Ridiculousness

Ridiculousness is your typical "lets watch people hurt themselves" kind of reality show. The show is hosted by Rob Dyrdek and a panel of his boring and not so funny friends. The show is just like America's Funniest Home Videos, but less family oriented and less entertaining. I did however like the categories the show used to group the videos. For example, one category was titled, "Bieber Hair." The  videos consisted of kids that had "Justin Bieber hair" falling and running into various objects. Just kids running into anything in general is hilarious. 

I haven't discussed this type of reality content yet, but it is definitely noteworthy to mention seeing as it has attracted millions of viewers by just having people hurt themselves. People seek enjoyment out of others pain, which is very disturbing. Viewers of the show get to experience the hilariousness of seeing someone fall, without reaping any of the consequences. The problems with shows like this is that the aftermath of the fall is not shown on screen. Television networks have had issues with people and most importantly, kids, trying to reenact some of these stunts at home. They do not realize the consequences of the stunts because they are not shown on screen and then they wind up with broken limbs, or sometimes even worse. Shows that glorify this content, like Jackass, have to now put a disclaimer in the beginning of the show that says, "These stunts are done by professionals or under the supervision of professionals. Please do not attempt at home." You would have to be an idiot to reenact these stunts. And these shows are living proof that those idiots do exist.

It's Literally a Shark Tank

Shark Tank is a reality series on ABC which welcomes aspiring entrepreneurs to share their inventions with well established people in the business world. These filthy rich people include, Mark Cuban, Kevin O'Leary, Daymond John, and Barbara Corcoran. I give the entrepreneurs props for coming on national television and presenting their inventions to billionaires because it definitely looked intimidating. All the panel members seemed nice and willing to listen, but they were very blunt, after all it is their money that they are investing. Every episode they review the inventions of four different entrepreneurs. This week it was an owner of a chain of cookie stores in Indiana, an inventor of exercise clothes, an inventor of a generator that produced electricity and gold (like Mark Cuban said "My BS meter is going DING DING DING"), and the owner of a wine company called "Copa di Vino." For all different reasons none of the panel of investors accepted the entrepreneurs offers.

However, one contestant did stir up some drama with the investors. The fourth contestant actually had previously been on the show and had come back with another offer for the investors. Kevin O'Leary was interested in his business last time, but the contestant turned him down. Why the investors wanted to have stake in "Copa di Vino" was not because of the wine, but because of the new patented technology that came with it (which is explained in the picture above). To make the story short, Mark Cuban and three other investors offered to give him more money than he had asked for, including a 30% stake in his company.  He wouldn't give them an answer so Mark and the others pulled out before he could say no. He was clearly playing games (with some of the most powerful people in America might I add). Bottom line he's an idiot and the only reason he came on the show was to promote his company, it was a total waste of the investors time.

Like I said before I like the idea of the show, but I probably wouldn't watch it regularly. I know absolutely nothing about money or how to run a business so I was lost a lot of the time, which i'm sure others are too. I didn't understand the business jargon they used and when the panel discussed the products financially I would just be like, "okay.... now can you say that in english?"

Say No To The Show

I have never watched a bridal reality show before...now I know why. Say Yes to the Dress has obviously done well if it now has two spin off shows, but I really don't want to make myself go through that ever again. The episode I watched was called, "Maid of Honorzilla." The episode followed three different brides on their mission to find bridesmaids dresses. I thought covering two different brides was fine, but to force three brides in a 30 minute time slot was too rushed.

The first bride had a maid of honor from hell. The bride actually had two maid of honors, but the one demoted the other one to "matron of the bridesmaids." Here are the MANY things maid of honor Jessica had to say during the episode:

"I'm in charge"

"I don't get why Roxy thinks she has the right to be the maid of honor."

"Next to Megan I am the most important person at the wedding."

"I'm the boss."

Nevertheless why this girl is your maid of honor, but why is she even your friend?

Click here to see the awfulness that is Jessica.

http://tlc.discovery.com/videos/say-yes-to-the-dress-bridesmaids-season-2-drama-videos/

The next bride had been having trouble finding a dress that works for all her bridesmaids. The reason was due to her maid of honor, who was clearly bigger than everyone else. The bride made her try on dresses that obviously were not going to look good on her and then would laugh at her. It was too cruel, I actually felt bad for her.

