John Whitehead's Commentary
"Temptation Island": "Reality-Based" TV And Broken Lives
Television has emerged as one of the most important, if not the most important, forces on how we, as modern men and women, view life. Indeed, television directs public opinion. For example, every presidential election since 1952 has been influenced by television. Every war, every major world event, is judged in the American mind by what is seen (or not seen) on TV. By interpreting history as it happens, television has the power to not only change the course of history but also the way humans think of and conceive what is considered "reality."
Most people, however, are increasingly unable to discern truth and, thus, reality. Professors Ian Mitroff and Warren Bennis in their book The Unreality Industry blame television and our TV culture for such confusion.
The claims that once were made for television have virtually all proven false. Television was to be the great entertainer that would elevate the tastes and sensibilities of the masses. Virtually no one takes that claim seriously anymore. "The entertainment component of the equation so thoroughly dominates every aspect of TV and the mass media," write Mitroff and Bennis, "that literally everything has been reduced to slick and powerful images."
Television content is not thoroughly corrupt. Certain documentary news programs, network TV and shows on publicly funded stations make positive contributions. However, whatever its content, TV's impact demands that it be taken seriously. And its unbalanced focus on entertainment for entertainment's sake gives the entire medium a hue of distorted reality--but not without consequences.
This is epitomized by the Fox television reality-based series, "Temptation Island." This program sends four unmarried couples who are "at a crossroads in their relationship" to a remote island for two weeks, where they are videotaped for 24 hours a day (if need be). A pool of 26 eligible singles test the couples' will power and try to undermine their relationships. The network has said that the couples are willing to test their relationships and will be set up on dates with the singles who best reflect their ideal mate. At the end of their two-week getaway, the couples decide whether to stay together.
"Temptation Island" has, of course, drawn some protests from various religious leaders and so-called family organizations. "The idea that it is sport and amusement to see if one can destroy a relationship for the purpose of securing ratings and profits is just unacceptable," Rabbi Kenneth D. Roseman was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.
This issue, however, is not about politics, the Right or the Left, or even religion's place in society. It's about what we as a people believe to be important and what we watch and how it affects us. God knows that we do not need any more broken lives. Thus, the fact that a major television network would produce and promote a program to that end is disturbing.
Remember, it was Fox that produced and aired "Who Wants To Marry A Multimillionaire?" which featured the ill-fated marriage of Rick Rockwell and Darva Conger. The show was routinely criticized when it was learned that a former fiancé had served Rockwell with a restraining order and that Conger, who felt she had been deceived, quickly moved for annulment.
Is Fox simply irresponsible? Are shows like "Temptation Island" a symptom or a cause of such societal ills as broken families and our otherwise disrupted lives? Are concerns such as those of Rabbi Roseman to be taken seriously? In light of what has happened to the American family, they certainly are. Just last year, a startling report by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago dropped its bombshell that the entire social fabric of American culture is being upended as a result of our deteriorating family and the conditions that undermine care for our children.
Because of divorce, cohabitation (unmarried adults living together) and single parenthood, a majority of families rearing children in the Twenty-first Century will probably not include the children's two parents. Moreover, most households will not include children at all.
"Marriage has declined as the central institution under which households are organized and children are raised," commented Tom Smith, author of the report. In fact, a growing proportion of children have been born outside of marriage.
Obviously, the images our children view do affect them, or we wouldn't be concerned about violence in movies and ratings for television shows. Moreover, make no mistake about it, a certain cross-section of our children watch nearly everything on TV, and many will be glued to their sets watching the sexual escapades and relationship wranglings of "Temptation Island."
Of course, the often chaotic and disorienting nature of modern culture is not all television's fault. There are obviously other factors. But television is one of the most potent forces in our culture. And television programs and programmers consciously distort reality to sell their shows and products, note Professors Mitroff and Bennis. Consequently, television is, in their words, "both salient and dangerous."
But how far will those manipulating the images on television go to sell their products? Do they realize that what they're showing to millions can have potentially destructive results? Or do they even care, as long as they make a hefty profit?
