Disappointing TV – don’t we have anything better to do?

I want to start this by saying, I love trashy TV as much as the next person, and some reality shows I can't miss. This post is intended to be given from a soap box, not a high horse! Enjoy.... After having a wonderful lunch at the Spiral Diner, a walk through the botanical gardens and a stimulating conversation about herbalists, I wanted to continue the positive feel of the day and clean my house. I turned on the TV for background music and was shocked by what I saw. The TV was tuned to one of the non-music music channels (you know who I mean!). I'm sure most of you have heard of this show (which in itself if horrifying), but for those that haven't, the series follows the most outrageous sweet 16 and quinceanera parties, the more outrageous and expensive the better. Entitled teenagers go on and on about how they deserve this party, the ultimate in grand entrances and who is worthy enough to attend. I was "fortunate" enough to catch the top 10 countdown. Not only that, I had turned on the #1 episode (most expensive bash ever reported). Larger than life on the screen was an obnoxious 16-year old boy, complaining about the fact that a certain Grammy-award winning music artist wasn't going to make it to perform at his birthday bash. Oh no! For the next 30 minutes (yes, I watched the whole train wreck) he paraded around as a pseudo-celebrity spending money with sheer abandonment - complaining the whole time. The swanky soiree came out to a whopping $1,384,000. Yup, that is the total for a birthday party for a 16-year-old kid. I don't know what is more disappointing, the fact that this kind of money isn't being put to better use, or the fact that we categorize this behavior as entertainment. You know what I would like to see? This same kid, stripped of his credit cards, fancy clothes and identity for just a week, living in one of the homeless communities in Atlanta. Or, this kid traveling to a remote village in Africa with $1,384,000 worth of medicine for needy children. I want to see that aired on television, but only if the kid learns something. I don't want to punish the kid, it's not his fault he was blessed with an affluent upbringing and every opportunity in life. I just want to impart a little knowledge to him, giving him some extra perspective. Tell him a story he may not have heard first-hand, and hopefully inspire him to use his blessings to also help others. To quote Eddy Murphy (in Coming to America) and of course the original Whitney Houston song, "I believe the children are our future, teach them well and let them lead the way." I will get off my soap box with this last question... what does a TV show like the one I've described teach our children... and ourselves. More importantly, what does it say about us as a community of people?

Posted in Blog, News

No Comments

  •