Desensitization Of Audiences By Reality Television Essay - 1

Desensitization Of Audiences By Reality Television - Essay Example The traditional reality shows are separated into two distinct types, those that involve a goal, competition or prize to be earned, like Americas Next Top Model, Hell’s Kitchen, or Survivor and the second form that simply and solely follow people through their daily lives for no other purpose than from the spectacle of watching their â€Å"real† lives unfold as entertainment; this includes shows like Jersey Shore and any and all shows beginning with the words â€Å"†¦The Housewives of†¦Ã¢â‚¬  or Kardashian. We watch them laugh, cry, embarrass themselves, scream, yell, and very often fight each other, not just for our entertainment, but, also, for our desire and opportunity to judge these people’s lives. While it would be unfair to blame television and other forms of visual entertainment, for the actions and behaviors of viewers; individuals simply have to be more accountable for their actions they should not be able to â€Å"pass the buck† so ea sily. However, I do think that our entertainment today has desensitized us in many ways throughout the years. Therefore, George F. Will was quite right in his assessment that the violence visited upon others, darker and darker perspectives and the public degradation of others is no longer as shocking and unpleasantly received as it once was (200!). There was time, long before the age of reality television, when television shows were held to very strict ethical and moral standards, that today we would say borders on censorship, were levied on shows aired. For example, there was a time when all married couples in television shows were only ever seen sleeping in separate twin beds, people could not wear anything that exposed a naked navel, audiences never heard a swear word, and gratuitous violence was never shown and seldom discussed outside of metaphors and undertones.