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A Fictional Barrier Is Healthier
Updated January 16, 2014, 8:48 PM
Long before reality TV, I remember watching the fiercely decorated women of "Dynasty" plot and prance around their big, fancy mansions. Later in my tween and teenage years, my interest turned to soap operas. My favorite: the chic, sun-kissed cast of "Santa Barbara." Soaps offered an entertaining escape to where budgeting constraints and bad hair days didn’t exist, where we could see how the "rich" lived, and experience -- even if just for an hour a day -- a part of their fictional lives that seemed vastly more exciting than our own. I, along with millions of other devoted viewers, aspired to emulate their lives in minor ways via shoulder pads and tanning, but did the programs really shape our perceptions of true wealth and success? Not really.
After all, these shows were just make-believe.
Years later, reality hits like Bravo’s "Real Housewives" series and E’s "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" continue to capitalize on our curiosity for wealthy living but with a potentially troublesome twist: presenting “real” people and their V.I.P. lives that seem filled with designer labels, exclusive vacations and personal chefs.
It's extreme and all for show, but I fear some viewers are falsely making the connection between the materialism and trivial plot lines and what it really means to be and act wealthy. Without a clear fictional barrier, like the one I had in Krystle Carrington (played by the singular Linda Evans), viewer aspirations could become misguided and even delusional. In today’s age of YouTube success and overnight stardom, it's easy for many of us to feel, more than ever, that it is possible to become "just like them." This aspiration fuels the billion-dollar market of reality star merchandise sold every year. From magazines to books, perfumes, clothing, vodkas and even ready-made cocktail lines, reality stars are cashing in on their believing fans.
Especially at risk are the impressionable 18- to 29-year-olds who are largely tuning in and spending whatever time and little money they have to feel more aligned with their favorite reality stars. Many young adults are watching from their parents’ living rooms or basements, longing for the day they can live independently. This group is struggling to find work or, perhaps, stringing together a few part-time jobs to make ends meet. Others are saddled with insurmountable debt. Taking a break to watch the Kardashian sisters fight over, say, a missing Birkin bag from Kim’s closet, is at best, some escapism. At worst, it sends the message that when you’re rich, you, too, can afford to be neglectful of a $25,000 handbag. Isn’t wealth fun?
When it comes to achieving and maintaining true wealth, we need to work better on the message we send to the world, especially young adults. Being truly rich is not that sexy, at least not all the time, as these produced and edited shows would like us to believe. Instead, real wealth takes hard, hard work. It is being and feeling financially secure, having ample savings to support your family in good times and in bad. It means investing wisely and delaying gratification. It means being comfortable with who you are and making efforts to give back to the world. In the end, I suppose true wealth entails a lot of boring stuff that wouldn’t score high in the ratings, but nevertheless, it is what's important and real.
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2014/01/16/why-we-like-to-watch-rich-people/when-watching-the-wealthy-a-fictional-barrier-is-healthier
After all, these shows were just make-believe.
Years later, reality hits like Bravo’s "Real Housewives" series and E’s "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" continue to capitalize on our curiosity for wealthy living but with a potentially troublesome twist: presenting “real” people and their V.I.P. lives that seem filled with designer labels, exclusive vacations and personal chefs.
The Carringtons of the TV series "Dynasty" were a fictional rich family, unlike the Kardashians, the featured family of a successful reality show.Monty Brinton/CBS
Especially at risk are the impressionable 18- to 29-year-olds who are largely tuning in and spending whatever time and little money they have to feel more aligned with their favorite reality stars. Many young adults are watching from their parents’ living rooms or basements, longing for the day they can live independently. This group is struggling to find work or, perhaps, stringing together a few part-time jobs to make ends meet. Others are saddled with insurmountable debt. Taking a break to watch the Kardashian sisters fight over, say, a missing Birkin bag from Kim’s closet, is at best, some escapism. At worst, it sends the message that when you’re rich, you, too, can afford to be neglectful of a $25,000 handbag. Isn’t wealth fun?
When it comes to achieving and maintaining true wealth, we need to work better on the message we send to the world, especially young adults. Being truly rich is not that sexy, at least not all the time, as these produced and edited shows would like us to believe. Instead, real wealth takes hard, hard work. It is being and feeling financially secure, having ample savings to support your family in good times and in bad. It means investing wisely and delaying gratification. It means being comfortable with who you are and making efforts to give back to the world. In the end, I suppose true wealth entails a lot of boring stuff that wouldn’t score high in the ratings, but nevertheless, it is what's important and real.
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2014/01/16/why-we-like-to-watch-rich-people/when-watching-the-wealthy-a-fictional-barrier-is-healthier
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