Levine

Levine writes, “But MTV’s reality soaps can be meaningful without this sort of backstory, as they draw so heavily–in their musical montages and soap-like “eggs”–on pop culture clichés.” I agree that it may be a little bit easier to catch on to MTV’s reality soaps than it is to do so for daytime soaps due to the way they unfold the story line, however, I think the backstory is still just as important to get full enjoyment out of it. For example, the first time I ever watched Jersey Shore, I despised it. I had watched episode six or seven online without knowing who any of the characters were or what any previous “drama” had been in the beginning episodes. One day, I decided to try watching the first episode to see if it was any better, and after getting to know the characters, it did end up making me want to watch the rest of the series. I never kept up with any of the other MTV shows such as Laguna Beach or The Hills because the same thing happened with them as what did with Jersey Shore. I caught reruns of them midway through the seasons and was instantly annoyed by the characters. I know a lot of people who did watch the show though and am curious to know if they started watching from the very beginning, started halfway through and liked it instantly, or gave it a second chance as I did with a series?

Laguna Beach, the Real House Wives series, and other similar shows all show us how the rich, upper class live and teach viewers that the more you have, the better. Are reality soaps designed to perpetuate consumerism?