So, a couple things right off the bat. I love Schwarzenegger movies. For a long time I thought I only liked them ironically, the way I like modern rap and dime store sci-fi books. But I've come to realize I just legitimately like them. To properly test this, I asked for nothing but his movies for my last birthday. After watching one a month for the last year, I can honestly state I like them, non-ironically, as the cheesy action movies they are.
I recently rewatched Running Man as a tribute to the recently deceased Richard Dawson, ex-host of 'Family Feud' and main bad guy in RM.
On the second disc there are two short documentaries loosely based on themes presented in the movie: one is about the rise of reality tv and the other is about the threat of a police state. Today I watched the reality tv one.
The doc, about 20 minutes long, is a mix of interviews with sociology experts, television executives, and ex-reality tv stars discussing how and why reality tv has become such an American obsession. Their answer is that we love living vicariously through others, we love watching villains, and tv shows love tiny budgets and not having to pay their talent much money. It was a match made in heaven.
The part I found most interesting is when the tv execs basically admit that reality tv isn't really that 'real'- they acknowledge that scenes are prompted, dialogue is constructed, and emotions are heightened to unbelievable levels. But in the same breath they defend it as a strong form of entertainment that still sheds light on the human condition, and thus preventing them from fully having to admit what a giant crock of shit it all is.
If you want to watch it, you can come borrow my 'Running Man' dvd.
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