1 of 7

Yes

Write now Article Tools

Page 2 of 3

and agency, the Everywoman, serve as our proxies in all forms of self-expression. It's Llewelyn Moss in No Country For Old Men, because - what would one of us do upon finding millions of dollars abandoned by a truck? We want to think we'd be sensible, and leave it - but we are humans with bills to pay and dreams deferred. We'd take the money and run. It's Juno McGruff in the ostensibly idiotic film Juno that, despite its stupid-bordering-on-offensive pandering to a certain generation by way of invented hipster slang and catchy pop-culture references, delivers a portrait of the real strength of a sixteen-year-old girl whose worst nightmare comes true, and intelligently and sensitively begs the question - what would you do?

Or, it would beg the question, if anyone saw it. Sure, both films got Oscar nods, but did anyone actually see them? Box-office rates have been at an all-time low, and rather than shell out an extortionist fifteen dollars for a movie ticket, people hunkering down for an evening of blank-faced monotone and expensive handbags with Lauren Conrad and the rest of the literati on The Hills. So, replacing well-rounded fictional characters in our collective unconscious are the attention-starved denizens of the world of reality television, and no one has really wondered - why are we all so creepy? Why are we so fascinated with the scripted lives of the rich and moderately and undeservedly famous that we will carve out time every week to guess how the next bizarre and surreal interaction - obstacle courses involving hot dogs and a stripper pole on Rock of Love Bus or whatever the hell it's called come to mind - will play out?

I can guess what some of you are thinking. So what if now we'd rather watch Flavor of Love than Frost/Nixon? Times is tough, kid; sometimes something like The Reader is a little heavy, and after a long day of stressful work during a recession for Pete's sake, Nazis are absolutely the last thing you want to think about. Or, you know what, it's like you said earlier - yeah, I've read Proust, but I also enjoy The Bachelor - so what?

So: various media outlets are always blathering about how watching violent films or playing violent video games seeps into our subconsciousness and desensitizes us to violence. And, to a degree, they are correct. Basically, we get used to it. Now, if we saw the same Wild Bunch style shoot-out at a bank, that doesn't mean most of us wouldn't still freak out. It just means that when the necessary elements are

• << previous page
• 1
• 2
• 3
• next page >>

Add your voice

Know something about Does reality TV really reflect reality ??
We want to hear your view. Write now!