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Following the trends is what we do here in the Eristic Republic. What we've found at the end of the trend-chain may disturb or even alarm you. You have been warned.
Picture this.You wake up, cameras in your face, following your every move. This is another typical day. You're the star of a new hit series. Fifteen minutes of fame? Try twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Welcome to the world of Ultra-reality TV.
You've all seen them. Reality TV shows are everywhere. From Cops to Survivor, Monster Garage to the Joe Shmoe Show, it's all about reality. Or is it. Top Eristic reporter/agent (repagent) Edgar Dunglesworth has researched deep into this phenomenonemon. Emon.
He states that the Satchelbot conspiracy goes deeper than we ever realized. An earlier system similar to the aforementioned AI entity apparently wrote all the scripts for Hollywood moguls. All they had to do was hire actors (Many of whom may have been androids), film it and start raking in the cash. Figuratively speaking.
Spring, 1985.Unfortunately (for the poor little moguls) the script-writing programs began to fail. They only had limited creativity and it was only a matter of time before they started to repeat the same material. This was a disaster until a quick-thinking executive came up with a plan: Remakes. This was a reasonably good idea (and explains why Shakespearean movies are so popular) but was only holding off the tide of artistic desolation.
August, 1993. While not being necessarily quicker-thinking, a later executive came up with an even better plan: Reality shows. You know the rest of the story. Small shows based on amateur footage increase in popularity (Funniest Home Videos, When Children Attack, Police Camera Action). This leads to live competition shows, rife with feuds and alliances (Survivor, Big Brother). Of course, the most popular with Hollywood are the shows that follow ordinary people's lives. And that's the end. Or is it?
Which brings us to the next stage. Our repagent is highly placed within the ranks of executives and often is privy to highly classified meetings. He has learned the long-term goals of such shows. Eventually all non-reality TV shows will be phased out of existence. All that will be left will be reruns and the new shows. What kind of shows will these be? Ultra-reality television.
Cameras are becoming more and more automated, coupled with complex multi-systems that can edit on the fly within mere seconds of receiving the entire footage, the equipment small enough to be as undetectable as a fly-on-the-wall. Soon your friends and neighbours will have their own shows. Then you will be next. Eventually the goal is to have at least three cameras for every TV-owning household.
This leads to the bizarre scenario of waking up, going to work, arguing with your co-worker, eating lunch as you talk about the possibility of a promotion, just meeting the deadline for the Eikuchner Report, coming home, turning on the TV and watching it all over again. With a voice-over. No longer will there be complaints against the quality or morality of TV. It's all about you.
You may say it's ridiculous, impossible or the concoction of a paranoid brain. It doesn't matter, though. They've already begun filming. |
Subversive article #38
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Get outta here!