Time was, entertainment was pretty straightforward and binary: If it ended with a wedding it was a comedy. Bloodshed. murder and mayhem just before the curtain? Well, that's your tragedy.
And that, pretty much, was the sum total of the entertainment experience, from Oedipus Rex through Rex Harrison. From Homer the Greek to Homer the Simpson, we got our extasis and catharsis from one, the other or some clever combination of both. Well, that tidy little two-mask model has taken a hit in recent years. And the punch comes from the bizarrely-named genre of 'Reality'.
That this has come to pass is obvious. The main reason is also well-known: compared to Dramatic Series or Sit-Coms, Reality is relatively cheap to produce. What I can't figure out is...what is it? And why do people watch it?
Whatever the 'Reality' genre is, it's not Documentary. At their best, Docs are an analogue to the literary form of 'Creative Non-Fiction'. At their simplest, they're straight journalism. 'Reality' is neither. Mostly, it has antecedents in game shows (also cheap to make) and rock 'em sock 'em 'You're right there!' shows like 'Cops'. All pretty bad stuff.
So what do we get out of the third form? It sure isn't catharsis. The drama is really slim. How are we enlightened when, after suffering through 42 minutes of a 44-minute episode, we find out which pretty young thing will get the rose? This aside from the fact that it's all about as genuine as the wrestling we used to be enticed to attend, as thirteen-year olds at the Global TV studio. Even then we knew it was goofy. 'Championship Wrestling' didn't have to be drama-ed up with ominous jungle drums, cheap tiki torches and 'alliances' between scheming competitors. Reality isn't even trying to be real. But the fact that it's hackneyed, maudlin and, well, unreal isn't the problem. Nor is the fact that everyone knows it's goofy.
And that, pretty much, was the sum total of the entertainment experience, from Oedipus Rex through Rex Harrison. From Homer the Greek to Homer the Simpson, we got our extasis and catharsis from one, the other or some clever combination of both. Well, that tidy little two-mask model has taken a hit in recent years. And the punch comes from the bizarrely-named genre of 'Reality'.
That this has come to pass is obvious. The main reason is also well-known: compared to Dramatic Series or Sit-Coms, Reality is relatively cheap to produce. What I can't figure out is...what is it? And why do people watch it?
Whatever the 'Reality' genre is, it's not Documentary. At their best, Docs are an analogue to the literary form of 'Creative Non-Fiction'. At their simplest, they're straight journalism. 'Reality' is neither. Mostly, it has antecedents in game shows (also cheap to make) and rock 'em sock 'em 'You're right there!' shows like 'Cops'. All pretty bad stuff.
So what do we get out of the third form? It sure isn't catharsis. The drama is really slim. How are we enlightened when, after suffering through 42 minutes of a 44-minute episode, we find out which pretty young thing will get the rose? This aside from the fact that it's all about as genuine as the wrestling we used to be enticed to attend, as thirteen-year olds at the Global TV studio. Even then we knew it was goofy. 'Championship Wrestling' didn't have to be drama-ed up with ominous jungle drums, cheap tiki torches and 'alliances' between scheming competitors. Reality isn't even trying to be real. But the fact that it's hackneyed, maudlin and, well, unreal isn't the problem. Nor is the fact that everyone knows it's goofy.
No, there's something else at work here. Something voyeuristic, humiliating and moralistic. Think 'Intervention', where the addicted and afflicted are seen as they finally, finally, reach bottom and are 'rescued' by their concerned families while the tape rolls. That's entertainment? Apparently. And, taken to its awful, logical extreme - televised executions, say - it's pretty ugly.
But who, aside from the Taliban, would take it there? Why, Fox, of course. There's this new show featuring a tough sheriff down Arizona way. And we get to follow him as he keeps Law And Order by rounding up all kinds of 'illegals' should they have the grave misfortune of entering his jurisdiction. When caught, they're dressed up in B&W striped prison garb - I kid you not - and roughly paraded before the whizzing, whirring cameras.
But who, aside from the Taliban, would take it there? Why, Fox, of course. There's this new show featuring a tough sheriff down Arizona way. And we get to follow him as he keeps Law And Order by rounding up all kinds of 'illegals' should they have the grave misfortune of entering his jurisdiction. When caught, they're dressed up in B&W striped prison garb - I kid you not - and roughly paraded before the whizzing, whirring cameras.
We're a million miles away from 'So You Think You Can Dance' here. This is using the plight and desperation of the dispossessed as entertainment. It's Klan-tastic!
The Greeks came to believe - albeit after much argument - that dramatic entertainment, whether the mask was happy or sad, could elevate us. I don't know what the 'Reality Mask' looks like, but the face behind it is definitely ugly.
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