Friday 6 July 2007

The World's Next Top Egoist


As one hops from one TV channel to another, it is almost impossible to avoid the deluge of reality-tv shows that has spread like a virus across all the continents! One day there is "Big Brother", the next day "The Girls of the Playboy Mansion", the following day "Britain's Next Top Model"...the list is almost endless!!!


I must say that I am not so surprised by the increase in the number of shows such as "Britain's Next Top Model"; the engineers of a capitalist society are expected to do their utmost to seduce people into believing that capitalism is the only path towards a better world. The same individuals are often heard saying that capitalism has no alternatives. In that way, they attempt to dissuade millions of people from trying to break away from the capitalist system in order to construct a world in which all people live happily and without any deprivations.


Unfortunately, it seems that few people have been questioning the beliefs that are being supported by such shows. Taking "Britain's Next Top Model" as an example, what can one see? Of course, many people might enjoy seeing a handful of good-looking individuals parading some of their best assets. Yet, like most of the other reality-tv shows, only one person is expected to make it to the very end. Indeed, the programme is not called "Britain's Next Top Models"; the producers are seeking the "next top MODEL"! One of the main implicit messages of the show is that you should do whatever it takes in order to win! The friendships developed during such programmes seem to come and go according to whether they enable a contestant to look better or to be more popular. In short, a show such as "Britain's Next Top Model" is merely a tool to promote competition over co-operation.


Some scholars talk very positively about competition, but few people can deny various things associated with it. Competition normally leads to a great lack of trust, secretiveness, less sharing, and the desire to be better than most, if not all, other people.


Rooted in capitalist systems, most countries in the Western world have become champions of competition. Virtually every company in such countries talks about being competitive, about smashing its rivals, about keeping an eye on what the other companies are doing so that they do not become more popular...


In a nutshell, shows such as "Britain's Next Top Model" serve mainly to promote egoism. No matter how entertaining they are said to be, I strongly doubt that they will help to build a better world for everyone. Perhaps we will soon be watching "The World's Next Top Egoist"!!!




2 comments:

La delirante said...

Reality TV is so lousy! With only a couple of minutes watching that shh...you realize that it only promotes bitchiness. All you see are girls (and boys in the case of other reality shows apart form the models ones) acting like bitches to disqualify the rest.

Annemarie said...

Television was previouly a means of entertaining people in an intelligent manner by promoting talents and providing information. This is becoming less and less while we are getting more and more of the reality TV shows. The role models children and teenagers are being offered today are just people seeking popularits at all costs or simply pure exhibitionists.