I think I finally get Reality TV

When the whole reality tv things reared its ugly head I wound up being (at least I felt like) I was the only person on the world who didn't get what the heck the attraction was.

People surviving on dessert islands, trying to lose weight, singing on tv,  dating.  It just kind of left me wondering Huh?

But that was until I started watching hoarders. 

Hoarders for anyone who hasnt seen it yet,  Is basically the pornography of the home improvement set.  It features people who are messy, (very very messy).  food that is years out of date, dead cats, animal feces.  Child Protective Services.


Bery very messy.

Now I am a fan of home improvement shows,  I have been for years.  But my big complaint was always why do they have to focus on the people,  cant they just show how to replace that sink?

But with hoarders,  I am fascinated by the interactions.  Mostly between the hoarders and their equally damaged enabling spouses, children, and other significant others. 

You see I was married to one of these nuts for a long time.  She wasn't a hoarder in the way these guys are, but her attitude was the same, the narcissm,  the my way or the highway attitude,  the pulling out all of the emotional stops to get their way.

I see these power struggles of my marriage played out once a week. 

But I dont think the whole thing is masochistic,  in an odd sort of way, I think its empowering.  I experience those feelings of anger, of frustration, and them I can sort of sit back and say to myself that I have overcomed that, I have moved on.  I have conquered that problem.

So that I think is the fascination of reality tv,  it gives a chance to relive our emotional memories.  To feel things that we haven't felt before.