06.11.07
Reality Television Belongs in the Landfill
After spending an amazing five minutes watching the program Hell’s Kitchen on FOX, I simply could not take any more television for the night. The program features two sparring teams of chefs that are cooking for an elegant restaurant run by a pompous, loud-mouthed chef named Gordon Ramsay. The chef that wins the competition becomes the head chef of a fine Italian restaurant in Las Vegas. Sounds like a cool idea. But the show should fall by the wayside.
Not even two minutes into my watching, Ramsay is screaming at his chefs and uttering profanities that FOX has thankfully censored. Focusing on the quality of the food being prepared, Ramsay loses no opportunity in making a personal slam at any chef who fails at his or her task. He referred to one female contestant as a dumb blonde because she prepared the wrong number of appetizers for a table. Do we not all make a mistake? When Ramsay spit in the food prepared by the chefs of one team, my Hell’s Kitchen experience found its way to a desirable termination.
It shocks me that such television is popular among people. Have we evolved into a culture that is just so hell bent on belittling each other to make ourselves feel good? This is common in the corporate world, and I can see why. People are constantly exposed to this sort of garbage. The fact that people would rather watch this stuff than laugh for a half hour about the simple exploits of some down-to-Earth American family is beyond comprehension for me. The days of simple shows with great laughter and important lessons - shows such as All in the Family and Sanford and Son - are all but gone.
Give me Raymond or Fred G. Sanford anyday.
Ronnie Owens said,
September 10, 2008 at 7:01 pm
Ditto ! The pop culture of today - yuk! They don’t make TV for me anymore; I think that they have removed every western. I only like fiction, real life is not for me. Pop culture is really bad for youth, they need real role models, not Hanna Montana.