You've read the stories about middle school students who work an hour or two on a soup line to better understand the poor or even camp out overnight so they can empathize with the homeless. Don't worry that their time is being wasted -- this is actually good career training if they asprire to carry on the work of Morgan Spurlock.
That genius, who figured out that eating nothing but fast food all the time might not be healthy, has lately been embarked on a project for TV called "30 days," in which he spends that amount of time trying to understand what other walks of life are like. His most recent escapade was to spend 30 days in jail. Of course, he did not stick it out for the whole time:
“He lived in a cell like everybody else. We treated him just like an inmate," said Sheriff Mike Wade. “Of course he didn't stay with any of the capital murderers."
Wade did reveal that Spurlock spent 72 hours in solitary confinement, went to church, tutored inmates, and worked 15-hour shifts in the kitchen.
According the Wade, Spurlock did not “serve” his full 30 day sentence because he was more than satisfied with the footage he had obtained over the 23 days.
Of course he did not "live in a cell like everybody else." He knew he had his real life waiting for him when this lark was over. The other people in jail -- even those "good people who had merely done something wrong" he was so shocked to find -- were in the middle of their real lives, with limited options Spurlock will never understand. He might as well try to understand dying by living in a hospice for 30 days. But maybe that will be his next project. My disdain for his work seems to be a minority opinion.
Comments
Leo, lighten up - it's just entertainment!
If I lightened up any more, I'd be an albino.
The reality TV kick is not only not over, it seems to be growing like weeds now and for the fall season. None of if is reality; in fact, reality TV now strikes me entirely as game shows. And I don't mean just mean the obvious ones like "American Idol" and "Fear Factor." Even "30 Days" has a premise and episode blueprint, rules, a sitcom-like pickle for the stars in every episode, a time limit in which to play the game, and criteria to evaluate the outcome.
The producers create the premise of each reality show, make the rules, test run the idea to see if it works and to fine tune the rules with their own people, then advertise for contestants, pick the lucky few (Come on down!), put them onto the situational game board (either on locations or in a studio set), follow them through their show-contracted paces with a camera/sound crew and a rules referee, and determine a winner at the end according to the rules of the game.
Few reality shows, if any, don't fit into the game show framework. Trump says he's doing a 15-week job interview but of course "The Apprentice" is also a game show (though an interesting one for those of us who know something about the corporate culture). Early entries like MTV's "The Real World" and "Road Rules" were game shows as well.
"Extreme Makeover" is a game show not all that different from the old "Queen for a Day" show, though on a different scale -- the premise of both shows boils down to "Pick the saddest sob story, and give that episode's winner expensive prizes." On "Queen for a Day" Jack Bailey (or whoever) gave the winner a washer/dryer set and refrigerator or some furniture. Ol' spikey-hair gets to give away a house. (Who pays the federal income tax, and annual property tax, on a gift appraised around $200,000 ?!? The needy winners? Contestants on "The Price is Right" can sell their less practical prizes and keep only the ones they want, but you can't very well sell your custom-made home to afford the taxes in April...)
Shows which simply follow people around are slightly more like documentaries, but
Oh never mind. I forgot I started another idea at the bottom. For once I'll stop short of putting in the kitchen sink. I hear sighs of relief...