22 October 2006
After seeing another commercial for a reality show featuring a soldier coming home and having to make those readjustments back into being a civilian I felt so damn tired.
I don’t think I would mind if it was for the sake of education for the masses, but it was for entertainment. I believe there is a profound difference between showing people your personal nature for their own well being and showing people your personal nature for entertainment means.
I am not trying to disgrace the person who was doing the show, but I am saying that it is a shame that people are willing to promote this for their entertainment. A show about how hard it is to readjust back into civilian life…
8 comments:
You're right, this is a new low, even for network or cable tv. Is the soldier that bad off for a job? Informing people of how hard it is is one thing, but to put your family and friends on camera 24/7 is harsh. How long before the vet has a breakdown and needs privacy and serious help? are his sessions with a therapist going to be in-camera? How about the buddies he served with? Do they want everything said and done out there for the world to see? Obviously, this wasn't thought thru very well by the participant, and shame on the production group for taking advantage of a vet this way. A well fleshed out documentary is one thing, but reality TV? How crass and inappropriate!!!
For the owners of television networks anything can be exploited for profit. They are not concerned about the soldier at all. They are concerned about their ratings and their billings for commercial air time. We need more public discussion about this.
This is sick.
I can imagine that family really needs money and we should be ashamed that we do not have proper support for the families where fathers/brothers come home from war.
Reality tv is getting really scary - does anyone remember Schwarzenegger's movie from 1987 "Running man"? It looked so unreal watching it back then - well, we live in that movie now.
I simply can not imagine putting my family in front of a camera next year coming home after a 7 month deployment. After reading your post I get images of Spinger, Dr. Phil and the other ilk exploiting and capitalizing on this. It's absolutely disgusting.
I think yulia has it that this family has to be strapped for cash to do this. Yes, we should be ashamed as a country that we do little more than pay lip service in support.
They would promot dead realtive tossing if the TV bosses thought it would bring ratings. There is no such thing as no morales in tv only low ratings.
i agree. It's terrible that a TV corporation is willing to do anything for good ratings. I feel sorry for that soldier that had to go through that. Its hard enough to readjust to life back at home without discussing it on national TV. It wouldn't be as bad if it were for education for what's happening in Iraq, but a reality TV show? Is there no privacy? This is one of those things that could scar that soldier for life.
The worst part about it all is that show will get amazing ratings.
Zach, I don't know the program you're speaking of, so I'm just basing this off of what you wrote. But, maybe, even though it has been created for entertainment purposes, it WILL serve to educate Americans about the realities of this war. I think too many people are unaware of the issues facing our returning soldiers. I think, if it's done properly, even a show created to entertain CAN educate and enlighten.
I agree that television paints a rosy picture about who is coming back from Iraq and how they feel. When my cousin came home from Iraq(he left again for a second duty)he had changed in ways that I will never be able to understand. When soldiers fight and defend their country, it seems that they are giving up part of themselves, or changing themselves so they can go on with the day.
I think that the media focuses on how hard the troops are fighting, but there is little focus on the fact that we are changing the lives of an entire generation of people.
I also think that the media ignores WHO goes to Iraq. Recruiters seem to target minorities and poor people while others are left to make the decisions on their own. I am not trying to pass judgement, everyone has their own individual reasons for enlisting. I just feel like there is a sense that the poor and minorities are disposable in the eyes of the government.
I am glad to see that you and other soldiers are documenting your experiences and excersising your right to free speech. Please keep writing.
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