Who ordered the scrambled brains?

When did the craze over reality TV (and by reality I mean scripted) turn into a craze over all-out TV talent shows? Sure, like the TV talent shows, Survivor et al were always ostensibly about the talent of individuals to outperform others in some ridiculously degrading circumstances—who could best charm the bachelor/CEO/viewing public. It was a sordid, tawdry affair in which participants whored themselves out on national television, while viewers whored out their brains, their consumer discretion and intellectual standards.

Wait, what’s that I smell? …Ah…yes. Of course. That’s the unmistakably acrid aroma of American capitalism, drug-store perfume that it is. Transparent. Repugnant. Superficial. Good enough for most Americans to mask the underlying detritus.

I always saw reality TV as a marriage between game shows and the Real World. The Real World exploded in popularity by perfectly satiating the narcissistic needs of the Gen-X subculture, an insular microcosm spawned in response to the super-culture’s focus on the identity crisis of post-Cold War baby-boomers. (Dissertation idea, anyone?) To be honest, I would be much more comfortable if nomenclature other than “Reality TV” was used to refer to the genre. Something like “Running Man TV” would be more than suitable. (But that’s cheating really—anything that harks back to that vintage classic puts a smile on this old man’s face.)

Anyway, here we are, years after the American Idol storm rolled by, tredding through a media landscape flooded by talent shows. Fer chrissake, what is this, the 70s?! Not even, at least they had the Ramones—The Ramones!

Yes, the Ramones. Non-conformists, not just against the trends, but against the deeper norms. Well, I’d say we have quite a few cultural norms that are in need of non-conformance. It appears that, like on all those talent shows, the proverbial stage is set. I’m dying with anticipation.

Until the next cultural revolution takes place, feel free to respond to the new poll in the Vibe section of the right-side menu. It’s an homage to the perfect storm that is Wednesday night television, and asks what is the “worst Wednesday night TV talent show.” You can discuss the poll in the comments section of this post if you’d like.

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