Before I write anything about this subject, I’d like to add a little disclaimer: I’m not a big fan of reality TV shows because I’m not sure they really portray reality. I’m not sure I would consider them art either, but for the sake of this blog, I will. I remember when they were first becoming popular and there weren’t that many being produced. Now it seems like that’s all I find when I flip through the channels on my TV. Granted, I only get about eleven channels at my house, so maybe I’m just not getting the full array of channel and show choices. Still, I’ve always wondered why reality shows seemed to intrigue people so much, myself included. I mean, do I really care so much about someone else’s daily life events that I am willing to sacrifice some of my own time and make watching their life events one of my life events? I almost wonder if the shows appeal to people because they give them the advantage of being on the outside of a person’s life looking in, allowing them to examine life without experiencing it. In the words of Lewis, “Art, indeed, may be expected to do what life cannot do: but so it has done. The bird escaped us. But it was at least tangled in the net for several chapters. We saw it close and enjoyed the plumage. How many ‘real lives’ have nets that can do as much?” (On Stories, 19). The shows attempt to “capture” reality and allow the viewers to watch it over and over again. This gives the viewers the chance to examine it and maybe even enjoy it in a way that they could not if they were actually experiencing the events in their own lives.
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