Friday, May 12, 2006

Whatever Happened . . .?


I was just thinking today about whatever happened to Morgan Spurlock and his show "30 Days". I looked forward to watching him try to live some sort of extreme situation or find some crazy person to live in a lifestyle that is totally opposite of their belief system. You had the ultra-christian that lived as a muslim in a predominantly muslim town. Or a NRA card totin' homophobic live in the Castro District of San Francisco with a gay man. I especially liked when Morgan tried to support himself and his girlfriend on nothing but minimum wage - OUCH! The one that I didn't get at all was the mother that wanted to teach her binge drinking daughter a lesson by becoming a binge drinker herself. That didn't make much sense to me at all. I wondered what I would be like if I lived in any of those situations. I don't think I would have a problem living as a muslim. I've always found other religions interesting and I like to learn about the beliefs of others - coming from a religion that has had its own share of persecution due to ignorance. I know what it is like to live on minimum wage because I was a college student and I ate my share of noodles and baked potatoes. Binge drinking? Just not going to happen. I also wondered if a reality show were to try and put me in a lifestyle that was the polar opposite to my own, what would it be like? Would I get all hot and bothered like the people on "Wife Swap" and "30 Days"? Or would I realize that I am only living this way for 14 or 30 days and what does it really matter? Why do I care what these people think? It's an interesting experiment with human emotions and behavior. Why do people get so vested in short-term situations that they know were contrived to get their goats? I don't know. Whatever the reasons may be, I look forward to another season of "30 Days" so I can watch another handful of people go nuts when they knowingly try to live in a Bizarro World of their own.

5 comments:

Melissa said...

Interesting thoughts. I guess if they picked laid-back, easy-going people for these reality shows, there wouldn't be much drama. Can you imagine one of those shows where everybody just pretty much got along?

Still, I've got to agree with you. What's with these people? Don't they know they're being filmed? If I were going to be on national TV, I think I'd be on my best behavior. Maybe it's all rigged, and they're getting paid to act like idiots (aka Jerry Springer).

Kyla Armstrong said...

I think people tend to get caught up in the heat of the moment. I tend to be an emotional person (as you well know), so I could maybe see myself getting all cuckoo on national television even if my best judgement told me I needed to be on my best behavior. On the other hand, maybe you are right and it is all rigged. I might act a little extreme to make a few thousand dollars:) Terrible, I know.

Melissa said...

I would love to see you on a reality show. I'm picturing our freshman year as an episode of Big Brother or something. Slightly less drama, but a lot more fun.

Kyla Armstrong said...

I think our freshman year would have made an excellent reality show. Remember the beast wars? Classic. You know what would have made for even more drama? The year we lived with Aubrey at Stadium Terrace. One of my most favorite memories is Aubrey waking in the middle of the night to the life-size cutout of Dracula next to her bed and do a kung-fu on it. Loved it. Oh, and Jenn and her many men? The nose? Dagum? Just to name a few. Dramarama!

Melissa said...

Hey, maybe we did have the necessary drama. And it sure would be nice to have it all on film. I completely forgot about a few of those things. You have such an excellent memory. I do, however, remember Aubrey perched on the arm of the couch like a bird. Fun times.