Reality framed.

Do we really like to watch other adult individuals cry on TV? Do we really like to watch people talk about their personal lives on TV? Do people really enjoy crying on TV? Do people really like talking about some very private issues or moments of their lives in public? I think they do. Why else would we have reality TV and why the hell would it get so popular?!

To give you examples, why does Indian Idol contest show have to wait till their contestants break down and cant endure the pressure anymore? Why cant they edit some of that part and say 'Take a quick break and we will be right back...'? Why does the game show host of Deal Ya No Deal have to literally wait to make the participant realise that he/she has lost a big amount (although there isnt much to be done to get or lose these big amounts)? Why do they ask questions like what are you going to do with that kind of money? Thats none of their business. And we as spectators do not wish to know.

I dont want to know why a person needs money and what he/she is going to do about it. I dont want to know what a contestant is going through when he/she gets voted out from a competition, I can imagine it myself. I am sensitive enough. Yes I love the interaction between viewers and the actual game, but I do not want to witness excessive emotional dramas at the expense of the privacy of the participants on the show.

Yes, these shows have been a huge success in other developed countries. Do we have to resort to the same cheap entertainment in our country too? Reality TV is interesting but then it can do away with these uncomfortable moments. They are not required. It makes the shows look cheap.

It makes me wonder whether any of their participants ever feel their privacy has been violated ever.

Kaun banegaa crorepati seems to be well-edited on this front.

There is another kind of media blunder that I just read about which makes you reflect even more whether there is something basically wrong here. Capturing the death of a live human being on camera and broadcasted it as exclusive coverage on the channel. Are these reporters not humans and dont they realise that it is as much their duty to save a life as any one else standing there? Since they are supposed to be aware of the wrong from right, shouldnt they be the first to help rather than commenting on how others around werent helping?? War reporters can be excused on this front, since there isnt much they can do to help. But what about reporters who watch a man die in front of their eyes during some demonstration?

weird.

-y.