Jon & Kate Plus 8–Should We Be Watching?
Author: DavidJones // Category: Ethics, Pop Culture, TV
Jon & Kate Plus 8 debuted on the Discovery Channel in April 2007. The show chronicles Jon and Kate Gosselin and their 8 children. In 2008, the show moved to TLC. When the show first debuted, it drew some attention, but it was not a media phenomenon. However, over the past few months, more attention and more viewers have been received by the show than ever before.
Part of the reason the show has received so much hype is because of the ongoing marital problems between Jon and Kate Gosselin. With cameras around 24/7, the problems are impossible to hide. Even off-camera, the tabloids have reported stories of Jon cheating on Kate with a younger woman, and Kate cheating on Jon with a bodyguard.
There has also been a lot of hype made about the possible exploitation of the children on the show. Some experts believe the young children have no way of protecting themselves from the media and spotlight, and they have been forced to endure emotional distress.
In spite of (or because of) the ongoing problems within this “reality TV” show, the fifth season of the show premiered with a record 9.8 million viewers, making it the most watched show of that evening, including broadcast TV. However, the show was anything but glamorous as it further chronicled the marital missteps of Jon and Kate the nosedive of their marriage.
As the problems keep on rising, more viewers tune in to watch. It’s as if more and more people want to gather around this train-wreck and watch as the tension and drama mounts.
Do you think there is an ethical dilemma regarding viewing this show? Is it possible that the show has actually contributed to the failure of Jon and Kate’s marriage, and is it possible that by watching the show, we’re contributing to it too?
This issue has really plagued me recently. This isn’t a fictional drama; this is real life. Is it completely innocent to watch this near-documentary of an American family, or are we taking part in the decaying moral fiber of our society?
Something to toss around and chew on…
Tags: 5th season, Discovery, fifth season, Jon & Kate Plus 8, Should we be watching, TLC
June 2nd, 2009 at 4:13 pm
I don’t really understand why someone would even be TEMPTED to watch this, but then again, I don’t really get the appeal of reality t.v. (I get enough reality in my own life without watching it at night). But yeah, it’s definitely a moral issue; if you can watch that and enjoy it, it just indicates where your own morality is at, and if you don’t enjoy it, then why watch it?
June 4th, 2009 at 1:12 pm
Not so sure their issues are as bad as the media makes them out to be. The producers pick and choose what scenes to broadcast. For all we know, there could be just as many scenes of Kate being a caring and supportive wife that they just decided to leave out.
Also, I’m not so sure you could exactly call it “real life.” People do things a lot differently when they are being recorded doing it.
It’s all about ratings.
You do bring up some very good points about the potential danger of reality TV (which is a ridiculous term IMO).