The next bride was just as horrible. She demanded that her bridesmaids get a designer dress and shoes, which totaled to the amount of $1,200. Bridesmaids had to drop out because, as the bride would say, be "they could not comply, so they now will support me in the audience." And also during their fitting she told them they were not allowed to gain even one pound before her big day. The things that came out of these women's mouths was unbelievable and the fact that they said these things with a straight face must mean the show is real.

This show makes me never want to be a bridesmaid, or as a matter a fact,  not even a bride for a very long time or possibly ever.

Bronx Boys and Their Mamas

Guest Post by Cara Goldstein

As a student at Fordham University, I felt obligated to watch the reality television show that takes place right down the street from the Rose Hill campus– Mama’s Boys of the Bronx. As it turns out the show and characters weave in and out of the lives and paths of the place where myself, and many other Fordham students call home for nine months of the year.

Yet, it is incredibly frustrating to watch overweight, tatted up, eternally single, thirty-something-year old, men-children be so helpless. When the mothers of Anthony (35), Giovanni (38) and Frankie (38) decide to go to Florida for a week, they need to prepare their sons. They stock their fridges and show them how to use the stove and washing machine. But even that doesn’t suffice. Instead of making their own food or doing their own laundry they follow their mothers, like sick puppies, down to Florida after only two days alone. So, they can book and plan a trip to Florida, but they can’t do their own laundry?

Not only are they entirely dependent on their mothers, but they act like overgrown high school kids. They throw a full-on high school rager  -- equipped with an abundance of red solo cups, spin the bottle, and random make-outs all over the first floor of the house  -- when their mamas leave town. 

 Of the two shows I have seen, the show has highlighted some of Fordham student’s favorite places on Arthur Ave. They’ve shown to the tanning salon down the street, Umberto’s, Ivana’s pizza, Pugsley’s pizza, and even my favorite building on campus – Keating Hall. It has featured the owner of Mugz, a bar that Fordham Students flock to all nights of the week. It even featured two Fordham students who politely told Chip (36) that they thought they “were busy that night” when he asked them to be cheerleaders at his first annual cannoli eating concert. 

Despite my fear of ending up like these boys, and concern with pop culture’s fascination with “traditional” Italian life in New York and New Jersey, these Mama’s Boys seem happy with their lives. They have no plans to move out and be on their own.  Like Chip says, they just want to be “mama’s boys for the rest of their lives.”

Cookbook? More like a Burn Book

Teresa Giudice recently came out with another cookbook, called Fabulicious, about a year ago. Regardless if the recipes were delicious, they were overshadowed by the nastiness of her introduction. She used her cookbook as a platform to trash one her fellow castmate's and "friend". Any focus that was on the recipes was now directed toward the Teresa Giudice and Caroline Manzo feud.

Her first sentence in the book is, "Caroline is as Italian as the Olive Garden."  She then goes on to say, "I am however a huge fan of Caroline Manzo. (Even if she's only 1/16 Italian, or whatever she is...)." Why is that relevant to your cookbook? Right off the bat the cookbook seems to be more focused on how Italian Caroline is rather than Teresa's recipes. She then goes on to bash her cousin and sister in law. She says, "Do I sometimes wish my cousin would stop with the lame jokes? Yes. Do I wish my baby sister-in-law didn't copy everything I do down to the shoes I wear and the chairs on my front porch? Of course! But you know what they say: 'You can't pick your family.'." Teresa has said that her cookbook is centered around family and that's what the introduction is suppose to focus on. If family is so important to you why is your focus on bashing them?

This is what is wrong with reality stars. People who become "famous for being famous" will do anything to remain in the spotlight. She has no legitimate talents so she needs to remain relevant somehow and stirring up drama is her way of remaining in the headlines. She wrote this book for one reason and one reason only and that was to sell books. And in order to sell the most books she would need to create controversy, which she sure did.

Feuds sell books because audiences crave drama. Their curiosity for other peoples lives is what draws them in and that is one of the reasons why reality television is so successful. Most of the times the content is high on the drama, but low on the quality. That doesn't matter to most people, including me. Some reality programming I can't stand, but still can't look away. The more the shock value, the more the curiosity. 

