So what is it with these women? We know they aren’t “real” real housewives, and we know reality TV edits heavily to give us a provocative view. It’s voyeurism + gossip, with a dash of envy and a dollop of disbelief. Most of us are weary of real impacts to our much “smaller” lives in this recessionary economy.
And likely, have little sympathy for any of these characters as their “broke” and “downsizing” doesn’t exactly resemble ours.
So five years later, why are we still watching? And enjoying?
Is it because we see ourselves as like them in some way? Because we see ourselves as different? A little of both?
Bravo TV’s Housewives Franchise
More than enough has been written on the various personalities, their consorts, their excesses, their fights and flights of fancy. Successful for Bravo TV? Absolutely. But I ask myself why some offend me more than others, and why some I continue to watch – guilty pleasure though it seems.
Exactly what is it that brings me back?
Empathy, after all?
In the sunny land of Orange County, the OC Housewives have been hit by marital troubles and marital reconciliations. Illness, addictions, and death. You can’t get more real than that. Yet it’s the romantic entanglements we love to hate; could Gretchen and Slade be any sillier (or well suited) – whether it is faked or not?
And Vicki, who drove us mad with such blatant disdain for her husband, wising up over the course of a tough year? Her apparent realization that she has a devoted and caring partner? Don’t we love that?
Frankly, Don gets my vote for class act and quality reality. (And from what I read online – like that’s reliable – he didn’t want to participate in the show in the first place. Kudos, right there.)
Tamra and Simon, on the other hand, are as far apart as they could be – or so it is scripted and edited. That, too, seems real.
And for those of us who’ve lived it – it’s hard not to feel sympathy for both of these individuals. Tamra in her unhappiness, and Simon, in his (feigned?) cluelessness.
So if Bravo has managed to offer us more scenes of discord than harmony, they’re mining fertile emotional territory felt by millions of men and women. Real life, indeed.
More of more, more, more
And the others?
What about the self-righteousness of the so-called righteous? What about face lifts and Florida? Do I care? Not so much.
The complexities of female friendship, reduced to gossip and cattiness? That’s misrepresentation in my book – in proportion, if not reality. Do I like seeing that? Not so much.
And the continuing bling bling, when most of us deal with a life of ring ring – as in bill collector on the telephone? Right. Not so much.
But I watch. And I will tonight. It’s certainly a distraction from a less glamorous “reality.” But ultimately, I believe it has to do with the human aspects. Poignant and preposterous. Outrageous, and occasionally hopeful. Perhaps that’s what hooks us, and holds us. A mirror. And not so much.
I think the biggest allurement to these types of shows, especially with today’s problems, is that people want to live vicariously though another lens. It is true escapism. Some people will go as far as wishing that these overblown, ridiculous situations would really happen to them – anything is better than the reality that they are living now. Sad but true.
These shows are fun for only one reason. I like to watch them because they remind me how awesome I am in comparison 🙂 Seriously, these people are so pathetic that they make my problems seem insignificant by comparison. They are all, almost all, nothing more than train wrecks happening for all to see. Petty people pretending they’re important. They just don’t realize the joke is on them.
I watched one season of The Real Housewives of the OC. I never watched the others. I had issues with watching the NJ version as I had clients in that township. Now, I just don’t turn it on at all. I have found that a lot of what I liked that Bravo had on is no longer as good as it once was – trying to nurse too many “seasons” out of the type of program.
I’ve never seen this show. The only reality TV I watch is Survivor, and that’s partly because my kids like it and we can watch together. And partly because there are good looking women on a tropical island in bikinis. We love calling out “blurry butt!” or “blurry boob!” when the producers have to blur some portion of the shot.
I admit that I do watch this show. I think I view it more as a sitcom, I know that these people are acting (badly) and their trials and tribulations are really just for TV. Btw, Simon filed for divorce from Tamra. Their marriage downfall has been painful to watch.
You’re right Linda. It has been painful to watch their growing differences. I didn’t realize they were currently divorcing. And three young children in the mix. Having lived my own tale, that’s not something I’ll want to see on television.
This show is a guilty pleasure of mine. I watch, I laugh, I roll my eyes and keep watching. I cannot believe the stuff that comes out of these womens mouths sometimes but it IS entertaining.
I have never watched this show. I can imagine it holds the same allure to older women and men as the hills does for the younger crowd. I have seen neither.
Gilmore girls is more my style and closer to my real life than any women in bel-air-esque lives