Oprah's Big Give And Take

As much as I hate TV, sometimes I have to watch it to shut off my brain so it doesn't overload. I saw a show on the other night called "the Big Give" by Oprah Winfrey. The scenario of the show is, ten people who are given money and are challenged to find the most dramatic ways to spend it on a charity case. One person gets eliminated every week. The winner gets their biggest wish granted.

The show reminded me of the Apprentice. There were scenes with helicopters flying over a sky scraper with a sign that reads in mammoth letters " the Big Give". If the contestants can't complete their tasks or can't do it in a dramatic enough way they get booted out. Here's what makes me ill. As if "reality" shows (which are the furthest thing from reality) aren't pukey enough, you have a show that is mainly about the misfortunes and poverty of others. It's sick. Oprah is the wealthiest woman in the world. She could save all the people on the shows from poverty or whatever bad situation they're in. She has the money. But the shows main purpose is to make millions of dollars, like any other TV show, by endorsing and promoting products and people like Oprah. They are usually so loaded full of commercials that you forget what your watching anyway. The editing is fast to catch your attention. Usually there's only one second per scene, or less. This is because of the advent of the remote and recorders and such. It's our entertainment at the cost of the misfortune of others. Sad...

In the show I was watching, the least deserving person won the money. It was a woman who's husband was murdered. She lived in a supportive suburban community in a huge house with a double garage. I don't think she really needed the money as badly as one of the other contestants, who was homeless with kids. The homeless woman did win a car and scholarship for her kids, but it doesn't help her current situation. It's kind of hard to pay for car insurance when you don't have a job yet.

Anyway, instead of making loads of easy profit from poor people, they should just help them out because they can. These reality shows make a mint, because they don't have to hire actors. They call it a competition. Really it's people just trying to get out of there Wal-mart jobs and into something more full filling. What ever happened to people helping others because they WANT to, without any TV spot or financial reward?