Our Love for TV Wars

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Storage Wars, Storage Wars Texas, Whaling Wars, Border Wars, Shipping Wars and now Craft Wars.  

At one time, we got our violence from video games, but lucky for us, TV has signed up as well to satisfy our need for blood and defeat. Anyone who is not familiar with reality TV, might not be aware of all the shows that glamorize the word “war”.  If it’s not flea market and thrift store merchants trying to destroy and bankrupt their competition with their bids on a storage locker, it’s quilting bee ladies and Bedazzle experts trying to take each other down for a $10,000 prize, a meet and greet with host Tori Spelling and recognition as craft champion. I used to think Martha Stewart was tough, but next to these people, Martha is the Good Witch of the North and Mother Teresa all rolled up into one. The problem with these shows is not that the word “war” is used but that those who appear on these shows believe they truly are at war and act accordingly.

Reality TV producers have figured out that knocking people down and kicking them into unconsciousness on live TV is not only profitable but cathartic.  Hey, it worked for Jerry Springer, and what can be more bad ass than watching crafters go after each other to create the perfect floral arrangement. In truth,   I don’t know what the crafters make on this show. I refuse to watch it. The idea that there can even be a war about making crafts is enough to make me reach for the remote and turn on something God-awful like How I Met Your Mother.

The TV-watching public truly responds to this type of entertainment. But let’s not blame everything on the shows that end in “Wars” as there are a fair share of shows that take perfectly wonderful events and turn them into a 60-minute trip to violence and Hell.  You don’t believe me? Tune into Bridezillas and Four Weddings.  Who knew that women who are so fucking bitchy could find men stupid enough to marry them? (I know I used the F-word in a post. I never use that word in a post, so see what these shows can do)  In defense of  Four Weddings, it used to be a show with fair competition. Four women attended each other’s weddings and rated the weddings with the winner earning an all-expense paid  Honeymoon package.  It was a fun show to watch. A viewer got to see what is new with weddings and bridal fashions – it was nice, and the women on the show were mainly supportive of each other and hugged the winner – like the runners up in beauty pageants.  However, somewhere between last season and this season, the satin gloves came off, the tiaras were thrown, and the meanness of the new brides came through loud and clear. Now, these brides are as crazy as the Bridezillas and sit on that fragile bridge that separates the overly emotional from the felon. It is sad to say, but some of these women may have crossed that bridge, and when the winner is announced, there is no hugging and “If it couldn’t be me, I am glad it was you” type of congratulations. No, what we hear are words that drip with  bitterness and poor sportsmanship.    Classy to the end.

This brings me to another question. Can someone explain why meanness needs to be so prevalent today? It’s everywhere from reality TV to the Internet to social media sites.  No longer is there mercy, forgiveness, compassion or even a sense of politeness. No longer do we try and give anyone the benefit of the doubt. We just want to keep banging away until everyone is beaten and bloodied to the point that they cannot recover. Even if someone makes a 360 in their views and offers an apology, the Internet public still wants them dead.  “Glad you see it our way, but we still need to kill you.”  It is only in their absolute demise do we feel satisfied. And the most puzzling aspect of this desire to punish is that many lash out while spouting biblical verses and moral outrage. It seems the more religious people get, the more hateful the world grows.  I might not be the brightest bulb in the chandelier but I think this is what is known as  irony.

There are two  reasons why I think we now need this type of “hate” entertainment : 1) Intolerance is more fun than acceptance.  If everyone got along or helped each other out, how boring would the world be?    2)Sexual Tension: If we have learned anything from TV and entertainment it’s that any relationship that does not contain some conflict and discord is doomed to sputter and fail.  We need to fight and struggle to make our relationships exciting. That is what MTV says, so it must be true. Maybe I am misreading people, and maybe the desire to stomp on people and watch them slowly bleed out and die is just another way  of saying, “I love you!”

Well, who knew hatred could be so sweet and romantic?  I guess the TV producer people did and thankfully, they are there to deliver these shows. I guess until our collective IQ  rises again, the “War” shows will stay with us.  Well, if nothing else maybe families will bond in front of the TV like the good old days and perhaps they can pick up a few pointers on how to destroy their neighbors, siblings or aging parents.

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4 thoughts on “Our Love for TV Wars”

  1. Great article, Donna. I hate reality shows, unless you count “American Idol” among them, and I didn’t even follow THAT this year.

    The ancient Romans^ thought it was great fun to watch people being killed by wild animals and gladiators fighting each other to the death. I guess humans haven’t changed since then. Underneath the most civilized of us there lies a barbarian somewhere. Some of us just manage to keep it under wraps better than others.

    ^Everybody else blames the Italians for violence and stuff, so I might as well, too, right?

  2. Ultimately, all this on screen violence could lead us to the scenario in “The Running Man”, with real-life killing on the screen in a game-show context. And people wonder why we are a violent society, with 87 people killed by guns every day.

  3. Like Bill, I can’t imagine dedicating any neurons to this type of TV. Through the wonder of Netflix though, I am discovering that they were some pretty good series on TV at one time! But it’s like finding a needle in a haystack.

  4. I’ve never watched any of those shows and I’m as far removed from religion as I want to be but I’ll swear right now on any holy book, NEVER to watch those shows!

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