“Honey Boo Boo” – Shitty Television or Exploitation?
I came across this article on nbcnews.com the other day.
It contemplates the nature of the TLC program Here Comes Honey Boo Boo. Namely, whether it constitutes entertainment or exploitation. I would argue neither. However, being an openminded individual, I am capable of recognizing the possibility that others may interpret this program to be “entertaining.” So I’ll work from there. Here’s a snippet of the article.
In “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo,” Alana shares the screen with mother June, father “Sugar Bear,” and her sisters (from “craziest” to “pregnantest”). All together, the family offers a look inside their “redneckonize” lifestyle and a seemingly endless supply of wacky, oh-so-quotable comments that leave viewers laughing.
But is the audience laughing with the family as the group tucks into a dinner of road kill or adds a pig to Alana’s pageant routine, or are they laughing at them? Does it even matter?
To clarify, you’d never find me in front of a television broadcasting any of TLC’s boring, repetitive, metrosexual programming unless it was next to a pretty female who’s considering having sexual intercourse with me. Having said that, I have no problem with the existence of such programming, I just think they’re devoid of any value whatsoever. But I don’t think they’re exploitive.
Don’t get me wrong, I do care about the wellbeing of our nation’s children. But even the show from which Honey Boo Boo spun-off is not exploitation in my book. The phenomena of human behavior which Toddlers in Tiaras documents is another thing totally – I do believe that pageants exploit the little girls that participate in them as much as they exploit the adult women who participate in them. But if someone comes along and does a television show documenting this abhorrent behavior, there’s nothing inherently exploitive about that.
But back to Honey Boo Boo. After I was done wondering why they didn’t do a similar article about Toddlers in Tiaras, I became perturbed when I looked at the following poll nbcnews.com was conducting at the end of the article.
44% of nbcnews.com readers see it as exploitation? Really people?
I actually did sit down and forced myself to watch Here Comes Honey Boo Boo upon reading this. And I can assure you, Honey Boo Boo is an attention whore for whom business is a-bangin’. As a fellow attention whore, I can attest that I would have loved nothing more as a child than to have had my own fucking television show. Are you kidding me? That would’ve been the goddamn bee’s knees.
Furthermore, she clearly belongs to a family of slightly less bombastic attention whores who love and care for her. If the 44% from the above poll actually sat down and watched the show, I doubt they’d be of the opinion that “It’s clearly exploitation.”
Alrighty then, just had to get that off my chest.
3 Responses to ““Honey Boo Boo” – Shitty Television or Exploitation?”
I think it’s hilarious… and how can you exploit someone who voluntarily agrees to be on the show? I’m sorry, but adults are responsible for their own actions, regardless of their education or intelligence. Lose the “everyone’s a victim” philosophy, it’s killing this country!
I watched one episode, and I was appalled. It’s exploitation, the worst kind, and manipulative as well. These people are being manipulated for whatever they are being paid to be filmed.
Wow! This surprises me. Your opinion is probably the one that’s most likely to change mine in any given situation, but I gotta stick to my guns on this one. Can you elaborate a little with regard to what you mean by ‘manipulative?’ Actually, could you just elaborate on your whole opinion a little more?
Here’s how you manipulate people you film for a show. Tape hours and hours of them talking into a camera, including when they are tired, hungry and not thinking clearly. Feed them provocative questions. Then use only the dumbest things they say. Likewise, suggest activities for them to perform that make them look like idiots. You’re giving them a fat paycheck each week, so they will be happy to comply. Give the adults alcohol. Make sure the kids are drinking “go juice” – sugary sodas+over-caffeinated energy drinks. The producers of this show are creating the “reality”. That’s what I meant.