Watch What Happens Live and news reporters selling their words to you on live television are some very wide-ranging advertising schemes. In a legitimate example: Sean Hannity brought Bill O’Reilly, a former colleague who then had a show of his own, on set to discuss his latest book ‘Killing England’, but then delve into the fact that the NFL was tearing down America’s morals. Roger Alies, former chairman of Fox News and sexual harassing contemporary, once described O’Reilly as ‘a book salesman with a TV show’. Is that enough validation for you?
The trivial stories that they choose to cover now come in herds; as headlines of gun control, warfare and immense grief are sifted to crumbs in a matter of no time. Dating back to the day President Trump decided to run for office, your go-to news station from CNN to Fox, has likely grown one-dimensional; as they either find themselves trying to ride the President until the wheels fall off or waking up the next morning to find out that he completely bashed the shit out of their organization.
So funny to watch Fake News Networks, among the most dishonest groups of people I have ever dealt with, criticize Sinclair Broadcasting for being biased. Sinclair is far superior to CNN and even more Fake NBC, which is a total joke.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 2, 2018
People who watch the news fail to understand the fact that these topics are being fed to the public for a reason. Each tiny bias that you hold manifests itself into the primary reason you are watching the channel you are, because these conglomerates intend to cater to your every need, regardless of who is on TV. The vilest twist of all is the fact these two mediums aren’t seen as synonymous with one another for this reason: America has evolved into its own, distinct reality show. It stars its very own citizens, be it celebrity or nonentity. And based on what we’ve seen so far, it might be as popular as any tabloid making its way along your television.