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| Requiem for a Dwarf |
| 02.17.04 (1:23 pm) |
[image]bkriner_1274482659 .jpg[/image]
Reality dating television is a giant, blinking neon sign of our troubled times. In lieu of producing creative, coherent entertainment, the major networks are now producing expensive sociology experiements. The once innovative formula is now cliche: a control group of women competes for the hand of one man. The man systematically eliminates them until he finds the one with whom he'd most like to appear on the cover of [i]People[/i] magazine. After several rounds of [i]The Bachelor, The Bachelorette,[/i] and [i]Joe Millionaire[/i], the Darwinistic dating show idea seemed out of possibilities for expansion. However, Fox has provided a shockingly tasteless entry to the Reality Moron-athon in the diminutive form of [i]The Littlest Groom[/i], a show that plays like a funeral for American culture.
[i]The Littlest Groom[/i] features a handsome, 23 year old dwarf named Glen, who must select a companion from a group of twelve dwarf women, much in the style of [i]The Bachelor[/i]. According to the Fox web site: [i]"THE LITTLEST GROOM will venture where no other show has gone by helping a young man who is 4’5” tall to find true love. Initially believing he will choose among women of similar stature to his own, he later discovers, in a surprising twist, that some average-sized women will enter the picture. Will his ideal mate be a little person, or will she be of average height?"[/i] I could not believe my eyes when I came across this program. I laughed, but not because I was entertained. I laughed involuntarily, the way one kicks when struck in the knee by the doctor's rubber mallet.
Fox's pretense that [i]TLG[/i] is about a man's quest for love is insulting. The purpose of the show is to exploit the human tendency to stare at unusual sights; in this case, the sight of thirteen dwarves on a reality dating show. The program is not offensive because it features dwarves, but because dwarfdom is used as a plot device to determine the show's outcome. For years, dwarves have been used to generate revenue for circus freak shows and, in the post Mini-Me era, violent slapstick comedy. Fox is shamelessly exploiting these stereotypes to get a quick ratings boost during February sweeps.
The fact that [i]The Littlest Groom [/i]is batting cleanup in Fox's Monday Night lineup is an indication of a fundamental shift in the nature of entertainment. In the past, entertainers were people who amused and engaged audiences through their extraordinary talents. As evidence of the Dumbing Down of America, today's entertainment consumers have eschewed artistic talent in favor of a series of geek shows. A geek was a 19th century circus performer whose show consisted of bizarre acts, such as biting the head off a live chicken. Even though the geek show was violent and offensive, circusgoers couldn't resist indulging in a strange spectacle. Fox is cashing in on the geek principle: time and money need not be spent developing creative art when consumers would rather see a series of visual train wrecks.
The trends illustrated by [i]The Littlest Groom[/i] are more alarming than the show's content. We live in a time where television networks are bending over backwards to limbo under the ever-lowering bar of socially redeeming content. Here we are only six weeks into 2004 and we have already been presented with Janet Jackson's breast and little people on parade. What will ABC and NBC do to stake out their 15 minutes of notoriety? There is an increasing sense that no subject is too crass, to lame, or too short to exploit for a few more ratings points.
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posted by: newbie
post date: 02.19.04 (6:47 am)
I am surprised no one has commented on your article. I think the picture adds the human element.
Let's not, however, ignore the people who volunteer to go on these shows. What are they thinking is the question I ask over and over again.
posted by: bkriner
post date: 02.19.04 (7:00 am)
Reply to: kge
Thanks for your comments. I don't know what the people on the shows are thinking. I guess it's the fame, brief although it may be, and the money. In this case, the producers contacted the Little People of America for input on how to make the show in a sensitive manner. The LPA went along with it to some degree. Sad, isn't it?
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