Real World

I know, The Real World. A shadow of its former self. What was once a revolutionary show that documented real people dealing with real problems like HIV, homosexuality, racism, eating disorders, abortion, suicide, friendship and love has now been reduced to a frat party. I was apprehensive about the Austin season. On the one hand, I love Austin and was excited to see it on screen. I hoped that the world would get to see some of the cool things the city had to offer and get a more informed view of what life in Texas really is. On the other hand, I know that the Real Worlders don't tend to let their experiences extend beyond the nearest bar based on recent seasons. I doubt we will see these guys hiking in the Greenbelt or tubing down the river. They probably won't go to the Salt Lick or play disc golf. But it could happen. So I started watching. My worst fears were confirmed. They keep showing them going to the same lame bar. Seriously, there are a lot of cool bars in Austin (Speakeasy, Plush, Bar C Lona, Joe's Generic Bar, Red Fez, Whiskey Bar) but they go to a very, very lame bar. Maybe I am biased because one of my favorite bars ever used to be in that location but got shut down by those TABC bastards. Seriously best Surfer On Acid's EVER!

Back to the point. The once fascinating Real World's biggest issue thus far was whether two very attractive people would be able to spend on night apart without hooking up with someone else. Ground breaking stuff here. But then, last week's episode changed everything. One of the roommates arrived home to an urgent message from his dad. He called his dad to find out what was wrong and received the devastating news that his mother had died. It was very hard for me to watch. I am sure it was hard for most people to watch. To see someone receive such personal, heart breaking news seems so intrusive. Danny was very upset since he was so far away and didn't get to say goodbye. To make matters worse, their relationship was very strained due to his mother's alcoholism. The ever sensitive producers actually showed their last phone conversation where Danny's mother had called, obviously drunk, and he was trying to get off the call as quickly as possible. He didn't even return his mother's "I love you." Which harsh, but when your entire life has been spent dealing with this person's addiction, in that moment, he probably wasn't feeling much love toward her. Not to say that he didn't love her. She was just very hard to love. Now, he, his family and all his friends get to see that the last time he spoke to her he didn't say he loved her. She died without hearing it one last time.

That must feel absolutely horrible. I am sure she knows he loved her. I am sure he knows she knows. But to have to watch it and have that regret must be awful. So why was it shown? That was a very personal, completely unpredictable situation. Could the story have not been told without showing those two very personal moments? Couldn't confessional interviews with Danny and the rest of the cast have done the job with a little more sensitivity?

How real is too real? I know that the participants are volunteering to have their lives shown on TV. But he didn't know this might happen. What is being accomplished by showing him dealing with this situation? Is it helping the many people who have lost their own parents? No. Will it prepare people for that possibility? Probably not. Very few people will remember what Danny from Real World Austin did when he lost his mother. It serves no real purpose. I feel it is too intrusive. That is something I don't need to see someone else experience. I think that reality TV is going to far in its attempts to explore human nature. There are just some tragedies that we don't need to see others experience.

What's next? Will there finally be a program that actually shows the death of one of its cast? We see people ripped apart by heartbreak and loss for entertainment. Sure, they signed up for it, but did they really know what would happen? How it would truly feel? Even the most heartbreaking of fictitious movies is acceptable because it isn't real. That didn't really happen. Movies like Shindler's List and Hotel Rwanda are so gut wrenching and hard to watch because it did happen. You want to turn away and hide your eyes. And while the events are really, it isn't really happening at that moment. Ralph Fiennes didn't really just shoot that man for fun. But with reality programming, it did really happen. I just saw it.

Has it gone too far? How real do we need to get? I can handle seeing Buffy deal with her mother's death much easier than I can handle seeing Danny deal with the same thing. Because as poignant as The Body was, it was just a show. Buffy isn't real. Joyce isn't real. It isn't real. Danny is. And I think it is too much.

What are your thoughts?