Every man is a creature of the age in which he lives and few are able to raise themselves above the ideas of the time.
VoltaireRead
Reality television is to television what marble and gold are to real estate. The point is to dispense with the idea of taste. It's all id. The more unrestrained the better. We all know that 'reality' in reality television is not real. That anybody who would participate in reality television is a fake. But pretending otherwise makes them real.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Reality television thrives on a lack of taste and authenticity, presenting a fake version of reality that audiences consume.
In this quote, Michael Wolff critiques the phenomenon of reality television, likening it to superficial adornments in real estate, such as marble and gold, which distract from true value. He argues that reality shows capitalize on the absence of genuine taste and authenticity, embracing excess and unrestrained behavior. The self-awareness about the falseness of reality in these shows suggests that participants and viewers engage in a collective pretense, where the act of pretending transforms their artificial existence into something perceived as real.
Themes
Reality TelevisionAuthenticityTasteIllusionFake
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in discussions about the effects of reality television on viewer perceptions.
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