You may be familiar with this exact or a parallel scenario: you are engaging, through no fault of your own, in a one-sided conversation with some sort of pseudo-philosopher Timothee-Chalamet-looking type. They are chewing your ear off about Foucault and the genre-bending prowess of Aphex Twin. Their breath is warm in your ear, and their grip is tight on a 330ml aluminium can of something called ‘hazey sparkle cowboy juice’.

They sneer at you as you tell them that your favourite singer is Gracie Abrams and that the last book you read was a title you cannot remember. This is because it was on your Kindle Paperwhite. This character might have even been wearing a shallow beanie or donning multiple patchwork tattoos. Bonus points if they had a copy of Dante’s ‘Inferno’ hanging out of their yellow contrast-stitched back pocket. Before they slither off, they make sure to tell you that mobile phones have sizzled this generation’s brain cells for good, and the only way to make it out alive is to move to a commune and become entirely self-sufficient, or to start microdosing shrooms at the very least. You wonder what you did in a previous life to warrant such unsolicited beration from such a painfully contrived caricature.

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(P.S. If you are reading and resonate with this completely improvised, made-up character, this was a fictional model provided for narrative purposes, minimal offence intended)

The Myth of Intellectualism

Anyway, I digress. The point of this piece is to dismiss the myth of intellectualism that anchors itself through relation to the ‘finer pleasures’ of high-brow media. This line of thinking is ultimately rooted in misogyny and classism.

Also, on a more simplistic level, it is incredibly dull. Where is all the fun in a life devoid of silliness? The sentiment that I am trying my hardest to express here is that a person’s intelligence cannot be determined simply through the amount of ‘intelligent’ content that they consume. Rather, I argue that intelligence is fostered by what is extracted and observed from the content consumed. This is not to say that there is no merit to reading a classic novel or watching a French New Wave film. If you love these things, great. But the content of your character is not equivalent to the ‘quality’ of your likes. They do not make you a good person, and you are no better than sweet, soft Julie, who is tucked up in her oodie binge-watching First Dates. This piece is a reminder of the value in engaging with as many facets of culture as possible.

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Using Reality TV to Examine Human Behaviours

For example, more ‘low-brow’ forms of media, such as reality television, can be valuable sites of human behaviour examination. As my English teachers relished in exclaiming, “Shakespeare’s plays were the soap operas of their time”. There is something timeless about a love triangle.

Or a miscommunication. Or a drink thrown in the face. ‘Trash TV’ can be particularly beneficial in generating conversation around the very mechanisms of human interaction; an insight into the function and consequences of emotions that drive us all. Watching shows like Love Island and Married at First Sight allow viewers to express their own opinions regarding communication styles, relationship expectations, and the treatment of minorities, sparking conversations that generate healthy environments of free, honest communication.

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When shows are centred around the relationships between contestants, as soon as toxic behaviours like gas-lighting and manipulation are displayed, keyboard warriors come out in their masses to call it out. This scrutiny is born from cosy-sofa settings, but the notions help to shape a culture of ‘calling-out’ that produces healthier bonds and relationships.

Young people watching these shows can depict harmful characteristics and identify red flags to look out for in future partners or friendships. They might also spur people to recognise their own faults if they see them reflected on screen.

Reality Television - For Empaths

Alongside these potential discussion benefits, it is by nature that humans are interested in each other. There is something undeniably entertaining about watching relationships form, thrive or fail. Important to note, this interest ultimately stems from empathy.

For generations, women have been demonised for ‘gossiping’ or talking about others, practices that are ultimately survival mechanisms developed to determine who is ‘safe’ enough to be trusted. To dismiss these integral aspects of humanity and reduce them to frivolity is to rid ourselves of our care for others. So, put down that book that you have been pretending to read in front of your flatmates, switch the telly on and argue about which Love Islander is in the wrong. You might just learn something about people. Or yourself.