The Allure of the Strange and Unusual at Human Expense
Centuries ago, people who were "different" in any way–those with visible disabilities, facial deformities or marks, extreme obesity, or other conditions–often found "employment" in circuses and sideshows. They were ridiculed as freaks and shut out from society, and we now look back at their plights as an ultimate example of humanity's inhumanity. We say we are too well-informed, too "politically correct," to parade people around for entertainment any longer.
Yet, we also have reality television. These days, the "freak show" looks more like documentaries chronicling the lives of little people, large fundamentalist families, people who have broken away from extreme forms of religion or cults, and yes, the extremely obese or thin again. We also have documentaries that place miserably failing restaurants, hotels, and other businesses on display, mostly so the hosts can be lauded for saving them and the business owners, who are implicitly understood to be careless or stupid.
Some reality shows are much gentler than others, doing their best to present their subjects with dignity and as real, three-dimensional people. Discouragingly though, the shows that seem to pull in the ratings and the viewers are the same ones that invite viewers to gawk and ridicule.
Why is this? Is the nature of reality TV itself to present the most unusual of humanity at people's expense–that is, is there nothing to be done about it? What does it say about us as humans that we continue to consume and enjoy this entertainment? Discuss.
Some examples you might use:
-The filthiest and most rundown establishments on Hotel Impossible or Restaurant " "
-The shower scenes of My 600-Lb Life, which viewers and reviewers often call "the obligatory shower scene" (they're often part of drinking games)
-The most extreme or scary-looking cults in documentaries
-The controversy and scandal surrounding the Duggar family, including the marriages of grown daughters and resulting spin-off series
-Places featured on documentaries like Most Terrifying Places in America, Ghost Adventures, etc.