Most people, however, are increasingly unable to discern truth and, thus, reality. Professors Ian Mitroff and Warren Bennis in their book The Unreality Industry blame television and our TV culture for such confusion.
The claims that once were made for television have virtually all proven false. Television was to be the great entertainer that would elevate the tastes and sensibilities of the masses. Virtually no one takes that claim seriously anymore. "The entertainment component of the equation so thoroughly dominates every aspect of TV and the mass media," write Mitroff and Bennis, "that literally everything has been reduced to slick and powerful images."
Television content is not thoroughly corrupt. Certain documentary news programs, network TV and shows on publicly funded stations make positive contributions. However, whatever its content, TV's impact demands that it be taken seriously. And its unbalanced focus on entertainment for entertainment's sake gives the entire medium a hue of distorted reality--but not without consequences.
This is epitomized by the Fox television reality-based series, "Temptation Island." This program sends four unmarried couples who are "at a crossroads in their relationship" to a remote island for two weeks, where they are videotaped for 24 hours a day (if need be). A pool of 26 eligible singles test the couples' will power and try to undermine their relationships. The network has said that the couples are willing to test their relationships and will be set up on dates with the singles who best reflect their ideal mate. At the end of their two-week getaway, the couples decide whether to stay together.
"Temptation Island" has, of course, drawn some protests from various religious leaders and so-called family organizations. "The idea that it is sport and amusement to see if one can destroy a relationship for the purpose of securing ratings and profits is just unacceptable," Rabbi Kenneth D. Roseman was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.
This issue, however, is not about politics, the Right or the Left, or even religion's place in society. It's about what we as a people believe to be important and what we watch and how it affects us. God knows that we do not need any more broken lives. Thus, the fact that a major television network would produce and promote a program to that end is disturbing.
Remember, it was Fox that produced and aired "Who Wants To Marry A Multimillionaire?" which featured the ill-fated marriage of Rick Rockwell and Darva Conger. The show was routinely criticized when it was learned that a former fiancé had served Rockwell with a restraining order and that Conger, who felt she had been deceived, quickly moved for annulment.
Is Fox simply irresponsible? Are shows like "Temptation Island" a symptom or a cause of such societal ills as broken families and our otherwise disrupted lives? Are concerns such as those of Rabbi Roseman to be taken seriously? In light of what has happened to the American family, they certainly are. Just last year, a startling report by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago dropped its bombshell that the entire social fabric of American culture is being upended as a result of our deteriorating family and the conditions that undermine care for our children.
Because of divorce, cohabitation (unmarried adults living together) and single parenthood, a majority of families rearing children in the Twenty-first Century will probably not include the children's two parents. Moreover, most households will not include children at all.
"Marriage has declined as the central institution under which households are organized and children are raised," commented Tom Smith, author of the report. In fact, a growing proportion of children have been born outside of marriage.
Obviously, the images our children view do affect them, or we wouldn't be concerned about violence in movies and ratings for television shows. Moreover, make no mistake about it, a certain cross-section of our children watch nearly everything on TV, and many will be glued to their sets watching the sexual escapades and relationship wranglings of "Temptation Island."
Of course, the often chaotic and disorienting nature of modern culture is not all television's fault. There are obviously other factors. But television is one of the most potent forces in our culture. And television programs and programmers consciously distort reality to sell their shows and products, note Professors Mitroff and Bennis. Consequently, television is, in their words, "both salient and dangerous."
But how far will those manipulating the images on television go to sell their products? Do they realize that what they're showing to millions can have potentially destructive results? Or do they even care, as long as they make a hefty profit?
ABOUT JOHN W. WHITEHEAD
Constitutional attorney and author John W. Whitehead is founder and president of The Rutherford Institute. His most recent books are the best-selling Battlefield America: The War on the American People, the award-winning A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State, and a debut dystopian fiction novel, The Erik Blair Diaries. Whitehead can be contacted at staff@rutherford.org. Nisha Whitehead is the Executive Director of The Rutherford Institute. Information about The Rutherford Institute is available at www.rutherford.org.
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