Reckoning with Reality TV
The reckoning of Vanderpump Rules has charged on and I am sure some are tempted to think, “with all that is going on, why should I care about a reality show?” This particular reality show is very popular. Popular is of the people. I won’t go into my acac-babble about how mass culture serves as the modern folklore of a culture. It’s widespread, and people engage with it so of course, it matters. And what else is that I, and others, contain multitudes, so there is enough room in our brains to care about this and defunding the police.
I’m reckoning with my longtime viewing of Vanderpump Rules. The reason I watched the show was because they were horrible, but I still let it slide because it was entertainment. They felt (and were) characters on my screen and I was displaced from their real-world harm. There, are, however, many people that find these women aspirational. So, as a consumer, I was supporting it. It’s also a show I was very attached to, something that I turned to blot out the stresses in my own life for over a decade. Giving up a television show holds no candle to being murdered by the police, but processing our own losses is important especially when a change in mass culture is key.
ABC also announced the first Black Bachelor. I’m not surprised; if they did not have the next one be a black man, then the show would have just dug its own grave. It’s not fan service, it’s a business.
In the interest of elevating black voices, there are two podcasts I listened to this week that provide excellent conversations about why popular/mass/low culture still matters in this fight.
The first Black Bachelorette talks about how she feels about the hurried announcement of the new bachelor, and how it seems like a band-aid right now. I love Rachel and her very rational, realistic takes on the show.
Comedian Ziew on Sexy Unique Podcast, a show I adore. They speak about the complicity of watching the show up until now and how there is still misogynistic and sexist underpinnings of the Stassi/Kristen firing, considering there are men on the show that have acted in disgusting, harmful ways.
Other podcasts made by black artists that I recommend in these times:
There are only two others, because these are the two I truly listen to. This is a wake up call for me to broaden my podcast interests.
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What to look forward to:
Academia shenanigans
More Showgirls, the novelization
Recommendations of culture to consume at home
Various recaps
Possibly some fiction…?