Uni life is stressful. It’s deadline season, the weather is bitter and the sun sets before five o’clock. Time to wind down and relax is necessary. Leisure time in Exeter mostly consists of popping to the pub or running down to Timepiece in your best outfit. However, it’s November, and these options seem less than ideal when the sun has gone down before the “pres” have started and the cloakroom charge is hefty for a hat, scarf and gloves. Staying in, with the heating on and a cup of tea in hand seems far more appealing.
I, however, have to get my drama kick from somewhere. If it’s not gossip in the Wetherspoons toilet, or debriefing the night in Efe’s Grill, it has to be reality TV. One episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians contains the drama and excitement of an entire weekend in Exeter and is a pretty reliable way to get some excitement from the comfort of your own house. (Please note this applies only to the earlier seasons – anything after season seven doesn’t interest me).
One episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians contains the drama and excitement of an entire weekend in Exeter and is a pretty reliable way to get some excitement from the comfort of your own house.
The show is, of course, far from educational, but this is exactly the point. They’re rich, out of touch, and disrespectful to their parents. Their lives are so far from mine that I can’t help but be intrigued. Nothing of substance is ever really discussed, and it’s not very often that an episode has a real stressful or emotional climax. It doesn’t take an emotional toll or much attention span to consume. It’s the perfect show to watch when you want to be absorbed into a different reality, away from work, away from pasta for dinner every night, away from broke student life.
Episodes are packed with outrageous plots, mostly because this family would do anything to get famous. There are rarely consequences for their actions as any unrest or disobedience in the household makes for good TV. Brain rot aside, shows such as this one can have benefits in terms of social understanding and interactions. Being able to spectate people in their “true form” without risking any personal involvement is like a crash course in human behaviour.
You can observe family dynamics, relationship breakdowns and individual attitudes from the safety of your bed or sofa. Learning about these people, regardless of their entirely unrealistic economic standing, makes you more receptive to the people around you. Reality TV comes with a wagon of stigma rolling behind it. While I understand the risks of overconsuming superficial media when ingested in moderation, this genre can be a great form of escapism.
Reality TV comes with a wagon of stigma rolling behind it. While I understand the risks of overconsuming superficial media when ingested in moderation, this genre can be a great form of escapism.
As long as you’re still hitting your targets, and feeding your brain in other areas, there’s nothing wrong with being entertained on autopilot for a while – I’m not saying go and binge Keeping Up With the Kardashians… I’m saying finish that essay you’ve been avoiding and then binge Keeping Up with the Kardashians.
