Reality Porn

(Ha-ha, got your attention with the title, didn't I?)

Remember when we used to laugh at such productions as Girls Gone Wild? Sure, maybe chortling wasn't your first reaction then, but I'm confident that you ridiculed the teeny soft-core pornography series at some point. In 1998, most of us thought, Why the hell would anyone actually act like this. They're just doing it for the camera. Yet in 2010, we still stick our noses up at GGW while applauding the likes of The Jersey Shore and other party-based reality television series.

In my opinion, it is that sort of voyeuristic, fetishistic, and narcissistic juxtaposition that appeals to the general audience. If the aforementioned notion proved to be erroneous, I might argue that there would be no reality television as consequence.

Take voyeurism for instance. None of us like to think we act like the girls on GGW or The Jersey Show, but what might intrigue us more is the notion of seeing other people's exciting lives. If reality television (and I don't mean GGW; it just relates to reality television) consisted of individuals study or working hard or doing laundry and taking naps, then we might feel the urge to snatch the remote control to our TV sets and flip to another channel. However, we are not seeing these things; rather we are observing the lives of people who have everything they want, which of course, might lead to us thinking we want what they want, too.

As far as fetishism is concerned, it is easy to see why many viewers have at least caught a glimpse of Girls Gone Wild or the commercial. Now place that commercial next to one for just about an show on MTV, VH1, and the like. You'll notice the similarities quite quickly. We are obsessed with things that we are not supposed to enjoy or have. Even Fraud would argue the same. Therefore, when we see people 'gettin' crunk'd up' and having a good time, we stay tuned in and possibly escape to a world where we can be carefree and spontaneous true. More often than not, shows do not depict the downfalls of behaving such a way. I'm not saying one shouldn't have a good time, but it's within reason to mention there may be consequences.

And narcissism. There a numerous shows about people who are sexy and powerful, and how they morphed into the perfect body and whatnot. People Magazine and similar magazines aren't any less guilty than television shows of appealing to narcissism. Take pregnant celebrities, for instance, since they are all the rage in 2010. The idea is to have the baby quick and transform into the beauty queen you were before and evade the thought of ever having a baby from the public's eyes. I honestly do not understand this notion. Why would you be so afraid of people remembering you had a baby? Anyway, you get the idea.

To conclude this blog, I'd liked to say I hope you all understand my point, no matter how much of a rant this post may seem to be. How have we gotten to the point where the same traits of pornography have entered our mainstream media? Visual pleasure--voyeurism, fetishism, and narcissism--are surely the answer. We are attracted to socially imposed unobtainables. We want what we cannot have and love to see of self-love projected on the boob-tube.