The Legacy of the Jerry Springer Show For years we have heard the audience yell "Jerry, Jerry, Jerry!" and go crazy for those Jerry beads. But will Jerry Springer actually be remembered years from now? Some may argue that no, Jerry Springer was just a phase and no one will care about it in the future. They may be right at some level. No one really watches the show like before, but Jerry Springer has left an impact on American culture which is something worth talking about. Springer has changed how many watch television, and in a sense, has introduced a little more explicitly violence on television. Such violence on TV has never really been seen before, or at least has not become that famous because of it. The Jerry Springer Show has sort …show more content…
It was aired in September 1991, but was a talk show based on political issues (IMDb). This was an extension to the fame he already gained in 1982 on Cincinnati's NBC's affiliate WLWT-TV, as a political reporter and commentator (Wikipedia). At the end of each segment he would include his "Final Thought." It is here where he developed his catch phrase "Take care of yourself and each other," (IMDb) which he still uses in The Jerry Springer Show. As a result of low ratings, a new producer was chosen (Wikipedia). In order to achieve higher ratings, Springer tried introducing more appealing topics, making the show what it is now. This explains why at the end of every episode of The Jerry Springer show, there is always a "Final Thought," where Springer gives the audience advice and the moral of the …show more content…
His article entitled, "Living in a Jerry Springer World," seems to show criticism against Jerry Springer. The show is a mere representation to our society today. The author admits to having watched the show before, and calls it a "guilty pleasure." He continues to tell how he thinks we are all living in a Jerry Springer world by how our society has evolved. He says "The Springer show has come to represent the extremes in our society--perversion, unlikely pairings, lying, cheating and what have you.." Houston goes on explaining how the Jerry Springer show is considered a part of what he calls the "toxic culture." His article triggers the effects on children, but was he failed to realize was that the show was not intended for children to begin with, as well as many other shows. How the children get access to viewing them is the question to be asked here. But in his conclusion he mentions "Maybe if we raised our children with some support and structure, they wouldn't be so affected by the culture that surrounds them. And maybe we need to understand that in a Jerry Springer world, the problems cease when the audience stops watching. If we don't like how our world is, we need to become part of the solution and stop being part of the problem."
Murray is arguing in this article that the shows on today are not portraying the real situations that families are forced to deal with in life. Almost all shows on today are scripted. The actors in fake family TV shows try come together to be a real life family, but it does not portray a real family at all. For the most part, all the adults in the shows have jobs,
Nevertheless, regardless of ratings, the finale and Survivor as a whole, ultimately altered the future of television. “In a matter of 13 weeks, CBS significantly launched the reality craze and had other producers and networks scrambling to find shows starring real people.” Network executives across Hollywood were swamped with pitches, writers, and regular people looking to make their big break on reality television. “A little show called Survivor came along and turned primetime television on its ear. Not only was the show a success, it became a cultural phenomenon. The audience has spoken and they have demonstrated that they have a huge appetite for this type of non-scripted
E! Entertainment Television has had various ex-Survivor cast members host some of their shows. Some have also appeared in commercials. The Rosie O’Donnell Show even went to the extent of purchasing gifts for former members of the Survivor 2 cast (one former contestant, Colby, was given a Harley Davidson motorcycle!). The most outrageous occurrence seemed to take place when former Survivor 2 contestant Jerri, posed for Playboy Magazine.
One can argue that they watch Jerry Springer purely for fun, but it is undeniable that the show is affecting society one individual at a time. The argument of whether the show has a positive or negative effect is still undetermined, but its changes are profound. It has created a society that is jaded, however more accepting yet our morals and values have deteriorated. However, without such extreme popular culture examples like this, our society would not evolve, thus it would not become better.
Do the treacherous, backstabbing ideals of reality TV shows such as Survivor, Dog Eat Dog and Big Brother actually promote and legitimise their anti-social behaviour and ideals in society, or is it merely a frivolous form of entertainment, providing an emotional outlet for the typical, stressed individual? You could argue either way.
Seinfeld was a sitcom from NBC that was very popular during the ’90s, and is often referred as “a show about nothing.” It consisted of the life of a fictitious Jerry Seinfeld and his friends in New York City (IMDb). Seinfeld reached a Nielsen rating of 21.7 percent and number one in the United States ranking during its ninth and final season (“Appendix 3: Top-Rated Programs by Season”). It was unique in the way that it portrayed social life during the ‘90s, and this inspired shows such as Friends, Ellen, and Mad About You (Pierson 49). In Seinfeld episodes, the viewer can observe social customs, fads, social standards, and family portrayals of ‘90s semi-young adults.