This cookbook also brought to light how fake reality stars can be. If Teresa feels okay bashing her "friends" to millions of people, they were clearly never her friends (or to put it bluntly, fame trumps friends). Let's be real Bravo, your "Real Housewives" Series are not centered around an established group of friends. You put a bunch of random, rich, bored women in a room and tell them they are now BFFs and go from there. Most of these women appear all buddy buddy on screen, but in reality they cannot stand each other, which is what exactly happened with Teresa and Caroline. Caroline was very clear after the last season that they are NOT friends. She says, "We were never really friends. She is an acquaintance." That's funny because it sure did look like you were friends when you were going on vacations together, spending New Years Eve together, and going to your children's birthday parties. Woopsie looks like Caroline dropped the bombed on that one. Living proof that Real Housewives of New Jersey is staged. Shocker.

It's like a bad restaurant and you don't want to go back

I love food, but I was so not hungry after watching this show. These "chefs in training" managed to make food not look appetizing. They are literally the worst cooks in America. That being said, their inability to cook and lack of knowledge of food (or anything for that matter) makes this show hilarious. All of these idiots are definitely real. No one could make this up. One contestant said, "I don't know what spinach looks like unless it comes in a bag labeled spinach."

What was even funnier was a lot of the contestants were real losers. Such as this one:

Your unemployed. How do you not know how to cook? What else do you do with your time? If  I was unemployed I would do nothing but spend my time eating.

OBJECTIVE OF THE SHOW

Anne Burrell and Bobby Flay assemble two teams of what they think are the worst cooks in America. Burrell and Flay are to serve as their mentors and judges throughout the duration of the competition. Each week they have a new activity or competition where the teams compete against each other. The worst members of the team are voted off each week. Before the challenges begin Burrell and Flay give them tips and advice on how to succeed in a particular challenge. Whoever makes the most progress as a cook, wins.

I only watched the second episode of the season, but if the contestants don't stop using vanilla extract with chicken or putting apples on everything there is a huge possibility there will be no winner.

Who knew a Guido could talk to dead people

I don't necessarily believe in this psychic nonsense, but I can't help but to believe its true when the medium knows such intimate details about your life. When you focus a reality show around a concept that typically is surrounded by skepticism, the "realness" of the show is called into question. After watching one episode I was amazed that Theresa knew such intimate details about her clients lives. She made it very clear that when she makes an appointment with a client she only takes their first name and their telephone number. My concern with the show is if she really is uncovering secret details about peoples lives by speaking to the dead OR is it being staged?

The weird thing about this show is that if Theresa feels a spirit around she will go up to anyone, anywhere and give them a reading. This includes grocery stores, coffee shops, the gym, auto repair shops, etc. I personally think its insensitive to go up to a stranger who hasn't asked for your services and start talking to them about their dead loved ones. You never know how these people could react towards you. Some people don't want to know what their dead loved ones have to say and the information isn't always comforting.

The show isn't exactly uplifting, considering the topic of conversation is usually dead people, but I would watch it again.

Do you think it's real?

The Voice

I haven't discussed talent based reality programming yet. I have mostly focused on reality content that is centered around people leading their "real lives." Reality programming that is focused around competition typically is a more real, accurate portrayal of reality, with the exception of The Bachelor.

I stopped watching American Idol after season four. Honestly, it just got boring. It was the same thing, season after season. I haven't watched a singing competition since. I so happened to catch my roommates watching The Voice a couple of weeks ago. I was expecting the show to be a generic form of American Idol, but it surprised me. I really like the concept of the show and how the judges get to pick teams and how they then get to personally coach their team of aspiring singers.

First, there are the blind auditions, where Blake Shelton, Christina Aguilera, Adam Levine, and Cee Lo listen to the contestants with their backs turned to the singers so that their choice is solely based on their voice. If more than one judge wants the singer on their team, the contestant then gets the opportunity to pick who they want their mentor to be for the remainder of the competition.

????

Then there are the battle rounds. Each judge picks two of their group members to sing a song together. Then after the song is performed, the group's mentor must then make the decision about who should stay and who should be eliminated. This is done a number of times until the live round begins, which is on April 2nd.

