Seems America is all atwitter* about this whole Jon and Kate Plus 8 show. I've been meaning to blog about this whole thing for a few days, but it seems every time I delay it's all right because I see something that adds more fuel to the fire of my discontent. Just in case you've been living under a proverbial rock for the last few years, here's the gig: These two remarkably fertile people, Jon and Kate, got together and kids. First they had a set of twins. Then they had a set of sextuplets. So, 8 kids in all, all under the age of, what, 7? Anyway. Lucky for them, along came the TLC channel who offered them a "reality" tv show. Perfect. I don't know how many seasons it's been on, but it's been a few. Now, everybody knows that everybody loves a scandal. And here comes the perfect scandal for this quaint little tv show: Jon turns out to be a not-so-faithful husband, and gets caught cheating on the wife. The story breaks, there is a crisis, and we all must tune in to see what happens next!
There's a reason it's called the idiot box.
I've been against reality shows since they dawned some 10 or so years ago. I just think they're ridiculous and fake. (Oh, say it aint so.) I've never actually sat through an episode of this show. I've seen bits and pieces of it; my roommate and her fiance, bless their hearts, watch it pretty regularly. Recently, Kate was on the cover of People magazine with a story about the whole scandal. (People happens to be one of my guilty pleasures - rather the opposite of men with their Playboy, I really just read it for the pictures.) That being said, I flipped through the magazine while waiting for some family to arrive for dinner, and read through the article. Kate laments that the two of them may break up, but she just has to keep doing the show because she needs the money. The other night, while flipping channels aimlessly, I popped upon TLC and an episode of said show, despite it being roughly midnight. Mildly disinterested, I stayed to watch for a few minutes. The family was at some Sesame Street-themed water park. I like chaos just as much as the next person, so I watched. Turns out it was a 24-hour marathon of past episodes in preparation for the season premier the next night. There was even a countdown timer. The day after, while poking around on Facebook, I came across some friends who had taken a quiz called "What Jon and Kate Plus 8 Character Are You?" Then, this morning while listening to the early morning radio show, the entertainment report included a story about how Kate has announced that she and Jon are indeed separating, and have already done so, and starting this summer the show will just be called "Kate Plus 8." Oh, but it just doesn't have the same ring, does it?
Why do we give a shit about these people? I've never understood our fascination with watching television shows about other people's lives. Are we that disinterested in our own lives that we have to watch other people in a probably-scripted show? I was not interested in Brittney Spears' television show, and I am not interested in this one.
Here's the thing. I think it's shameful what these two parents have done to their children. These poor kids have grown up with a camera in their house almost their entire lives. What is this going to do to their social skills later in life when they discover that life is not a television show? It was selfish for these parents to thrust this upon their unwitting children.
One of the things that really got me while reading the article in the magazine was how Kate blatantly said that she needs to keep doing the show so that she can support the kids. It's rumored that the family gets up to $50,000 per episode. Yeah, life must be really tough. How about you try to do it like real families (and single mothers, since she is one now) have to do. I realize that life is complicated and expensive with 8 children--but I would be willing to bet that this family hasn't paid a dime for a lot of things since the sextuplets were born. They don't know what it's like to really need money. It's said that the television show pays for all of their needs, their bills, everything. Yeah, I can see how that would be a tough decision for you, Ms. Kate. Strikes me that maybe you're in it more for the money than anything. Really, when you think about it, what else could you be "in it" for? It's sickening, and it's selfish.
The hapless Facebook quiz really got to me. Calling the children "characters?" Please. They are not characters, they are people. And furthermore, they are children. Are we that disconnected that we cannot distinguish between scripted fantasy and real life?
The season premier got something like 9 million views. Why? The scandal, of course. People wanted to watch in and see how the family has been reacting since the news broke of Daddy's infidelity. Wanted to see if he showed any remorse for it or if domineering Mommy was going to bitch-slap him with a wooden spoon. Puh-lease. We are attracted to scandal like moths to a flame. Too bad we are not more like the actual moth, who gets caught in the flame and burns to death.
I read somewhere on Facebook that people were reacting with sadness: "It was so sad, I cried when Kate cried."
Get real. People have affairs and get divorced every day of every year. And we don't give a damn about them, do we? And you want to know what I think? (Well, you've read this far, so I'm assuming you do) I think Kate could care less too. She's set for life with this television show. Why should she have anything to worry about? The woman is controlling and manipulative, and treats her children like chattel. I don't feel sorry for her in the least. As far as Jon goes--more power to you! I normally don't condone infidelity in the least, but this poor man was dragged into this television mess kicking and screaming, it seems like. Dragged in, furthermore, by Kate. I'm not saying that's necessarily a decent excuse, but it's better than some I've heard out there.
Why are we so dependent on the inane bullshit of other people's lives? Can we please get back to our own lives? These people are so disconnected from the reality of the American experience right now. I am reminded of a line in the musical 1776: "Most men with nothing would rather protect the possibilty of becoming rich than face the reality of being poor." The context is not quite the same, but the idea is there. Are we so depressed with our own lives that we must watch that of another person whose actual life is impossibly different from ours?
Hello, America! You are being paged, please return to Earth at the soonest possible convenience.
And while we're waiting for America to return to Earth, can we at least get these poor kids some peace? If the daughters of the President can avoid the public eye, I'm pretty sure these guys can too. Perhaps they'll be better off for it, too.
(And speaking of Twitter, you can follow me at http://twitter.com/zatzie)
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I confess that I sometimes watch Jon and Kate, though it's more for the adorableness of the children(and the sick human nature of watching a train wreck in action, knowing that those kids will eventually by hella fucked up)
ReplyDeleteBut I find myself making a prediction. The wholesome American Idiot will NOT like a single women raising children by herself. If the show does become Kate Plus 8, it won't last and those poor children will finally be out of the spotlight, though they will suffer greatly from it.
I agree with you, 'phania. I hate that those babies need to grow up on camera (I feel similarly for child actors) because their parents decided that they should. It is a crappy situation, and I think it is quite obvious that Kate is doing it all for the cashola.
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