Hard Wired

So, there's this new reality tv show called Unan1mous. Yes, with a 1 in the middle instead of an i. It's crazy. In a nutshell, a bunch of people are stuck in a bunker of sorts and have the task of deciding who is going to get 1.5 million dollars...and the vote has to be unanimous. Not only that, but after the original vote, the money starts to decrease every second they don't come to a decision. Also, anyone who drops out causes the money to immediately be cut in half. Then!! After they vote, they all pick three secrets (they're anonymous) out of a pool of secrets that belong to the people in the group. They then all discuss which one is "the worst" and that person gets kicked off. The first group of secrets were ridiculous. One person filed for bankruptcy despite making $100,000 a year. One person was arrested for carrying live ammunition. And one person had once been in a mental institution. Now, to me it is obvious which one is considered "the worst". How could someone actually think a mental illness is inherently "bad"? Also, the people chosen are all sterotypical versions of some type of person...the hardcore Christian minister, the outspoken homosexual, the soccer mom, the southern trucker, the sleazy poker player...it's ridiculous. And of course this supposedly causes all sorts of arguments.

Anyway, I'm of course completely sucked into this horrible psychological game of a tv show...even more so than the Joe Shmoe show, which was horribly mean. It makes me think of a Tracy Chapman song on one of her more recent albums. She totally addresses the lameness of this type of thing...

Hard Wired by Tracy Chapman

Your wants, desires, needs, and wishes
Will be duly noted
Processed, filed, and catalogued
Labeled and coded
Turned into sitcom dialogue
And advertising slogans

We’ve got a box to put in your brain
Hard wired for downloading
All the secrets and the mysteries
You’ve been selfishly withholding

The dreams and hopes that once were yours
Will now be collected and dispersed
So the first to come with cash to spare
Will be the first one served

We’ve got a box to put in your brain
Hard wired for downloading
All the secrets and the mysteries
You’ve been selfishly withholding

Make you think you like to be watched
Displayed on the auction block
Invaded in your own home
Stripped naked on the television
Humiliated in front of millions

We’ve got a box to put in your brain
Hard wired for downloading
All the secrets and the mysteries
You’ve been selfishly withholding

We’ve got a box to put in your brain

Your wants, desires, needs, and wishes
Will be duly noted