Attack of the Television Talk show
"Jerry Springer." "Ricki Lake." "Jenny Jones." Today, There are more than thirty television talk shows in production. These shows are built solely on excitement, and barely resolve the complicated issues they attempt to address. Talk shows have gone from discussing simple topics like current events and celebrity gossip in the 1960's to exposing people's most personal problems in front of millions of viewers. Television talk shows have no other purpose than polluting televisions and corrupting the minds of viewers. The content of the daytime talk shows is repetitive. The shows either focus on raunchy sex topics like " I'm sixteen, and I've had more than one hundred sex partners." (Maury Povich) or ridiculous situations such as, " Make my drag queen son look like a man for just one day." Fifteen years ago, these taboo topics were kept behind closed doors. At that time, television shows discussed people in need of makeovers and inspirational stories like overcoming an illness. Today's shows strive to push the limits. Basically the more bizarre the show the higher the ratings. According to an E! online article, by Bridget Byrne, " Foul language, overt sexual references, and violent behavior have all increased on daytim
e television by thirty-one percent in the last three years." Who is to blame for this increase? The viewers. Talk shows are designed to catch our attention, and they apparently succeed. Many people thrive on seeing others that are less fortunate than themselves and talk shows have the ability to make viewers feel less insecure when they show a guest who's husband beats her. On these shows guests are humiliating themselves on national television, and viewers are being misguided in solving real life issues. Talk shows are designed primarily for entertainment, but what about the people who rely on the shows for education? They are being taught that having sex with numerous partners is something to be proud of, and it might even get them a trip to the Jenny Jones show. These people are learning that provocative dressing might earn them a makeover on television, or that the way to solve an argument is through physical fighting, at least this is what the Jerry Springer show is teaching. For the most part, talk shows have no educational value neither do they discuss issues with any substance. The average person understands this, but there are those who take these shows seriously. For those
Some common words found in the essay are:
Amedure Schmitz, Jenny Jones, Byrne Foul, Jerry Springer, Maury Povich, TV American, Ricki Lake, Jonathan Schmitz, television talk, jerry springer, Scott Amedure, jenny jones, children watching, people watch, talk designed, daytime television, entertainment people, ricki lake,
Approximate Word count = 811
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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