Monday, June 17, 2013
Infomercials, Reality TV and the Dumbing Down of America
I had dinner with a friend a a week or so ago, and the conversation took an odd turn. Somehow, we ended up talking about trashy reality TV, teenage pregnancy, her niece and my granddaughter (neither of whom are teenagers yet) and the connections between the topics.
I think it started when I told a story about my 9 year old granddaughter suggesting that her Dad needed a NoNo laser depilatory machine to deal with his tendency to Unibrow. She'd overheard my daughter-in-law and I discussing eyebrow threading (seen it but never tried it) vs. waxing (have been getting it done at the salon when I get my air cut for years ) and plucking (my least favorite activity of all time.) My sweet little girl started quoting the infomercial like a seasoned pitchman. It was equal parts funny and disturbing.
That led to a story from my friend about a discussion she'd had with HER niece about reality TV-- specifically, MTV's 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom. ...
I think it started when I told a story about my 9 year old granddaughter suggesting that her Dad needed a NoNo laser depilatory machine to deal with his tendency to Unibrow. She'd overheard my daughter-in-law and I discussing eyebrow threading (seen it but never tried it) vs. waxing (have been getting it done at the salon when I get my air cut for years ) and plucking (my least favorite activity of all time.) My sweet little girl started quoting the infomercial like a seasoned pitchman. It was equal parts funny and disturbing.
That led to a story from my friend about a discussion she'd had with HER niece about reality TV-- specifically, MTV's 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom. ...
# posted by Unknown 
