Gwaks Shows

¶ … Television talk shows can be embarrassing, and it would be better if people turned them off and watched something else. GAWK SHOWS "Gawk Shows" talks about how Americans like to gawk at others that are different or odd, just like in a carnival side show. Television shows highlight people who have horrible or unusual diseases, and people cannot help but turn on the television and watch in fascination. As the author notes, "Gawk shows sell" (Fox 307), and this is one reason there are so many of them.

People watch them, and many people, even the talk show hosts who have these people on their shows, believe that people watch them because our culture is decayed and not interested in serious topics (Fox 307). This is why people also enjoy baring their souls on talk shows like "Oprah." It does not matter than millions of strangers are watching the show, people will talk about anything to get their "fifteen minutes of fame." Sometimes it is embarrassing, and sometimes it is just pathetic.

The author does not think these shows should be censored, but he does wonder why people continue to watch them. He says, "The question is, Why do we want it?" (Fox 308). The author does not think watching these kinds of public and personal shows has changed anything in America. If they changed something for the better, they might not be so bad, but they do not, and so they are pretty worthless.

The author does note that some of the shows these talk show hosts do are decent, and do provide a service, like the ones that discuss health problems, or how to deal with money issues. These can be very helpful for the people who watch, but they do not seem to be as frequent as the shows that air dirty laundry or take advantage of people with disabilities. People like to listen to other people's problems because it makes them feel better about themselves.

Author Fox calls this "electronic gossip" (Fox 307), and that is a good term for it, because this is just gossip that people can listen to on television. It does not really mean anything in a person's life. It is silly, and it is popular, which says something about our culture. We are not seriously interested in many important things, but we are interested in shallow things. These shows are shallow, and they take advantage of people with problems.

Sometimes they make them look like fools, and it is embarrassing to see them say things in front of the camera that they might never say otherwise. Some of the talk show hosts are really good at getting people to say things, or argue with each other. That is not very pleasant to watch, because fighting is not fun to participate in, or to watch. These people must be embarrassed when they see how they looked and sounded on television, and that is sad.

They probably regret saying things when they can really think about it, and that is how talk show hosts take advantage of people. The author thinks that the reason there are so many shows like.