Yes. Those. My two minds. The one that is educated, outspoken, progressive, a fan of women's rights and then the other that is a fan of all things pop culture; in particular the Real Housewives of Wherever....
I've watched them all, - OC, New York, Atlanta, New Jersey. Bravo recently aired a season of the New York housewives which I dvr'd and watched on the sly, knowing that the hubs has ZERO interest in any of what he would likely refer to as 'drivel'. The New Jersey ladies are just starting their new season.
I would be hard pressed to put my finger on what it is about the Real Housewives that I like. The women couldn't be further from who I am. Their lives couldn't be further than mine. Yet, I find it intriguing. In a train wreck kind of way. I start rubber necking at what I see on the screen and I can't turn away.
This morning as I started to watch the New York Reunion Part 1 episode my other mind decided to speak up. It didn't really have nice things to say. The reunion episode brings the housewives of each season together for a live look-back at the episodes. As is no shock, they focus on the conflict and what is shown in retrospect is brought to life with new vim and vigor in the studio. What my second mind began to shout at the first is, "They've made the grown up version of mean girls. Turn it off, turn it OFF, TURN IT OFF."
These women do nothing but snipe and back bite and bitch about each other. They pass judgment on how each other lives, on the choices they make in men, on the clothes they wear, on whether the other is crazy (Um, hello, pot? This is kettle....).
As soon as mind 2 shouted at mind 1 the whole damn thing just lost its appeal. I can't pretend anymore that I don't see the horrible message the show is sending to the world about women and their relationships. It paints women in an unflattering light and in particular, I think, hunts up these women who are bound to have conflict with each other, thus making for good TV for suckers like me.
So, I turned it off.
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