Reality Family Shows are Ridiculous

So, opponent, why did you accept this debate?

I liked your name (don’t think about the bloody mary) and the topic was interesting but indefensible.

I am right. The Reality Family shows these days are so dumb they’re funny.

Funny has a real purpose so that’s definitely not ridiculous (deserving or inviting derision or mockery; absurd). Laughter has any number of benefits and humor is a core essential need for everyone. You cannot possibly be right since you’re expressing an opinion.

That’s actually where I would go with this one. You could say you’re most certainly right since you’re only expressing a personal opinion (my argument not mentioned by Pro). I would then argue that your debate implies a general ‘truth’ claim and we could have had a semantic/kritic battle going.

I mean come on, what is so amazing about them? They are not like Reba. They don't teach lessons that we can learn. I'm right and you know it.

Opinions aren’t right or wrong and I’m sure you know that. It’s not literally true that all of these shows are futile. I learned a lot about people and the limits of endurance and character watching ‘deadliest catch’ [6]. It’s a show that focuses on crab fisherman and their families. It was entertaining and helped me to see that my situation wasn’t all that bad, compared to crab fishermen anyway.

I’ve never watched Reba but you’re claiming it has some value conceding that not all family reality shows are ridiculous.

Lesson’s Learned

I don’t really watch a lot of reality tv but ‘The Osbournes’ [3] showed me an alternate view of the world that’s dissimilar from my experiences. Though often coached or slightly scripted you are getting interesting highlights from real lives. That’s true of every family ‘reality’ tv show. Many shows, like 30 days [4] or undercover boss [5] explicitly explore themes designed to help people understand and empathize with others.

I’ve never watching keeping up with the kardashians [1] or Jersey Shore [2] but I have learned a lot about what the U.S. culture values just from reading up on the shows and reflection of our culture. Not encouraging things but still.

Futility

Your claim is that there is no real purpose to these shows, that they should be shunned and avoided. They are not and attract a large audience. For me, that’s the point. Why are we watching these shows as a nation? Watching them is a snapshot of a lot of poor cultural trends.

Now that I think about it, I’ll have to watch more and encouraged any thinking activist types to as well.

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Reality shows are just a mirror. It shows us what we value, think about and desire. It’s a black mirror (crazy creepy Netflix binge) but we really need to take a good look. Reality tv is an informative pop cultural phenomena and we owe it to ourselves to understand why. Reality tv for 2020!

[1] http://www.imdb.com...

[2] http://www.imdb.com...

[3] http://www.imdb.com...

[4] http://www.imdb.com...

[5] http://www.imdb.com...