reality?

This just in. Apparently an earnest ad for a television show on TBS. The kicker, for me, is that you're competing for $6000. Six. Thousand. Not a million. Not even 10 thousand, which seems like it might be a nice round number.

Have we sunk this low?

Is this the harbinger of a new sludgy slate of reality television wherein people do stupid, asinine things for no other reason than to be on television in the end? I envision a future world of America where everyone is on television. I think, with blogs, we've begun to see that evolution start. Everyone will have their own reality show, and without any prize. They will be as narcissistic and self-indulgent as the neverending supply of human thoughts can be. And there will be viewers who will want to tune in to see what stupid thing you'll do next. People will have hats with direct satellite feeds back to their laptops where they will encode the daily drama of their life. Look, I'm walking down the street. Oh, wait, is that a dog? Maybe I'll pet it...oh no, it bit me! Indeed this kind of 24/7 surveillance is not a new idea (George Orwell, and probably people before him even). I'm even reminded of the prescient television show from the early 80s called Max Headroom, which foretold a media clogged future.

Is this a better world? I would argue, no.

I was thinking the other night as I walked down the street listening to the irascible chatter from everyone on their cell phones that the level of human noise over the past few years has increased dramatically. Does anyone else remember a time when you could assume that if someone said something out loud near you that they were actually talking to you? I feel a little like pulling a DeNiro taxi driver routine more often than not on the sidewalks of new york. It also has diminished the importance of any utterance. By sheer volume, interesting things become banal. Important items, get lost in the deluge. I think this is the true effect of the information age.