It’s funny to me how some of our most recent headlines were of “Jon & Kate to divorce.” I kept thinking to myself, “Are you kidding me?” Even more ludicrous were some of the heated discussions on radio of what really happened. It was strange to me that people that have watched the show think that it makes them experts. After all, isn’t there reality in reality TV?

I would say yes and no. No matter what, there is TV in the equation. This ultimately comes down to the producers making it so that viewers tune in. It is within the realm of possibility that producers would have the show edited to make an actually insignificant event become one of those “Oh, my God. Did they just say that?” moments. It is within the realm of possibility that producers will take out or add or alter the context of what you’re seeing. There are so many realms of possibility that I would question the finished product. Don’t get me wrong. If I’m watching a reality show, I know what I’m getting. If I’m watching some of these shows, I’m more likely to laugh at what I’m watching than to analyze it’s place in the universe. I don’t really know it’s place, nor do I really care.

What I ask of you is not to try to become “experts” on these shows. Am I suggesting that you quit watching these shows altogether? Goodness, no. Just realize that these shows should be nothing more than guilty pleasures. I, myself, watch the Real Housewives series on Bravo (all of them but the Atlanta one). They’re hilarious. Sometimes, while I’m watching these shows, I’ll yell at the TV or say how I hate so-and-so or how I can’t believe what so-and-so did. Here’s the big thing: when I hit the off switch, I don’t carry this into my daily life. In the end, I don’t really know what’s going on and really neither do you. Do I care what’s “really” going on? Not really. These are their lives and not mine.

Author: José A, Rodríguez