I'm not a fan of reality shows, so I have seen only a couple of episodes of "Jon and Kate Plus Eight". Well, let me rephrase that ... I occasionally click onto the "Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency" -- accidentally -- and then I am trapped there. It's like a giant vortex that draws me in and I can't escape. Janice Dickinson is delightfully nasty -- a combination of every wicked witch ever created by Walt Disney. She has a voice like fingernails on a blackboard as she hurls insults to everyone around her. I love her...!But I digress...
I've watched only one or two episodes of "Jon and Kate Plus Eight", and that was enough for me. I felt a bit like a voyeur, and I don't understand the fascination with this couple and their eight children. But the one thing that did occur to me is, why would an ordinary couple like this put their small children's lives out there for the whole world to watch? Children are innocent, and they trust the big people in their lives. They trust that Mommy and Daddy are doing everything to protect them, to make sure they are cared for and tucked into bed every night with a bedtime story and a song. The big bad world is still far outside their doors, and for most children it should stay outside their doors for a very long time. Why would anyone invite the world into their home to watch their family's day to day intimate life? And why are people interested in watching? I don't understand it.
It now appears that things are getting a bit dicey in Jon and Kate's marriage. There are allegations of infidelity. Those little children are soon going to be painfully aware that either Mommy or Daddy -- or both -- are "playing footsies" under the table with someone either than Mommy or Daddy. This family has been artificially made into celebrities. Mommy is now on the cover of this week's issue of People Magazine saying, "We might split up." I don't know these people, but that broke my heart when I saw that. We are watching the dissolution of the marriage of a perfectly normal couple -- live and in living color. Whether or not there is infidelity going on -- and the allegations may be untrue -- I think Jon and Kate should close the window on their private lives -- for the sake of their children. How many of you out there would want the whole world watching your children's private lives? What does that say about us, that we settle down in front of the TV in the evening, with our bowl of popcorn, and call this entertainment? I feel so sad for this family.
I think I'll stick to watching Janice Dickinson. She's wicked, she's evil, she's fun, and all the folks at her house are big kids.
20 comments:
LOL JO!! great points ! I dont watch much TV. I think Planet Earth is the first program ive watch from start to finish in years !
Reasons for displaying all the sordid details;
1. The world needed to see 6 kids learn how to poop on a potty chair
2. 1.1 million dollar house in the burbs
3. The whining and crying of the more normal 2.2 children growing up as not enough
4. Fame and celebrity for a control freak and the wimp that married her
5. Free stuff, from diapers to someone to fold the damn laundry after someone else did it, while someone else does the grocery shopping
6. Making really bad hair cuts popular
7. Proves that some people are pretty crazy when it comes to laboratory induced fertilization
8. With reality star celebrity they can get other reality star celebrities to come and do stuff for them
9. Makes a strong case for bachelorhood and the single life
10. Will in the future prove beneficial by keeping the psychiatric and mental health professionals employed
Shades of the old Italian playwright Pirandello.
Eight--ten? Characters in Search of an Author.
A sitcom in the Pain Industry.
...Had a job there once. Didn't like.
I think TWM's points were right on the money. Still, I don't think the couple have done too badly by their children till now. Hope they sort it out and not let TV ratings come before family.
Yes! I could not agree more! why have such beautiful chidlren and then pop them in front of a camera all day long?
Lee-ann
Okay... I confess. I haven't heard of either of these TV shows or these people. I went on Google and typed in Janice Dickinson -- is there really a TV show that shows these people??! Heh!
After seeing this, I didn't bother looking up Jon and Kate -- it all sounds rather strange...! But all I watch on TV is Cardinals baseball and the news, so....!
Wait! I did watch some of the Celebrity Apprentice shows and that was enough for me... heh!
Take care.
I didn't know there was such a show - sounds outlandish to me!
I did read the "OctoMom" is trying to put together a show about her children; hope it fizzles!!!
I've never liked reality shows because they aren't real; too often they represent the worst in people.
I think I agree with The Walking Man's input.
I'd sooner read a good book and listen to music than watch television anyway. I watch the food channels; the PBS documentaries, and C-Span discussions - catch the weather report and that's pretty much it for me and TV.
I miss the old comedy shows and variety shows they used to have as well as there's way too much advertising that bores me to death!
I try to catch Turner Classic Movies; no commercial interruptions and sometimes some nice musicals or interesting movies with real plots and believable people who know how to act.
