"reality" shows

The other night, I was watching television. Not very shocking, I know, but there I was peering into the lives of teenage conjoined twins on TLC. Now, I will admit - I am a sucker for these types of shows. Anything that sheds a little light on things I don't fully understand, I'll get into. For instance the 'Tree Man'. This was a man that literally looked like a tree. He had contracted a simple virus (HPV - it causes warts that you and I would simply burn off and call it a day), but his system was not strong enough to fight the warts that grew, and they took over his body - his arms and legs looking like tree roots extending from his body. I was completely taken by how this virus was able to overtake this man's body and what medical science could do to help him.

Well, while I was watching these teenage girls go about their day (I believe that they were going for their drivers' licence) I got an awful feeling in my heart. Are these shows really any different from the old-fashioned freak shows that one would see with a travelling circus? Sure, it's packaged a little better these days under the mask of 'science' and 'learning', but how is this different?

There are dozens of shows like this on TLC and Discovery Channel: ones about people with different types of dwarfism making their way in the world of 'big' people, ginormous families that are either two parents with 8 or more children, or two parents that can't seem to stop having babies - even after their elder children are starting families of their own and a cornucopia of 'shocking' stories about someones mystery disease or condition that somehow makes them different from the rest of the world.

Basically, to me, it boils down to a simple plot: look at me, I'm different. I am not 'normal'. Look at these guys! They're a lot smaller than you. This guys is completely covered in hair! This woman has a tumor that covers her whole face! I stopped having kids before my mother did! And we fall victim to the pretty package of 'realty show' every time!!

After a bit of soul searching, I have come to the conclusion that these programs ARE different. In a way, by giving an entire continent (or more) of people the opportunity to stare and have a glimpse into the lives of all different sorts of people, out of the ordinary conditions that could cause some to point a finger and ridicule become a little more common. Midgets become little PEOPLE, freaks become PEOPLE with shocking stories, and head cases become PEOPLE with mysterious (and now kinda cool) diagnoses. Thank you reality television for making these people cool to the freaks that once made fun of them.