"Reality" TV not the real thing

By Jane Muhlstein

Have you ever been offered $50,000 to lie in a box full of tarantulas? Has anyone ever offered to fly you to a French chateau where you would be courted by a handsome, and allegedly wealthy, young man?

Of course not. These are not things that happen in real life. They do happen, however, nearly every night on network television and, though we may not want to admit it, many of us tune in almost religiously. Many of us, in fact, are hooked. Why is it that we find ourselves watching shows that are unrealistic, shallow and often fairly sad?

I have never been a big fan of reality TV. I watched certain seasons of "The Real World," but I have resisted the reality TV craze of the last several years for as long as I possibly could. I am proud to say that I have never seen an episode of "Survivor" and completely missed out on last summer's much talked about "American Idol." Unfortunately, I have finally given in.

It happened on a Sunday night as I once again procrastinated on my homework. My roommate turned on the TV to watch a reality show she had just discovered: "High School Reunion." The premise is that 17 high school classmates gather at a resort on Maui for two weeks for their 10 year high school reunion.

The group is comprised of people from various high school cliques, who are still labeled by their high school reputations.

"The Tall Girl" has come to the island in hopes of finally revealing her continuing love to "The Player." Unfortunately, he has set his sights on "The Popular Girl."

The saga winds its way through the group, including everyone in some sordid way. It's sad, really, that these characters are bound by the labels and painful memories of high school.

It's even sadder that millions of people tune in every Sunday night to watch it.

I guess the greatest appeal of reality TV shows is that they are really an escape from reality. For half an hour, we can laugh at the embarrassing questions girls are asked by the parents of a potential boyfriend while strapped to a lie detector. We can insult all the women lining up like cattle to be rejected by their dream guy. We can sit back and watch these shows with ease because deep down we know that it's all make-believe.