Paris Hilton's My New BFF

Have you ever seen this show? I literally just watched it for the first time. Why? I'm not sure really, but it was amazing. Not "good" amazing, obviously, but amazing nonetheless.

It'd be real easy to trash this show, but sometimes I get in these weird states where I can tolerate mindless bits of pop culture in a kind of cultural-anthropological sort of way. It's what makes even the most dire reality shows still somewhat intriguing - it's always fascinating to watch how people behave.

Reality shows present one thing to the cameras, but what's really fascinating about them is what's implied about the behind-the-scenes goings-on. To put it more simply, what really draws me to reality shows (sometimes anyway) is that the contestants willingly submit to the torture they're subjected to, even knowing exactly what to expect. I mean, the people on Paris Hilton's My New BFF auditioned for this show because they really thought it was a good idea. Now, their reasons for doing so don't interest me. What does interest me is that a simple cost-benefit analysis of reality show fame would show that it isn't worth it, and yet people - loads of people - go for it anyway.

I'm not sure I have any deeper points to make on the matter right now. It's all more than a bit exasperating, and I could also really not give a shit, but at the same time it's morbidly fascinating.

I have used the word "fascinating" far too many times now.

Good night.