I really like this show because of the level of personal interaction between the contestants and the judges/mentors. The judges get to know the singers more on a personal level, rather than just who they are on stage. The singers actually get to develop personal relationships with the hosts and get valuable information from people who have made it in the business (i.e., Kelly Clarkson, Jewel, Lionel Richie, etc.) The audience also gets more time to get to know the contestants and the JUDGES as well.

I have come to learn from this show that i CANNOT stand Christina Aguilera. Her arrogance is overwhelming. I'm pretty sure you haven't had a hit song since "Dirrty"and that's because that was your "no clothes" phase. Believe me no one wants you to take your clothes off now. She needs to come down from cloud 9 ASAP.....and also stop wearing hats, especially this one:

Other than X-Tina, GREAT SHOW!

“ Honestly, I drank so much that my frickin' UTI was drunk"

Jersey Shore is what is wrong with reality television. I have seen quality shows get cancelled, but yet this trash continues to remain on the air. The people that watch these types of shows are so far removed from this type of lifestyle that they only naturally develop a curiosity for it content. The more and more ridiculous the cast of the Jersey Shore act, the more viewers they will get. The cast is famous for being
drunk, trashy, idiots.... and lets not forget, outstanding role models.

What really mystifies me is that the men on the show continue to get girls to sleep with them. These men have obviously demonstrated on the show that they are misogynists, have no respect for women, and that it's obviously about quantity, not quality. Yet girls continue to have sex with them, even though they are blatantly being used.

When I was abroad my friends and I just so happened to be at the same club as them. First of all, "The Situation" is foul, he looks like a sweaty, balding 40 year old. So he decides to try to talk to my friend. You would think that a normal conversation between two people would start with a, "Hi, my name is ______" or "Hi, how are you?" Nope. It went something like this:

Situation:  "How old are you?"
Friend:  "21"
Situation: "Nice, that's how old you have to be for me to talk to you."
                "Want to come back with me?"

It's nice to see that chivalry isn't dead yet.

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome at its finest

Trashylicious

I don’t know why, and I can’t explain it, but Jerseylicious is my guilty pleasure. This show is why people hate New Jersey, but it is also the reason why I love it. The accents, the hair, the nails, and the clothes are out of control. Their stupidity never ceases to amaze me. Cathy Giove, a newbie on the show who is going into business with a cast member, on the season premiere episode actually said in a speech at The Cricket Professional Stylist Association “ fast food and porn are endangering the health of our children.” Wait…what? I’m so confused. So is getting our hair done going to make it better for our “endangered youth”? Cathy Giove and her hair dryer, saving one child at a time.

I would definitely go into business with her.....

This shows includes everything that is trashy about New Jersey, but they must be doing something right because they just aired their fourth season. I hate how much I love this show.

Would you let her touch your hair?

"How could it be too much for me when i'm Ice motha f'in T"

Ever since Ice Loves Coco debuted last year I have become obsessed with the show. I'm not sure how popular the show is in terms of ratings. but it was good enough to come back for a second season on E! I have always had mixed feelings about Ice T and thought that his marriage, like most rappers, was completely based on superficial reasons and the fact that Coco looks like a porn star. I totally misjudged them. They are hilarious and genuinely seem to be head over heels in love. They seem to compliment each other really well and that's why I love the show. A lot of the times on reality shows relationships seemed forced or uncomfortable. It's refreshing to finally follow a relationship that seems natural and uncomplicated.

Here is my all time favorite  moment from last season!

I can't tell if they were serious about this song or not, either way it's hilarious.

"I blew up cars because I was pissed"

I watch "Mob Wives" from time to time, mostly because it's so ridiculous, but all I end up with is a big headache. All the girls do the entire episode is scream and yell. Every episode is the same. All the girls complain about how much they hate each other. Every episode consists of the girls talking about how tough they are and how much they want to beat up someone else. I'm actually exhausted after watching the show and I don't even know them.

These girls clearly do not like each other and never have. They are always talking about how they have known each other for years and how they are such good friends. They obviously were put on this show because of who they are and their relationship to the mob, but it is very doubtful that they were ever good friends. This is very typical of most reality television. Most shows play it off like the cast has been friends forever, where in most cases the show is the first time they ever met.

There is one good thing about this show thought and that is Big Ang. This video says it all.