Jerry Springer is one of the most popular daytime talk show hosts. Each day on the Jerry Springer show, guest talk about their problems in front of national television. Jerry Springer helps his guest work through their problems by adding in comments to fuel the argument. During the show, the audience is watching the problem’s unfold with a dramatic twist to the guest’s conflicting matters. A typical day on the Jerry Springer show is filled with cursing, shouting and fighting. The fighting adds to the affect of the problem and keeps the audience entertained. The problem with the Jerry Springer show comes when the youth of America watches the program after they get home from school which is around 3 or 4 o’clock in the afternoon. A show like this only promotes violence and even talks about sexual content. One example is why a woman cheated on her husband with his sister. That might sound odd or out of the ordinary, but it attracts peoples’ attention and even our children’s.
Will, he describes the workings of television and the ways that television has morphed over the years. According to George F. Will, television is all about imitation. In order to make “good” television people create shows off of other television shows and each time they put a spit on it to make it more and more interesting and shocking. He also argues that we are becoming more and more desensitized. Television shows are increasing the amount of violence, sexuality, and degradation and at the same time people aren’t as easily shocked as they once were. He also warned us by stating, “Imitation is the sincerest form of television” (293). In other words, the idea of imitation is what brings about the added shock factor. For example, in the article was the television show Fear Factor. Fear Factor was created based on the MTV show Jackass. Fear factor takes the basic concept of Jackass and adds different twists, not to mention money, to gain viewers and participants. Another example of television imitation is the NFL versus the XFL. NFL promised that viewers would see more violence and more cheerleaders’ breasts. However, I have mixed feelings on this particular topic. Yes, I feel that reality television can be degrading, humiliating, and even desensitizing, but I also believe it’s the person’s choice to either watch the shows or even be on them. The Hills, for example, is broadcast on MTV late in
"Seinfeld" was always present in my home during its nine-year run on Thursday nights as "Must See TV," and the social commentary was welcome humor. However, not everyone was thrilled by Seinfeld's prominence in American society and the subject matter with which Seinfeld dealt. Many Christians, Jews and other minorities had problems with the show's portrayal of their respective groups. Despite criticism from ethnic and religious groups, Jerry Seinfeld and his show were possibly the best sources of social commentary that America's mainstream had to offer. The show is missed in today's current television line-up and no post-"Seinfeld" sitcom has come to the same level of cultural criticism.
So, now you might be asking yourself what show came twenty-five years after Candid Camera? The next broadcasted reality television show was An American Family. This show was written about a California family, the Louds. You would probably never believe it but this show captured it all! It showed many personal experiences in the loud family such as the parents divorce and lifestyle of their gay son, Lance. An American Family played an extremely vast role in exposing society to a more diverse and supposedly real representation of family life. This was just the beginning of unstable families shown on television. Later shows like The Simpson’s and Roseanne branched off from this family idea (The Original Reality).
As we watch, listen, and are entertained, trash television talk shows are changing our perceptions, rewriting our cultural roles, altering our social relationships, and ultimately our relationships with the ordinary world. Talk shows offer us a quasi-world of indefinite margins. They create a sensational community, without any of the social and personal responsibilities that are attached to real life. For some, the concept is an appealing notion: therapy as entertainment. The central distortion that these shows advocate is that they give useful therapy to guests and useful advice to the audience. Whether you believe it or not, trash talk shows are arenas for real people.
Another theme seen all over today is the fighting between two men or woman for the love of a woman or man. So many television episodes have been designated for this theme because of its popularity with the media. Jerry Springer is just one example. So many people enjoy this show because of the violence that is shown when two people are fighting, especially two girls for one man. I think it's rather stupid though because there are plenty other men or women in this world that one could desire.
Being the one of the most talked about genre in history, it is seen by millions of viewers. It has more ratings than any other kind of show (Breyer 16). From its start, there have been many reality television shows. Shows like The Real World, Survivor, Big Brother, and Jersey Shore. All of these give off a negative portrayal of reality.
Profanity and violence are mostly what is involved in reality tv. One advantage of having regulations would be that it would limit violence that can be a bad influence on younger viewers. “After being read arguments on both sides of the issue nearly two-thirds of parents (63%) say they favor new regulations to limit the amount of sex and violence in TV shows during the early evening hours, when children are most likely to be watching (35% are opposed).” (Facts and TV Statistics 2). By watching this kind of program, it encourages people to do what they do because they think that since those people are getting attention by doing that, they will get it too. With that being said, Shannon Kelly writes, “Some worry that if young people look to reality stars as role models, they might imitate the violence committed by the stars.” (Reali...
Lehmann, Carolin. “Reality TV: A Blessing or a Curse? An Analysis of the Influence of Reality TV on U.S. Society.” Academia. Edu 5 Nov. 2012. 29 Nov. 2013.