Don't Cha wish they would just go away?
After watching the Pussy Cat Doll's latest marketing attempt, “Girlicious,” I was left wondering: when will this group's nine lives be spent?
I could say that one redeeming quality of this “new” television show is its inventive, original idea; I would, however, be lying.
It is entirely possible that some of you are thinking, “I haven't even seen this show!” Trust me, you have. If you've seen “America's Next Top Model,” “Canada's Next Top Model” or “Search of the Next Pussy Cat Doll,” then you've seen “Girlicious.”
Just in case you're one of the few who have managed to escape the grasp of these mediocre reality show, I'll break it down.
There are 15 girls - a whopping five fewer contestants than the America's Next Top Model series - and these girls sing, dance, backstab and hair-pull to get the chance to be one of the three finalists who make up the Pussy Cat Doll's look-alike group.
Sound familiar?
Throughout the series, the contestants will be eliminated in three's based on their performances. The three left standing will form “Girlicious” - great screening process, eh?
Watching these all-girl reality shows is like taking the Pepsi Challenge. Get a few cans, fill them with the same tooth-rotting, penny-shining product and slap on a new, attractive label. All that's left to do is convince the lowest on the food chain of commercialism to buy what you're selling.
True, there are some consumers who can easily detect the slightest differences between the brands, and to those of you I say, get a life!
Today's reality shows are copied and pasted to different networks with an [insert gimmick here] space. What we are seeing is basically broadcast plagiarism, though many of these shows really aren't worth copying.
So why is it that we're become so enthralled in reality shows? Are our lives so dull that we need to live vicariously through T.V. show contestants?
The draw of these shows seems to be the “real,” every day people being given a surreal opportunity to compete for a prize - cash, cars or careers. But just how real are these people?
How often do you see a six-foot, bronzed, highlighted beauty, decked out in stilettos and a barely there dress walking down the street? If I was a betting woman, I would say never!
This is not to say that the women we see everyday, those who are fully dressed, aren't beautiful. You've seen the commercials - natural is in; and these girl hunting reality shows just aren't natural!
Let's regain some perspective.
The reality that we see on television is nothing more than a marketing ploy. We see a dream being lived; they see a big fat profit. I am all for free trade, but not when it comes to trading values for an old gimmick.
So I ask you: what is your reality? What is important to you?
If you are one of many to whom these shows are like a drug - heroine flowing through your veins, rotting your mind - then by all means, go back to the couch, turn reality off, and turn the TV on.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
I could say that one redeeming quality of this “new” television show is its inventive, original idea; I would, however, be lying.
It is entirely possible that some of you are thinking, “I haven't even seen this show!” Trust me, you have. If you've seen “America's Next Top Model,” “Canada's Next Top Model” or “Search of the Next Pussy Cat Doll,” then you've seen “Girlicious.”
Just in case you're one of the few who have managed to escape the grasp of these mediocre reality show, I'll break it down.
There are 15 girls - a whopping five fewer contestants than the America's Next Top Model series - and these girls sing, dance, backstab and hair-pull to get the chance to be one of the three finalists who make up the Pussy Cat Doll's look-alike group.
Sound familiar?
Throughout the series, the contestants will be eliminated in three's based on their performances. The three left standing will form “Girlicious” - great screening process, eh?
Watching these all-girl reality shows is like taking the Pepsi Challenge. Get a few cans, fill them with the same tooth-rotting, penny-shining product and slap on a new, attractive label. All that's left to do is convince the lowest on the food chain of commercialism to buy what you're selling.
True, there are some consumers who can easily detect the slightest differences between the brands, and to those of you I say, get a life!
Today's reality shows are copied and pasted to different networks with an [insert gimmick here] space. What we are seeing is basically broadcast plagiarism, though many of these shows really aren't worth copying.
So why is it that we're become so enthralled in reality shows? Are our lives so dull that we need to live vicariously through T.V. show contestants?
The draw of these shows seems to be the “real,” every day people being given a surreal opportunity to compete for a prize - cash, cars or careers. But just how real are these people?
How often do you see a six-foot, bronzed, highlighted beauty, decked out in stilettos and a barely there dress walking down the street? If I was a betting woman, I would say never!
This is not to say that the women we see everyday, those who are fully dressed, aren't beautiful. You've seen the commercials - natural is in; and these girl hunting reality shows just aren't natural!
Let's regain some perspective.
The reality that we see on television is nothing more than a marketing ploy. We see a dream being lived; they see a big fat profit. I am all for free trade, but not when it comes to trading values for an old gimmick.
So I ask you: what is your reality? What is important to you?
If you are one of many to whom these shows are like a drug - heroine flowing through your veins, rotting your mind - then by all means, go back to the couch, turn reality off, and turn the TV on.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