Diane
Since I moved to Greece about five years ago I nearly stopped watching tv, lately the local channels are having shows like the 'nanny', a game show with only blonde women (don't even know the name of it) and more such stuff. With regard to tv I do miss looking and hearing BBC a lot.
But having a small kid nevertheless is always much more entertaining than any other show can ever be.
I never heard of Jon and Kate and am glad I didn't. I saw their names in little scandalous headlines, but didn't read further. I totally agree with you on what they should have done. Their poor kids.
I've seen the show several times and notice that "he" never looks at "her." But he does pull little faces a lot. I think she does tend to be a control freak, but then with 8 kids to look after all day, she has to be ultra organized. And I think he's a bit of a wimp so maybe she doesn't really have 8 kids, but in actual fact she has 9.
I tend to agree with The Walking Man. Poor kids. This is how they support all these children..... and remember I predicted that this was the Octomom's goal from the get-go!
I've never seen a minute of the show, doesn't sound like I'm missing much.
Personally, I believe it's all made up hype leading up to increasing ratings for the new season. I don't believe a word of it myself. It's probably all been cooked up by the network executives now that the kids are getting older and, let's face it, less interesting.
Leilani, you are not missing anything! :-)
Mark, 6. Making really bad hair cuts popular. LOL. And yes, those poor kids are going to keep a lot of therapists very busy!
Ivan, the pain industry, yes, except it isn't a sitcom.
LGS, but I think small children like that should not be put on display for millions of people to watch. There is some a wee bit creepy about that.
Leah-Ann, I agree. I don't understand it.
Russell, the Celebrity Apprentice was fun, I have to admit. And no children were involved.
Diane, I agree. I love Turner Classic Movies and the American Movie Channel. Some real old classics there!
Mo'ikeha, yes, small children are a hoot. Whatever you do, don't put him in front of a TV camera. :-) And yes, isn't BBC wonderful!?
Carol E, yes their children seem to be fair game at this point.
Leslie, yes, she is a control freak and quite abrasive. I guess that's why she doesn't mind parading her children's privacy in front of the world.
Kathy, yes, I think the Octomom has been looking around for a "deal" too. I have to admire Pamela Anderson who would not allow her children to be filmed during her reality show.
Derek, believe me, you are not missing a thing! :-)
Avril, well, whether the infidelity is real or not -- and it probably is not -- I still think parading children in front of TV cameras without their consent is very poor judgment. Those childen will grow up with the embarrassing knowledge that their potty training is now on YouTube for the whole world to watch. Bring on the highschool years, and all their peers. Oh, gosh!
There seems to be a competition to see how many kids a couple can have - and then film it. I saw a new one is coming out and I think they have 12 total. And of course there's the Dugger family. I don't get it, but then I don't even have one kid.
What drives folks to share their lives and families under a microscopic camera lens baffles me. Maybe it's a cry for help - a sense of needing to be the center of attention. But, why their children? I don't know, but I agree with you Jo, I feel sad for the entire family and the children in particular. By the way, several years ago, prime time favorites were long-form soaps, which were also voyeuristic in nature but much more expensive to produce.
The times have changed and not necessarily to everyone's tastes.
The answer to why they did it is simple: Money and fame. It's really sad to see.
I used to watch the show - because it was so much better in the beginning - but then I got to a point where I just couldn't take watching the fighting and the dysfuntion anymore.
I am wondering why it is a surprise Jon and Kate are having problems....8 kids, cameras in the home round the clock,husband and wife spending all their free time getting free plastic surgery, hair transplants, vacation packages the above-average income family cannot afford..who is home with the kids and when do John and Kate actually talk off camera? Poor kids....J & K , remember your children!This to me shows reality T.V. is not REALITY!
I admit I have seen almost every episode of their first few seasons, but the more I watched the show and saw the way Kate humiliated Jon on a regular basis, the more I started to wonder about her intentions. She is mean and a total control freak. I hate to see how she treats those babies off camera. Jon does whatever she tells him too and never speaks for himself. Kinda makes you wonder about their family life, the real one. I'm not suprised that he cheated on her. She is said to have done the same first with her bodyguard. I feel so bad for those babies.
I despise reality TV so I've never seen that show, or Janice Dickinson's either, although she seems a perfect stand-in for Cruella de Ville.
You ask why ordinary people would make a spectacle of their lives. I think they do it for money and fame. When I was young, fame mostly came to the talented among us, but with the advent of reality TV, people are famous for being on TV, period. It's bizarre and I quite agree with you that if they have children, it's time to grow up and protect them, not exploit them.
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