We are all just a bunch of rat junkies endlessly searching for our next fix of manufactured conflict and emotion. Reality television, or what old timers call "news" is just a series of endlessly trumped up mixtures of false scares and bogus triumphs. I have long been obsessed with how real events reverberate in popular culture (such as O.J. and politics) and how the television audience forms its opinions. In the case of the balloon boy hoax there will be much hand-wringing after the fact, many people will be angry, Wolf Blitzer might be forced to shave his beard, and people will say to themselves how terrible this Richard Henee is and he will become Americas newest villain. But Richard Henee gave us exactly what we wanted and what we deserve. We are a nation of slack-jawed rubberneckers who love us some reality T.V. We all pretend we do not know about octo-mom, john and Kate plus eight, watch hoarders (Garrett excluded) the hills, the bachelor, the bachelorette, flavor of love, rock of love, the list goes on and on. The fastest growing market in America, besides elastic waist pants, is reality television. In the words of a great author we "are amusing ourselves to death" as we shovel food in our mouths as we watch the biggest loser or celebrity fit club.
Just think about what it took for Richard Henee to pull this stunt off. Here is a man who wanted fame so badly that he made us think his kid was floating away on a balloon! This is a moder day Rupert Pumkin who knew that he would not get away with this nonsense but he was determined to entertain us in the way that we best love. Just picture him getting into character as he calls 911 and fakes the tragic/crying voice. When did he first tell his wife about this scheme and how did she agree to go along with it? Just listen to her call the sheriff! Give her the academy award!
The fame that this couple so desperately sought was ultimately betrayed by the innocent little actor who turned to his father and said, "you said we did it for the show." You cannot teach a six year old to be deceptive and his truth telling might just put his father behind bars. (where no doubt he will write his memoir and hit-up the talk shows upon his release)
So, if we really are so "angry" and so "outraged" at this stunt, what should we do? We can actually turn off the television, drown out the fake outrage with silence, go outdoors and take a walk. We can listen to music, write a friend a letter, or learn to play the guitar. Tonight, when I get home I am going to write a letter to an old friend thanking him for.................wait, hold-on, there is a car chase on T.V. with a child in the backseat. Sweet Lord in heaven! I must turn on the T.V. and watch this right now! What? A shark scare? A mom murders her own kids? More death, more anger, more yelling and screaming! Yes, give it to me! I must watch! I love it! I must watch television! I guess that letter will have to wait........
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I have written two responses and erased them both. I try hard to not watch this stuff on t.v. and give these sick attention-seeking people the high they get from making spectacles of themselves. If we focused more on real news without editorializing on the front page and kept our opinions to the opinion/editorial pages, we could discourage publicity for the crazies who must have constant attention. Give me Walter Cronkite, Tim Russert, who reported the news without getting wrapped up in the emotions of the news.
ReplyDeleteGreat post Matt. As the old adage goes.............if it bleeds it reads. And this story had plenty of that. As you state we have all been caught up in the bleed/read stories at one time or another. Perhaps it is an escape from reality that drives us to get caught up in the "moment" of these particular news grabbers. This type of story cannot help but dug at the heart strings when we think of a little boy being in a flying saucer 1,000+ feet above the earth. One cannot help but get trapped into the unknown of what will happen. In this case I feel very badly for the children who have been exploited by their parents for a nano second in the spotlight. A very interesting a thought provoking post into why so many stories grab our attention.
ReplyDeleteLove ya, Susan
This is a great topic, there are so many things going here. Number one, I was in Glendale at about 11:45 when my iphone started blowing up with multiple twitter updates.."cnn: there is a boy trapped in a balloon floating above Colorado" Ap News: Boy in balloon trapped!" I was instantly hooked and had to pull over to read more...I turned on KNX and KFWB and listened to the Newsreaders frantically giving us updates. I called Tasha and said "This is the greatest story ever!" During those two hours when I thought it was real I was mesmerized, it was the ultimate reality TV. And then fast forward to young Falcon Heene saying "You guys said we did it for the show" Why didn't Wolf Blitzer attack Richard right then and there? These newsreaders are so frustrating sometimes. Why was I so interested? Fear and voyerism. We think about what it would be like to have our own kid in a balloon, what would we do? That fear is so compelling you can't not watch. Watch any local news program and half of it is littered with "Scary News Teases" (What common household appliance could kill your child? We'll tell you about it at 11) Very few of it is actually news, it is just vacuous newsreaders reading nonsense in a practiced cadence.
ReplyDeletePeople don't admit that they watch as much TV as they actually do. Everyone watches tons of TV every day. But for whatever reason people feel like they will be looked at negatively by others if they admit it. I have written about this before on Grabbaggar(look it up to see more on this). In my opinion 98% of the dramas and comedies on TV are banal and uninteresting. "The Wire" Bascially made a joke of any network crime drama. Here is what I watch..Shows.."Mad Men" is hands down the best show on TV right now it is beyond brilliant. I also love to watch "Californication" "Curb Your Enthusiasm" "True Blood" "SNL" and a couple others...I also watch the four major sports all the time. For news commentary, nothing beats watching Olberman on MSNBC and immediately watching Hannity on FoxNews afterwards! And then there are the A&E shows, "Intervention" and "Hoarders" these shows are well produced, compelling, and endlessly entertaining! Now go watch more TV
(Oh and for those who care, I have read 50 books in the last 8 months too)