Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Authentic? Or Acting Authentic?

Authentic or Acting Authentic (More on authenticity)


I happened to be talking to someone recently about a TV show I had watched and I referred to it as the medical show with that doctor everyone loves. I couldn’t remember the name of the show or the doctor. She responded, “House?” I said, “No”. I said, “You know, it’s on Wednesday nights, ABC.” “Grey’s Anatomy?” “Yes, that’s the one.” She then said, “Right, only the hottest medical show on TV.” “Really; how interesting,” I said. And then I began to ponder that thought.
I thought about Patrick Dempsey, how authentic his character is on that show. But that’s just it; he’s playing a role, acting authentic. Who knows what he’s really like in his own life?

Have you ever thought about the fact that some of the highest paid people in this country are paid that well because they are really good at ACTING authentic. They are not being authentic in their roles in movies and television. They are acting authentic. We love the actors, the authentic roles they play. Have you ever had the experience of hearing them being interviewed on TV, when they don’t have a script memorized?

For years, I didn’t watch much TV. I thought I was above that. I didn’t want to waste my time and there wasn’t really anything on TV that would have held my full attention. Once in awhile, I would have the TV on while doing some other more important task, watching the TV with about 20% of my attention. I was one of those people who surrounded myself with people who were pretty much like me and we lived in our own little world, happy as clams with our similar belief systems.

As I mentioned in my last entry, everything was going along just fine in my illusion of reality when suddenly it hit me that the 2 top TV shows in the nation were Roseanne and Married with Children. I had seen a few bits and pieces of these shows. I had also seen Roseanne Barr interviewed on TV. I scratched my head as my curiosity was peaked. How fascinating! And there began my sociological study. With whom was I really sharing the planet? Wow! What an eye opener. I still watch TV today, as a sociological study. I want and need to know what is going on in the world. I’m not talking about the news; I’m talking about the TV shows. Reading the TV guide can really reveal some amazing truths about the world in which we live. Now the top shows include Survivor and Amazing Race. (Haven’t seen more than 5 minutes of either of those, but I pretty much know what they’re about).

So here is my conclusion about Roseanne and Married with Children, as well as the “reality” shows. (I put reality in quotes because I question whether these shows represent reality or not).
These shows have people acting like they are authentic. They act like real people. They get mad. Things get messy. The question I have for you is: “authentic or acting authentic?”

What do you love or hate about the “reality” shows?

Diana Morgan, M.A., H.H.E., Minister
PO Box 553, Santa Rosa, CA 95402
707-548-7003 or 925-980-9052
dianaconcoffmorgan@gmail.com

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