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Wasting the Tube

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MCT Campus

The brilliant CBS correspondent Morley Safer once said, “reality TV is sleazy, it is manipulative. It is as momentary as anything in popular culture.”

I agree. To me, reality shows are total junk. They cast light on people who don’t deserve such fame.

Some shows are worse than others. These three are the ones that the producers must pull the plug on now in order to keep societal sanity from going extinct.

1. The Bachelor/Bachelorette

From the time of their inceptions, have received enormous criticism for falsely creating human relationships. I mean, out of the 24 couples that have won since the first season, just five are still together in the present day. So then why has nobody abolished these ill-fated dating shows? They’ve each claimed spots on TV for over a decade. Many of the participants have gone on to become A-listers, sporting too many UsWeekly covers. Whatever happened to real, actual dating?

 

2. 19 Kids and Counting

Everything on this TLC series is like a sugarcoated, fluffy donut. The Duggars make themselves out to seem like this happy, Christian family. This is misconstrued. I’m not going to preach my political views here, but it’s obvious that this family is extremely far right Conservative. They consider birth control to be sinful, dictate gender roles and believe that overpopulation is a myth. In addition, while onscreen it seems like the family members never fight, I’m skeptical of the editing going on. No family is as peaceful as the Duggars are portrayed, especially with a clan of that size. Like look at the Kardashians. They have just six kids and a home environment that could qualify as World War III. Therefore, 19 Kids and Counting show must be cancelled, unless there’s an episode where Jim Bob and Michelle get into a screaming match.

3. Toddlers and Tiaras

I’m not super original for my complaints about this show; I just need to let off some steam. Seeing these little girls walk across a stage in absurdly expensive dresses and gallons of makeup, I almost burst into tears. I have a cousin around this age. She wears princess dresses, but they’re maybe $30 and if she smears chocolate on them, nobody will hurt her. MedlinePlus defines child abuse as “doing something that results in harm or risk of harm.” How is this not a representation of such abuse? If forcing false teeth into a crying seven-year-old’s bloody gums is not harmful, what is?

It would be nice if all reality shows could just pack their bags and exit the public view. I know that’s never going to happen, but these three should at least give it a try.

They’re the ultimate embarrassment to this nation.

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About the Contributor
Justine Seligson, Photo Coordinator
Being a self-described political junkie and a teen travel writer, Justine Seligson '15 is not only, without a doubt,  a well rounded student and basically a mother's dream, but also a very unique addition to the staff. Seligson is extremely modest about her accomplishments, but it is very clear that her extensive journalistic experience outside of Inklings has largely influenced her presence on the paper. "I have a column on teen travel on my parent's website, which is called Farewell Travels," Seligson said. "It's a very different type of writing [than Inklings] but it's definitely helped me to grow as a journalist overall." Seligson goes on to describe the plethora of exquisite articles she has written for her column over the years. Seligson further explained how her experiences in traveling have shaped her journalistic presence in a large way. She explains why she is nonchalant about the amazing experiences she has had traveling the globe, explaining that it has always been a way of life for her and her family. "My family travels all the time," she said. "It's just part of our business." However, Seligson says that "...[she] would a much different writer if [she] hadn't traveled so much." She casually mentions how much of an impact a pre-college Kenyan writing program had on her, as what an honor it was to be featured in the National Geographic Student Edition. "It made me realize that even though journalism may supposedly be a dying business, there may be some hope for me to pursue my dream career," she said. With her in-depth knowledge of travel and politics, Seligson is sure to be an interesting voice on the paper this year. She hopes to improve her writing and photography even more this year, as well as to help other staff members to increase the quality of their own photographs.

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