I'm just trying to find "love"

My roommates are obsessed with “The Bachelor” so I decided to watch a couple episodes to see what all the fuss was about. The interactions with Ben, the bachelor, and the girls are awkward and uncomfortable to say the least. All of the girls are insane, but the one that sticks out in particular is a girl named Courtney. All her moves are obviously premeditated and Ben is falling for it. She is playing a character to get noticed by viewers. Some of the things she does and says are so outrageous you can’t help but think it’s scripted. She is the new villain of reality television and people have begun to outwardly hate her. See it here!

I don’t understand why someone would go on television to find love. I think maybe one couple has lasted who has participated in “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette”. Most of the girls go on this show for the attention, not for love. And even if one did go on the show for love, it’s a completely unrealistic set up. The man you are trying to love is hooking up with tons of women right in front of you, I really don’t see how that’s conducive to starting a relationship. Most of the people also “get engaged” at the end of this show after knowing the person for about two months, no wonder all of these couples break up you don’t even know the person! You can’t honestly convince me that Ben is trying to find love by hooking up with 20 different girls. “The Bachelor” house is a brothel and Ben is their pimp. Just ewwww.

I Want to Punch Kim Kardashian in the Face

So I made myself watch a couple of episodes of “Kourtney and Kim Take New York” to see why there is such a huge fascination with the Kardashian Klan. None of them actually do anything or are known for a specific talent, they are simply famous for being famous. It is beyond me why people watch the

Kardashian show’s, you can blatantly tell that some scenes are scripted and that certain conversations are forced or planned to increase viewer’s interest.

Watching the lives of Kim Kardashian and her then husband, Kris Humphries, was painful. I don’t know who I hate more. Kim’s ego has reached an all time high and she is completely obsessed with herself and Kris is an immature, misogynist ass.

I am focusing mostly on the last episode of the season where Kim begins to contemplate ending her two-month marriage. She keeps talking about how she and Kris have “changed” and she didn’t expect their marriage to be like this. Well, um what do you expect when you marry to a person you hardly know. She says, and I quote, “We don’t have the same friends, we don’t have the same interests, we have nothing to talk about.” I’m pretty sure you usually find out these things on the first date. I am also confused to how you have already run out of things to talk about seeing as you haven’t even known each other for a year yet. I don’t think this marriage was ever real. Kim craves the spotlight and she will do anything to remain on top (e.g. get divorced…twice, have a sex tape, and fake a marriage, shall I go on?)

Check out this hilarious awkward moment:

Bitter Ending

I have recently become obsessed with the second season of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills". I began to watch the show after I heard that one of the cast mate's husband had committed suicide. It seemed strange to me that Bravo would allow content of Taylor Armstrong's husband, Russell, to still be aired on television considering the sensitivity of the matter. As viewers, we were suppose to watch this couple undergo marital problems the entire season, while all the while knowing that Russell would eventually be taking his own life.

Reality television has emerged as one of the most popular genre's of television being aired today. There are many reasons why people are fascinated with reality television programming, which will be discussed at length in this blog, but today I want to focus on the reason of what drove me to watch the Beverly Hills housewives.  Curiosity is the main reason I began to watch the show. I wanted to learn who these people were and why Russell committed suicide. Voyeuristic tendencies are one of the main reasons why people watch reality programming. The viewers are curious about the private matters of other people's lives. Being able to catch a glimpse of the private matters of people's lives gives the audience a sense of enjoyment.

So finally the moment came for the season finale,which was suppose to address the aftermath of Russell's suicide. Viewers had waited in anticipation to see what had gone wrong. The previews had shown footage of the cast discussing the incident in the beginning of the episode so when it came to the last final minutes and it had still not been discussed I think i can safely say that all the viewers were all thinking the same thing: WHAATTT?!

What happened with Taylor and Russell is honestly none of my business and this probably sounds insensitive, but I couldn't help but to be angry and disappointed that I had watched an entire season of this show to see what drove Russell to commit suicide and how Taylor had handled the incident. Viewers were especially interested in this content considering the nature of their marriage and the rumors of  physical abuse that followed after Russell's death.

Bravo had included a lot of content of Taylor and Russell going through marriage counseling and felt free to air that so I'm kind of baffled why they wouldn't finish their story, instead of just brushing over it. Instead they just promoted the fact that Taylor is writing a tell all book about her marriage. Now I love the show but reading an entire book about Taylor Armstrong's life......no thanks.