Monday, May 6, 2013

In Defense of all things Ratchet


     Reality tv has taken over the world, LITERALLY. Gone are the days with wholesome family sitcoms and scripted dramas, now replaced by average Americans, small production budgets, and technologically advanced mansions filled more booze than your local beer & wine shop. As with any change in American culture, the addictive wave of reality tv has not been embraced by everyone.  In fact, there are many who believe that not only is reality tv a waste of good cable programming, but is a threat to the family unit as a whole.   Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not an advocate of ignorance or violence in any way, but it truly baffles me as to how these “reality” shows are really THAT MUCH different than the lives that most of us live on an everyday basis. Let me Explain.
1.       “Ratchet behavior” is present in every society, culture, race, and nation on Earth.
Unfortunately, in the world we live in, drama and negativity sells. Whether it’s physical fighting, excessive cursing, “exposing” someone on facebook, etc…we are all drawn to the bullshit. For example, look at the rise of the urban site worldstarhiphop.com.  If you have a school fight that you want people to see, put it Worldstar, if you have a low down baby daddy whose windows you decide to bust out, you put it on Worldstar. As a human race, we LOVE the drama. I don’t care how righteous you think you are, come across a 10 person brawl in the street, and I guarantee you you’re going to stop and watch the brawl!! (Especially if you’re from the hood lol)

……..which brings me to another point….
2.       
          The “high-moral” society in which we try and live and project onto the world is a lie.  From the world of entertainment, to sports, to politicians on Capitol Hill, Ratchet shit is everywhere. When it comes to the VISIBILITY of “Ratchet ish,” it really comes down to the socioeconomic class you belong to.  In the Hood, EVERYTHING IS DONE IN THE OPEN.  However, move up into a higher tax bracket and see how all of the things that hood folks are used to are done in private, or paid off to keep secret.  Our media would have you believe everything is about family values and apple pie, but we’re the same country who has a different politician cheating on his wife, stealing tax-payer funds, or some other sort of negative behavior in the news every week. (Remember Bill Clinton, Elliot Spitzer, or the Senator looking for gay sex in the bathroom?) You see, in order to keep up the face of “sweet-ole America,” those in higher society have the funds and resources available to keep their vices and flaws in the dark….that is until somebody snitches to a media outlet.

3.            Human Nature is Human Nature.  I don’t care how classy or sweet you are, let someone walk up in your face and talk about your mother, child, or family member and see how shit turns Up REAL QUICK.  You see we have this thing called the “fight or flight” method.  When faced with potential harm to our emotional or physical well -being, we are either going to stand up and fight, or try remove ourselves from the situation. If we know we don’t like someone, we normally would not place ourselves in the same environment as them, knowing that tension could possibly create a problem.  People fail to realize that on these reality shows, they are BOUND BY CONTRACT to have to meet and film with rival cast members. If there are any issues between 2 members, they cannot speak to them or about them unless it’s on camera.  I’m sorry, but if I don’t like you, I don’t fuck with you.  If I have to constantly be around someone that I really can’t stand, it’s almost a GUARANTEE that somebody’s going to get slapped or cursed out eventually.

4.            Have you seen the show Married to Medicine? Beautiful, grown, educated and classy women brawling poolside in ball gowns with weave pulling and clutches upside the head!!!  A situation occurred between Mariah and Toya, two of the doctors wives, where Toya was found to have revealed information to a third party about Mariah’s daughter not knowing that her mother’s husband wasn’t her biological father. This of course enraged Mariah. (As with anybody that knows the Mama Bear/Papa Bear protective love that comes out of you when someone tries to intentionally bring emotional or physical harm to your child.) At her husband’s birthday party, Mariah enters the party already very defensive, and as soon as Toya tries to speak to Mariah, all hell breaks loose. Now may I remind you, AGAIN, these are EDUCATED, CLASSY, WIVES OF PHYSICIANS!  And they were throwing blows like they starred on Flavor of Love.  Point being is that we all can “grow up,” but the moment someone threatens anything close to your heart, emotions fly, tempers flare, and our basic human instincts take over.

     All in All, I have no problem telling the world of my love for Ratchet tv. From “The Bad Girls Club” to “Love and Hip-Hop Atlanta,” to “Jerry Springer”, we all are ultimately sucked into these shows because of one simple fact, we can relate to it. Every one of us knows an arrogant asshole like Stevie J, who is a cheating lying dog.   Almost all of us has had a friend or family member that we want to kill because they tried to sleep with our boyfriend.   We all know a few loud-mouthed young girls who fight each other to solve every argument, and so on and so forth. REALITY TV IS REAL LIFE.  The only difference is we’re watching someone else’s drama unfold instead of our own. 

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