Watching tonight’s Amazing Race it is amazing how conditioned I have become to the premise of a reality show that we are watching for the worst of human behaviour to come out. No one appears now with six teams left to consider that it is a game. Like Survivor, they are obsessed, they are mean and they are looking to trip the others as much physically as in the game. Like Fear Factor there is the barfing test.
I watched the movie Network last weekend and ever since, I can’t get over how accurate many of its implicit forecasting was, the obsession with the stupid and the sensational. I wonder if there will ever be a peaking followed by a reversion to more conservative views of “reality” – will the last few years be noted for how sordid this stuff is or how tame?
