Ok so this is not really a rant like the others have been, but I am starting to feel some type of way about all these shows heading to the Nation's Capital. First, there was the Real Housewives series on Bravo, now MTV has announced that their longest running show (and it shows, but that's another post) the Real World has tapped D.C. to be the next place for seven strangers to meet.
Now let me be the first to address this: No, I did not live in Washington, D.C., I am from Maryland. But as my people from the DMV know, all the fun happens in D.C. With that out the way let me get back to this rant. These shows making there way to D.C. will of course draw more attention to the city, which has already garnered enough attention due to the newest residents to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, but at what cost?
Gentrification has struck the city of D.C. hard, and with rising death tolls and violence (The Holocaust Museum, seriously???) I know that these shows will only show one side of Washington.
The Real Housewives of D.C. will focus on the Embassy, socialite, and Congressional wives and highlight all the $2,500 dinners and galas that are "supposed" to help those people around the corner (cause if you have ever been to D.C. you will know one block separates the haves from the have nots, again another post) but somehow the money never seems to show up. This I am cool with, because it's apart of the D.C. culture of Uptown, Capital Hill, and the Gold Coast (where the embassy houses are located for those that don't know). But this next show has me a little concerned.
I used to be a huge fan of MTV's the Real World, I wanted nothing more then to go on the show and meet people from all over who are driven, funny, neurotic at times (Puck), but most of all REAL!! But after the Las Vegas season, which I will admit I loved because I had very impure thoughts about Alton, the show seemed to lose it's realness. Gone were the young 20somethings coming into the "real world" and all the pressures, set backs, and good times that this transition entailed. Instead we are now treated to different type-casts: The Gay, The Ignorant White Guy/Girl, The Angry Black, The Black who acts White, The Loner, etc. This is not something I want to see in the Real World D.C.
This city is bursting with young professionals getting it done, hell I used to be one of them before I transferred to North Carolina. The 20somethings in D.C. play hard, but they work even harder. It's nothing to see corporate types mixed in with young Congressionals on any given night at Adam's Morgan, DuPont Circle, Friendship Heights, or any other trendy meeting place, bar, or lounge. When the newest members of the Real World enter their D.C. pad, I really hope that the producers of the show pick people who will show true growth and depth to highlight the growth and depth of a city that is undergoing so many changes; not just on the Hill but around the surrounding neighborhoods. I hope that the people chosen to live and tell their stories will not be ignorant drunks who only care about going out and hooking up. Instead I want a cast that will go back to the glory days of the Real World and will give us a great story where people stop being FAKE and start being REAL.
Ok rant over, let me know what you think via the comments section.
The Intellect
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment