Comment on Why do people hate TV shows like The Biggest Loser and My 600-lb Life?
fine_sandy_bottom@discuss.tchncs.de 5 months agoYou 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 5 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 5 months ago
Sure, but the question posed in this thread is why everyone hates them, and that’s the answer - they’re exploitative.