Oprah, Octomom, Jersey Shore, Charlie Sheen. Reality Television and what it really says about the people who watch it

I recently watched an episode of the Oprah Winfrey Show where Oprah and Suze Orman interviewed Nadya Suleman, better known as the Octomom-so named because of her controversial decision to give birth to 8 babies while not married or employed. For an hour the duo bombarded Nayda with questions about her finances, her decision to give birth to so many children when she already had six other children, and whether or not she had plastic surgery.

I have some very strong opinions about the interview and the way it was conducted, but that isn't the reason that I am writing this hub. During the interview when Orman asked Nayda if she considered herself a celebrity she said something that really struck me. Nayda said that she wasn't a celebrity because she didn't earn the title. In her opinion she hadn't done anything that deserved the title of celebrity-she was simply a baby breeder and having babies was not a reason for fame. The Octomom, as the press had dubbed her, was simply a character created by a overzealous media in an attempt to garner ratings and viewers.

I have to say that I agree with what she said. She hadn't done anything worthy of being called a celebrity. She doesn't possess any special talents, didn't invent any noteworthy gadget, and hasn't done anything that makes the world a better place. She simply had a large number of babies at one time, something that happens multiple times, every day, all over the world. So why the hype about Nayda?  I think the answer to that question says more about our society today rather than the "Octomom" herself.

There was a time when to be considered a celebrity you had to do something or posssess a talent that was both postitive and noteworthy. You worked for the title, it wasn't given out arbitrarily. You had to have some special quality that set you apart from from everyone else. Fred Estaire danced, Bob Hope sang and told jokes, and Bing Crosby acted and belted out songs like noone else. John Wayne was the ultimate tough guy-and what man alive didn't want to be in the same room as Marilyn Monroe?

Fast forward to the early 80's and the people who interviewed famous individuals began to distinguish themselves earn celebrity status. Barbara Walters, Oprah Winfrey, and even Johnny Carson are celebrities in their own right because they knew how to ask the right questions and go places that we ordinary people can only dream of. I remember spending hours each afternoon watching Merv Griffin and even Dick Clark interview the famous actors and singers that I read about in magazines and watched on the television.

Although the show Cops had been on television beginning in the late 80's the first real reality show appeared on MTV in 1992. The Real World New York, a show about a group of strangers who lived together in a New York City apartment ushered in a whole new type of celebrity. The reality show celebrity. The person who didn't necessarily have a talent of any sort, just the desire to see themself on television. And that is where the trouble began.

After the initial success of MTV's The Real World reality shows began to slowly trickle onto the airwaves. They became so popular that soon you couldn't turn on the television without seeing one. Survivor, Big Brother and Fear Factor dominated network television, while The Anna Nicole Show, The Swan, and Celebrity Fit Club occupied cable television time slots. The "Reality Show Star" was born.

To be a reality show star individividuals didn't have to be anything special or have any sort of talent. They simply had to have the ability to draw an audience and some producer some where would design a show around them. Who can forget such memorable shows like: Who Wants To Marry a Millionairewhere an audience chose a millionairemate for reality show princess Darva Conger? How about Are You Hot? where contestants who thought they looked good were put under the microscope by Lorenzo Lamas and his flaw finding laser pointer? Maybe you remember I Know My Kid Is a Star where stage moms and dads pimped out their not so talented children in the hope that they would become famous. Finally, do you remember my favorite show, The Pickup Artist where a fascinating (yet attractively challenged) guy named Mystery showed fellow geeks how to pick up women?

None of the people on these shows had any special talents. They never developed anything that helped out mankind in any way. They were just regular people who wanted attention and were willing to do just about anything to get it. Why else would they voluntarily eat something as vile as cow intestines or have themselves placed in a room full of spiders, bugs, and snakes like the contestants on Fear Factor did on a regular basis?

There are some really good reality shows out there that actually serve a purpose and are worth watching. Although it is not a personal favorite of mine American Idol is a positive reality show that weeds out untalented attention seekers and gives vocally blessed people across the United States the opportunity to display their gift to the nation. Though not necessarily a positive show Bravo's Intervention does help people with addictions who have hit rock bottom by getting them the help they so desperately need-and in the process give hope to others who are struggling. These shows, while not the best on television, are at least positive, you can feel good after watching them and rooting for the people on them to succeed.

But more often than not new reality shows get their rating by glorifying people doing things that are less than positive and acting in ways that are morally unacceptable. Shows like Jersey Shore showcase young adults behaving outrageously and viewers watch hoping to see them get drunk, get into fights, have sex, and break the law, and there in lies the problem. What does it say about our society when we watch a show hoping to see other's fail or get into trouble? What is the payoff we receive by watching the pain of others or secretly hoping that the people on the shows "get what's coming to them" due to our unfavorable perception of who they are?

A perfect example of this would be watching Camille Grammer on the 2010-2011 season of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills while at the same time knowing that her husband planned to divorce her and marry another woman. I have to admit that as I watched the whole ugly scenario play out I actually found myself saying that Camille deserved what she got because of how she acted on the show. I wanted her to get "knocked down a peg or two" because of the things she said and the way she acted toward people, not to mention the fact that she was beautiful and had millions of dollars. I never stopped to consider what these feelings actually said about ME. Truth be told, I was jealous-not of Camille herself but of the things that she had. I mean honestly who in their right mind would not want to be filthy rich, have a dozen beautiful homes all over the world, and be able to have anything they wanted?

But what does my negative feelings toward her say about my character? Truth be told it says that I am just as shallow as I claim that she is. By not taking time to consider what she had to do to accumulate the wealth that she has proves the point. The fact of the matter is no one gave her and her former husband anything, they had to earn it, and they didn't earn it by sitting on their behinds watching reality shows. They worked for it, and because of that why should anyone besmirch her anything?

That being said I believe that she has some serious character issues that she needs to deal with but really WHO DOESN'T? I do and I would gamble that you have some character flaws too. I'm not always as nice as I should be to people and sometimes I say off color things about others-the only difference between Camille and myself is that my utterings aren't broadcast on television (thank God!).

The truth of the matter is that people watch reality shows because they want to see a train wreck so they can justify their own bad behavior. They want the ability to point at others and say, "Well look at what so and so is doing-what I am doing in my private life isn't half as bad as what he does." When in reality it is.

The latest train wreck playing itself out on the television airwaves that the public at large can't seem to get enough of is the implosion of actor Charlie Sheen. You can't turn the television on without seeing his wide eyed rantings about his addiction issues and the problems that he is having in both his personal and professional lives. We're also getting a front row seat to view all of the opportunists from prostitutes to producers who are making money off of his antic and at his expense. Everyone is waiting for the next bomb to drop and my question is WHY?

The answer to that question can be answered with two simple words: Jealousy and Justification.