I am going to start by linking to a very good article that deserves credit here. I will be the first person to admit that I avoid television that turns subjects into objects like the plague.
But what happens when the subjects of a real life TV series turn out to be actual victims?
The news that Mama June is dating convicted sex offender Mark McDaniel was a bridge too far; TLC canceled the show last week, shelving an entire completed new season of episodes. TMZ also learned that TLC is offering to pay for counselors and tutors for the children. The day after the show was canceled, Alana’s sister Anna — now 20 — claims she was allegedly sexually assaulted by McDaniel when she was 8 years old. She told People magazine that McDaniel “would try and touch me and all that stuff.”
People watched this series, I presume, because they thought it was cute?
The family’s favorite meal is a mix of butter and ketchup that Honey Boo Boo’s mother, who is known as Mama June, microwaves into a red slime and pours on to spaghetti for the girls. They call it “sketti.”
I guess ignorance of the fuel that feeds humans could be considered kitsch in some circles. I think it is willfully ignorant, considering the resources available. Google can tell even the worst cooks how to make an edible pasta.
But why do people watch this crap? Duck Dynasty? It is like people choose to associate themselves with the willfully ignorant.
American TV created Honey Boo Boo: a child, possibly victimized, certainly commodified, whose mother chooses to associate with the felon who molested her other daughter.
But she was cute, so TLC (which used to stand for The Learning Channel) saw a good bottom line for awhile.
What have we learned today?