Reality TV Is A Product, Not Necessarily The Root Of Our Cultural Erosion

The thing about bad reality TV is that, it wouldn’t exist if there weren’t addicts, freaks, morons, fame-f**kers, and weirdos to populate the shows. Yes, reality television exploits these people, and often exaggerates their issues. But the Honey Boo Boo show wouldn’t exist if there weren’t a Honey Boo Boo, Hoarders wouldn’t exist unless there were real-life hoarders, the Real Housewives wouldn’t exist unless there were dilatory, fame-whore housewives with wealthy husband enablers. Reality television, sadly, is more of a mirror to our cultural erosion rather than its chief cause. Spend an hour at any Wal-Mart in the country (no offense to Wal-Mart shoppers), and you’ll likely see at least half a dozen reality-show prospects.

This video right here, amusing though it is, is sadly indicative of that. It’s from the reality game show, “Moment of Truth,” in which contestants take a polygraph test then are asked increasingly personal questions. If they lie, they forego their cash prize, which can reach $25,000. In the clip below, a man is asked if he’s attracted to any of his wife’s sisters, if he’s ever slept with any of his friend’s girlfriends, etc., etc. While watching it, your first instinct will be, “This show is horrible (and it is!), kind of gross, unreasonably exploitative.”

But then the punchline comes at the very end of the one-minute 14 second clip, a moment in which you lose complete sympathy for the asshole undergoing the exam, remind yourself that he subjected himself to this, that he’s doing it for money, and that he and his family are as big a part of the problem as the show itself. This lousy reality game show is simply giving these people a stage upon which to let the world know how much they suck.

Stick around until the 1:13 mark.