Hi everyone!
So this blog is a little schizophrenic. One day I'm writing about protests in Russia and the continuing drama of the Arab Spring, the next I'm talking about pork chops and reality television. I think--at least for this post--I'm going to stick with Reality TV. I've been watching "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" this season if for no other reason than I was intrigued by the news of Russell Armstrong's suicide and was curious to see how (and if) it would play out on the show. Kind of morbid, I know, but I bet there's more of you out there than would admit to doing the same. For those of you who don't know, Russell was the husband of Taylor, one of the Beverly Hills housewives. Having not seen the first season, I can't compare the second season to the first. But suffice it to say that it is clear that Russell and Taylor's marriage was in a bad state for a long time previous.
The second season opened with a scene of all the housewives--minus Taylor--getting together a few days after Russell's death, expressing their grief, their concern for Taylor, etc. Then it flashed back to this past spring, in effect giving this season a narrative arc that has a pretty clearly defined ending. Taylor, not surprisingly, has been a central focus. All the ladies are bewildered by Taylor's increasingly erratic behavior. She apparently has admitted to some--off camera--that Russell physically abused her, though no one sees any outward signs of such abuse. This is fuel for much debate and a couple really nasty public confrontations between Taylor and Camille (recent ex-wife of Kelsey Grammar). We are shown scenes of Russell and Taylor in marriage counseling, interacting with each other at their daughter's fifth birthday party, and having (a particularly awkward) dinner with Kyle Richards and her husband Maurizio. Russell looks uncomfortable while Taylor's lips just seem to get increasingly big as she herself seems to shrink. In last week's episode, Taylor goes ballistic when one of Camille's friends, DeDe--whom I suspect is just trying to get a recurring role on the show because her behavior doesn't make any sense--aggressively confronts Taylor about her spat with Camille, this spat deriving from Camille's previous expression of frustration that Taylor claims she's being abused but then acts normal and lovey-dovey with Russell right after. Are you following this?
I don't know how many episodes are left this season, but I do know that we're only weeks away from Russell's death. And as truly compelling as I find the Taylor "storyline" to be, I'm rather disturbed by it and disturbed by the fact that I find it entertaining. Say what you will about the so-called reality of these reality shows, but Taylor's pain is obviously real--regardless of whether we see the physical marks of violence or not. While many would probably disagree, I like Taylor. I feel very sorry for her. As manic as her behavior is on the show, it's real, it is grounded in a reality that many of us can at least on some level relate to, which is more than I can say for Pandora Vanderpump's million dollar wedding, as entertaining and over-the-top as it is, which seems to be taking up a counter-focus on the show.
I guess what I'm trying to say here is that when reality television gets it right, it begs the question of how wrong are we as a society that witnessing the genuine pain of others becomes our Monday night entertainment?
Ciao.
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