Dramatic or Tragic?

Photo Courtesy of Starcasm

I recently had the "pleasure" of watching pseudo-dance coach Abbie Lee Miller. Her coaching consists of berating little girls, while another athletic woman teaches them choreography, on the reality show Dance Moms. Although this “guilty pleasure” is called Dance Moms, the dancing comes second to the drama/child abuse, which is pretty much the main appeal of the show. Lifetime even highlights the various screaming matches in their promos - not the dance routines.

Every reality show follows this pattern: Accomplishments, struggles, and generally happy moments are all secondary to the fighting and feuding, and this is taking the pleasure out of some of these “guilty pleasures.”

But why? This isn’t exactly a new phenomenon, so what about this formulaic “strategy” is so annoying? Are certain shows beginning to cross the line? What makes viewers want to stop watching? A morbidly obese woman throwing stools and getting in little girl’s faces definitely does, and this brings up a good point. Abby is what makes the Dance Moms annoying, which demonstrates that people are what make or break reality shows. What they say and do, on or off the show affects the way people think about the show.

Remember the “morally bankrupt” season 2 of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills? Shortly before it began, Taylor Armstrong’s husband, Russell, commited suicide. Taylor’s tale of  their allegedly abusive relationship (which nobody really believed) engulfed the entire season. Taylor Armstrong also released a controversial book (which has an average of 2 stars on amazon) about the abuse/suicide. On top of that, Andy Cohen (who has made himself a really obnoxious part of the Real Housewives franchise) justified all of this by saying:

“He was given the option to not come back or come back and he chose to come back. He had spoken to producers a lot vocally about how it had helped his business being on the show... He signed lengthy contracts explaining what the show was about and he didn't have to go on the show... You can't really blame a television show on a suicide. I think that is a little irresponsible.”

Just because Russell signed a contract doesn’t mean that capitalizing on crazy is okay. While I never actually stopped tuning in (am I just as bad for that?), the fact that everything else on the show was second to the abuse story-line ruined the viewing experience for me (I know... 1st world problem). I couldn’t enjoy the excessive wealth of Beverly Hills or Kyle Richards reminding us how "fabulous” her life is because the fact that Bravo was making more money (more than most people make in a year) by selling their tragic story.

There are no rules for reality, but, in my opinion, Reality TV is supposed to be fun... not corrupt and annoying. I want to be able to laugh, make fun of, and even enjoy some of these talented reality stars without anything weighing too heavily on my conscience (I’m beginning to question my own morality now). Reality TV has always been dramatic, and that's all part of the fun, but I think there needs to be a balance: They need to be dramatic, not tragic.

That being said, everyone has their own "line," so to speak. Some people might have been totally okay with RHOBH Season 2, so I want to know: What Reality Shows have made you tick? Which reality stars have made you feel uncomfortable? Feel free to leave a comment.