Watching Reality TV makes you a better person

Continuing off of yesterday's post of how to WIN at the SAT Writing section, we have a controversy. According to the Washington Post, A recent essay prompt on Reality TV is causing some to take umbrage. (How's that for SAT vocabulary? See? Being a Comm major didn't make me totally stupid)

Here's the prompt:
“Reality television programs, which feature real people engaged in real activities rather than professional actors performing scripted scenes, are increasingly popular. These shows depict ordinary people competing in everything from singing and dancing to losing weight, or just living their everyday lives. Most people believe that the reality these shows portray is authentic, but they are being misled. How authentic can these shows be when producers design challenges for the participants and then editors alter filmed scenes?

“Do people benefit from forms of entertainment that show so-called reality, or are such forms of entertainment harmful?”


I smell a moral panic. Oh no, there's a form of entertainment out there that's cheesy and mildly degrading to the people on the show. People say that reality TV is not as good as... well, have you seen the TV out there that isn't reality TV? For every Mad Men or Breaking Bad you have Two and a Half Men or Secret Life of the American Teenager or Two and a Half Men; a show so terrible it merits being mentioned twice. Keep in mind that they said similar things about Comic Books, and novels... even the written word was thought to be harmful because it took power away from memory.

The gist of it is that we use these new forms of entertainment for bad purposes, then as time goes on, they can be used for good purposes by people who understand them. The novel? Think of most literature you've been exposed to. Comic books? Watchmen, Maus or Blankets are all examples of great works done in the comic book style. The written word? Well, this blog exists, right? Reality TV is still in its infancy and in the future, it may be used to great ends. But that's not what parents are complaining about.

The complaint is (more or less) "I didn't want my kids exposed to something that is part of the cultural makeup, because I think its harmful; its unfair that the SAT punished my kids for not being aware of it." Let's read the complaint.

"One Montgomery County father, who asked not to be identified because his son would be furious, said his son studies too hard to watch any television. “I’m proud he doesn’t watch television and then he goes into the one test that really counts and he gets pummeled,” he said."

Whoa Whoa Whoa there. First off, I'm a little suspect of someone who won't identify themselves because their child would be furious. What are you doing to this kid? Making him study so hard he doesn't have time to watch TV? That seems excessive. During the High School debate season, I was involved in activities that kept me busy from 7am to 5pm Monday to Saturday, plus all of Friday and Saturday evening. This isn't even including homework or other things I was involved in. And I still was allowed to watch TV.¹

Second, let's look at the bigger issue here. The SAT Essay question isn't about details of the shows - it's about whether certain depictions are harmful. That's an abstract thinking skill, not mere regurgitation of the plot of America's Next Top Model. At the very least, You would think that even the most sheltered high school student has got to be passively aware of what's going on in the world of television, even if you never watch any. If you aren't... honestly that's a bigger problem.

Here's my complaint, coming from a smartass young adult who has zero experience in raising kids. ² If you're raising a kid to be academically minded, they probably won't like reality TV anyways. UNLESS deep down this kid resents being academically minded and instead just wants to do their own thing. I'm not really sure that making a kid into something they don't want to be is in their best interests. Then again, I don't trust myself to raise a puppy let alone a kid.

The takeaway from all of this?
Exposure to reality TV isn't really that harmful. There are no bad tv shows, only bad... wait a second. There is one bad TV show. But the SAT didn't make you write an essay on Two and a Half Men.


1. Why do you think I'm a Comm major now? I had my fill of working my butt off.
2. Something I view as a strength, actually