Bank of Hollywood

I saw this commercial for a new show coming out entitled Bank of Hollywood. After all the talk about reality TV and different types of television I thought this was a very interesting new take on a game show/reality TV series. People go up on stage tell the panel of judges what their story is and how much money they want to try to win, and then try to impress the judges enough to get them to give them money, supposedly out of their own pockets (ya right). I really want to see how this show will do, it seems like a good and unique idea, but will people watch this? Will you guys?

Jersey Shore

I can't believe I'm writing about this show, but it really pisses me off to the point that I have to vent somewhere. My girlfriend watches this crap, and I am stuck sitting next to her on the couch watching it too. For those who have never seen it Jersey Shore is a reality TV series about "those guys" aka "my new haircut guys" or muscle head guidos from New Jersey. I personally think these people are the scum of the earth, shallow retards, who have no cares in the world other than going to the gym, getting haircuts, and going out. According to my girlfriend that is particularly what she likes about the show, that she watches it to laugh at them, and how stupid they are. I on the other hand feel stupider watching them. Maybe I just don't get it. Do any of you?

Media Coverage...

I really don't get why the media always tries to ruin celebrities lives. Tiger woods, the newest subject of all controversy, every day there is a new girl who comes out to the media, who allegedly slept with Tiger. How did Tiger Woods go from a car crash to a huge scandal involving over ten women now. I don't understand why the media does this. Why did they follow Brittany Spears until she went crazy and flipped out on the paparazzi? I mean I know it's entertaining, but celebrities are not gerbils that we can look at and laugh, they are people and they have real lives too. Tiger Woods isn't even an entertainer, he's a professional athlete, what's the point of publicizing his private matters like that?

Oprahs Comments

So I never really had a problem with Oprah, but what I heard this past week really got to me. According to a Facebook group I was invited to, Oprah was giving her viewers tips for how to save money during hard economic times. One of her ingenious tips was to tip servers less when you go out, supposedly she said something like "instead of leaving the usual 20% it's o.k. to leave 10% if money is tight".

Well Oprah, as a part time server, I have to say that this is not o.k. in the LEAST bit. I am appalled that someone like Oprah would even say something so dumb. But really though servers whole salary is the gratuity they receive from their tables. Other than that servers get paid 2.63$ an hour BEFORE taxes which is essentially nothing. Being a server I took this comment very personally. I think that through her show, utilizing her media influence, Oprah's stupid little comment could have done a lot of damage.

Intervention

Out of all reality TV shows I think the most serious and real show is Intervention. For those who don't know what I'm talking about, the show follows victims of various different types of addiction throughout their daily lives. Each show is essentially a documentary about an addict of some sort, and they show their families, and their feelings about the addiction through interviews. At the end of each episode an intervention is planned and implemented on the subjects by the host and their whole family. Compared to all of the stupid MTV reality shows, I actually think this show is very interesting and educational. Not all reality TV sucks, there is still hope...

Free Choice?

In our discussions of free market and free choice, I couldn't get a sense of what people thought about our free choice. Do we have free choice? or is our choice/ market actually limited by factors out of our control? Things like huge media conglomerates and bias news stations, etc. I really would like to see how people perceive this other than me.

I think that we do have free choice, we just don't have a completely free market. Like I just said the market, or our choices, are limited or changed by things beyond our control. So although we can choose, the choice you want in particular may not always be available.

Adult Cartoons

I have always thought that it was very interesting that there are cartoons for adults. Typically when you think of a cartoon it is very childish, very fun, it is not meant for adults, and no serious topics are usually involved. Well in the case of South Park, Family Guy, and The Simpsons that is not the case. These cartoons are made for adults, their subject matter includes political, entertainment, and current events humor, things that children would simply not comprehend. I remember watching the Simpsons when I was younger (8-10) and not understanding 75% of the humor, now I understand everything, and think it's hilarious. What I find interesting about this phenomenon is that the chosen medium for this political satire is a cartoon. A fun way to represent current events, politics, and other news to adults.