Comment on Why do people hate TV shows like The Biggest Loser and My 600-lb Life?
dream_weasel@sh.itjust.works 8 months agoSure people would watch that. Especially if some people got help and turned around. Hoarders, intervention, M600L, my strange addiction, love on the spectrum, wife swap to some extent etc etc etc all have similar themes and have huge viewerships. They are not mean spirited, though they are not super intellectual, and show different aspects of the human condition and humanize the people in those situations.
If anything, at least if you watch a show like m600L you can see how under the weight there is a real person with deep trauma, instead of just thinking “Look at this guy who can’t put down the fork”.
There are better things on TV for sure, but had OP said GoT the top comment would be parallel universe you saying something about it being just gore, sex, and revenge porn, or Sopranos and someone saying it’s a wholesale misrepresentation of Italian Americans, or breaking bad being about glorification of drugs and reckless lifestyle. Maybe we should all just read instead.
fine_sandy_bottom@discuss.tchncs.de 8 months ago
You seem to have overlooked the exploitative part.
If these were charities, helping people manage health issues with no cameras, that would be great - but that’s not what these are.
Someone is making money off the plight of these people.
It wouldn’t be very engaging if it were “watch healthy normal Jane wash the dishes”, would it.
Additionally, producers put significant effort into fomenting drama. Just dirty tricks like long bus rides in the early hours followed by 3 hours of standing around waiting for something with no breakfast - hoping that some poor contestant will crack and say something snippy for the camera.
dream_weasel@sh.itjust.works 8 months ago
You’ve described basically every unscripted TV show, and it is totally fine if you don’t like them. Everyone is getting paid including the participants, and yes manufacturing drama where possible is what makes it better than watching James quietly eat a salad or watch Karen sort through the pictures in her extra-full house.
All that notwithstanding, there is still an audience for this kind of programming and it drives more awareness than basically any charity ever could.
fine_sandy_bottom@discuss.tchncs.de 8 months ago
Sure, but the question posed in this thread is why everyone hates them, and that’s the answer - they’re exploitative.