Despite being an intelligent and well-adjusted young adult, I join the millions of viewers who are fans of reality TV. And nothing quasi-educational or inspirational, either; I admit, the trashier, the better. I happily chronicle the latest exploits of the Kardashian sisters, watch former (and presumably chronically unemployed) cast mates compete on the Real World/Road Rules challenges, and view dating show rejects vie for conquests of sex and fame on their own shows. No matter what the VH1, MTV and e! networks peddle, I find both amusement and an escape in watching the stupid and beautiful engage in activities on these shows that would be considered deplorable in normal society. That is until I saw one particular show.
Last Sunday, my sister and I decided to watch a TV program from my favorite genre. We happened upon Tool Academy 2, the second installment of the popular show on VH1. While an intermittent viewer of season one, I tuned in for 60 minutes of dysfunction anyway - and was shocked.
For those of you unfamiliar with it, the concept revolves around women frustrated with their relationships due to the conceited, obnoxious and cheating partners they date. In the initial episode, the guys are duped into attending the academy by falsely applying for the role of an energy drink spokesperson. The typically jobless and disrespectful men are then reunited with their fed-up girlfriends. Through meetings with the show’s resident counselor and different challenges, bad boyfriends are eliminated (for remaining tools) or “rehabilitated” over time (a few weeks) until a winner is declared.
This season’s cast deals with pairs who have been together for as little as a couple of months to as long as five years. The particular episode I saw dealt with hidden camera antics and a follow-up, free-talk forum where the tools could confess their bad deeds. As a result, admissions of multiple betrayals and infidelities poured out. The deceived girlfriends responded by sobbing, swearing and even slapping their lousy beaus.
I was taken aback because instead of the usual fare of spoiled trust-fund babies and washed-up rappers, real-life couples were on display, their festering, multi-year relationships available for everyone to see. One girl confronted her boyfriend about how disgusting, not to mention dangerous, it was for him to have unprotected sex with other women while dating her. Then later in the same episode they donned matching cheerleader uniforms to perform a cheer about it.
Sure, the tools and their elaborate hairstyles, flashy clothing and loud mouth, dimwitted ways are often something to laugh at. But I don’t find much funny or advantageous about a show with young women who are wasting their lives away on guys who could care less about them. Why would someone withstand such poor treatment in a relationship? Furthermore, why would someone aggressively try to change a person that bad in front of the whole world to see? Talk show hosts like Maury and Rick Lake featured similar couples on their shows for years, but have never awarded prize money to such questionable adults. Maybe that’s what bothers me the most: the competition aspect of it. The fact that grown women have no qualms about sacrificing their dignity on national television for a little bit of cash while each episode boasts new revelations about affairs and secret other girlfriends. Everyone knew the girls in school with the loser boyfriends; now these are the women who have graduated on to Tool Academy 2.
Let me say that I know what to expect when I tune into trash TV. High ratings are the name of the game, and everything errs on the side of outrageous. When strippers and the like clamor for Bret Michaels’ affection on TV, everyone understands the exposure and money (and love, sure) at stake. Daisy de la Hoya didn’t win Michaels’ heart in season two of Rock of Love, but later gained recognition as a model, wannabe musician and star of her own dating show. Albeit a little dirty, it can be win-win. But while the majority of reality shows are anything but real, I can’t help but be turned off by these real-life couples and the women who helplessly cling to their bad boyfriends. It’s no-win all around. While watching these disgraced women talk about unending love and a married future with these men, I just felt sad for them.
Unfortunately, Tool Academy 2 has slightly sullied my once pure love of scandalous reality television. Give me Speidi, Tiffany “New York” Pollard and the Girls Next Door any day; at least they’re in on the joke.
~Kathleen Garvin
kgarvin87@gmail.com
Philadelphia, PA
