No barbed wire in milk
Image source: Dall-e
Sounds silly but...
When I was studying for my law exam as a Pharmacist in the United States I had to read through the RCW (laws) of Washington state. There were some odd laws and one of them was that milk must not be adulterated and adding barbed wire to milk was illegal.
Now I will admit two things:
- I don't think that the law should have to state no barbed wire in milk
and
- I do expect that my milk be free from barbed wire.
But do we really need to make a law for that?
In a perfect world we wouldn't have to because it should be common sense that if you are selling milk there should only be milk in there.
Protein bars
What do protein bars have to do with getting what you pay for?
Seems odd to even mention. But....
When buying food protein is often the most expensive ingredient in any food product. Fats are fairly cheap, carbohydrates are even cheaper, but protein? Protein gets expensive. As I'm trying to lose weight I'm constantly looking at packages trying to find the most protein for the least number of calories. In Canada it is pretty easy, just look for a decent protein bar and 20g of protein and a couple hundred calories. In Surabaya where I'm on vacation the protein bars tend to have much less protein with 2-4g per serving being average. I really had to look for one that was 7g per serving. But so what?
Well, people DO look at the labels when it comes to how much protein. That is especially true when looking at things like dog food and baby formula. Even a small boost in protein and your baby formula or dog kibble will often sell better. Which is why both have been adulterated with melamine in the past. It's simple: Add a little melamine before testing and your product looks more nutritious and more profits come in.
The problem is that melamine causes kidney failure and both dogs and babies have died because people were not getting what they paid for!
When I look at a protein bar I expect the protein to be real and the ingredient listing to be honest!
What does that have to do with television?
Today's Hive Learner post was about television and specifically about reality television. I'm going to look at the history of television first before I delve into modern reality TV. When television first came out people were worried about its effects on people and society. There were very strict rules about what you could show. Good was good. Bad was bad. Sex didn't exist and funny enough neither did washrooms/toilets. Governments, churches and broadcasters wanted TV to be sterile and show "good behavior" only.
Over time society grew up and the rules became far more lax. Take a series like "Game of Thrones" with sex, backstabbing and far more mature storylines than would ever pass in the early age of television. While I enjoyed Game of Thrones I could quite happily put any number of different series on Television there instead and it would be the same thing over and over.
As television grew up, so did the story lines, and the moral ambiguity
But as we fast forward even further in time social media, YouTube, TikTok and many other forms of media grew and fast. Now anyone can make content and anyone can get paid for it. Television had to cut costs and actively compete for viewers. That seems to have led to a lot of biased news, fake reality television, and often poor quality programming. Sure there are some true gems but also some real garbage.
Finding the balance
Honestly I'm quite glad I don't have to watch television that has been written with a straightjacket on it. When I was young I watched shows like "Mr. Ed" and "Leave it to Beaver" and I didn't enjoy the black and white. Not just that the colour was only black and white but that the morality and viewpoints were black and white. Quite bland and very difficult to tell a mature story.
Enter the age of colour and everything became more vibrant. Special effects got better but storylines also evolved. Things weren't just black and white but there was nuance to things. Stories got bolder and more mature and it made for very good watching. I am ever so glad that the regulators loosened the rules.
If I am glad they loosened the rules why do I balk at current television? Well, it all goes back to getting what I pay for. Or at least I expect the marketing not to lie to me.
If I watch the news I expect it to be fair and unbiased. I want anything marketed as "News" to be just that and not laced with propaganda.
If I watch a reality television show I want it to be real, not staged. I would hazard a guess that reality television isn't actually real, but rather something curated to look real but also designed to pander to what the audience wants. That irritates me.
In Short.
I don't want barbed wire in my milk.
I don't want melamine in my protein bars.
I don't want "fake" in my reality television
Sure there is a bit of leeway for artistic license and editing to keep things flowing a little more quickly.
One other face of false marketing
One other face of "real television" is something that is also rife on social media.
Framing
Look at people on reality television and the look isn't their actual look. I remember hearing that Julia Roberts (actress) say that even she didn't look like Julia Roberts when she got up in the morning. Hair, makeup, special effects, lighting and more all go into making an alluring image that isn't really the truth. Reality television? Same thing. I'm going to say that there is a lot of work done to make things look much better, much worse, or much steamier than it really is. A big old pile of fake thrown into something marketed as real.
In a TV show marketed as a story or for a movie? Awesome. I'm currently enjoying Star Trek: Starfleet Academy and I can guarantee many of those people don't look like real life. No problem...the show isn't marketed as truth but it is absolutely marketed as fiction. My issue is when people market something as real when it is very much not so.
Answering the Hive Learners prompt
Should reality television be banned?
No. It can be very entertaining
BUT
It should have a disclaimer, warnings, or other descriptions so people KNOW that it is just for fun and not actual life.
I'm okay with the content...just not the lie that it is "real" or depicts "reality" because that normalizes a bunch of bad behavior and brings unattainable expectations to impressionable youth and teens