And Hillbilly Elegy

Talk radio

Reality TV

Trump was too poor to host The Apprentice. www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz...

Capitalism and people still haven't figured it out

Jeff Zucker and Mark Burnett in general.

Reality Television strikes again…..

The renaissance painters for making Jesus white.

that was mainly american society, though out here in the real world it's more like capitalism and fascism

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'Reality TV' in general

Hell they think Kid Rock is a musician 🙄

Fox so called news

Fox Entertainment Network

The accepted violence and racism of certain sports, particularly NFL football.

Meanwhile in America, de facto MARTIAL LAW has effectively just been order by EO last night. Local law enforcement has now been LITERALLY weaponized by the federal government and can now be under forced control of Felon47. This is CODE RED Alarm blaring!!! www.newsweek.com/donald-trump...

happy to say i never watched it. put damn it's abysmal that he has such a cult, and that they are screwing us all

We demand that Congress defend us from the vicious attacks of the LiarThiefFraudTraitorCheatRapistFelonCriminal and his Traitorous Cabinet. They have abandoned their solemn oaths to defend the Constitution from threats both foreign and domestic. U.S. Citizens are being deported. Fight for us!

“Professional” wrestling.

The American war of independence.

If it never happened we'd either have a big Canada or multiple Canadas. What a nice world.

individualism/liberalism/capitalism

Facebook too

We should have known reality TV would end us.

Christianity; religion

This is the republican platform.

And getting rid of those pesky WOKE paper straws. LOL!

👆💯 for the record,have always been appalled by him.Thot he was stupid, gross,creepy,etc. Never watched it. There are monsters among us. And so many in the GOP & in this administration embodying the worst of humanity in individual people, not to mention the collective. It's stunning.🤢😡🤢

Reagan dismantling the Fairness Doctrine.

#LoserTrump

Fox News

GOP

Yep, "The Apprentice" convinced million of Idiot-Americans that Trump was a savvy, genius business man who knew everything and *always* made the right decision. NOTHING, LITERALLY NOTHING COULD HAVE BEEN FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH.

Oprah

I’d start as far back as MTV’s the Real World

Who knew 2 Australians (Mark Burnett & Rupert Murdoch) would be the ultimate demise of the U.S.?

The dismantling of the rules to prevent private equity from shoehorning into the business of commodity speculation

The congressional election after Watergate, in which a wave of fresh democrats won election but in doing so retired what remained of the Democrats' interest in and capacity to enforce antitrust laws

So many noticed but their voices had been silenced years before.

And I hate that I watched it.

100 percent And the fuck that started it is now Envoy to England cuz he kept his mouth shut to the detriment of us all.

Geez. It's true.

And technology.

I want to see the out takes!!!

Also... Mark Burnett should burn in hell.

Ronald Reagan

The Jerry Springer show, first to twist reality.

The World Wide Web

I think it started earlier, with "Bonnie and Clyde". The acceptance of the anti-hero as hero. Butch/Sundance, Dexter, Sopranos, Breaking Bad, Sons of Anarchy; venerating those who flout norms and break laws. Survivor is not about rules. It's about winning at all costs. Yeah, Mark Burnett sucks.

I could never understand the thrill of seeing employees trying to succeed told "Your FIRED." Kind of like rooting for the bully.

You talk to REAL owners of small businesses; they abhor having to terminate someone. It's one of their very least favorite responsibilities.

With a lot of help from NBC. (NON) Reality TV has screwed up America for generations to come. Boredom is dangerous.

Social media and the gig economy (Uber, Lyft, GrubHub, etc). Ultimately, the complete and utter failure to put necessary regulatory guardrails on the internet. Trump wouldn’t have gotten anywhere in politics without social media.

Jerry Springer Show

Loss of media gatekeepers

Surely the head of the channel which produced and showed it?

Luckily I never saw it.

Jerry Springer, Morton Downey, Jr., The Housewives of who gives a shit, Jackass and social media fame whores.

Yes! Morton Downey Jr. was as bad as Springer..I had almost forgot about that show

It was worse, b/c he was so unlikable but Jerry was a loving man.

Yes….he was soooo slimy 🤢

That was the downfall of our society.

To break this down: presenting scripted fiction as reality has its costs, rarely this big, but always. Fiction shows us an image of emotional truth whereas non-fiction is trapped by facts and reality. Every good writer knows this, and every great writer lives it. terrytrueman.com

The one with Lord Shug- OH, the other apprentice.

And Fox “News” imo.

Reality TV in general has taught people to see consuming the day to day evil of toxic people as merely a guilty pleasure.

"Reality" TV in general. The central thread through all reality TV series - other than the ones that are essentially talent competitions (which DOES NOT include the Apprentice) - is that they all feature extreme narcissists behaving badly, whether it's scripted or not, it's modelling the worst

character traits as aspirational. Because there are plenty of folks in this country who are not deep enough thinkers to look beyond the fact that these characters behaving badly are famous and have lots of money.

The Kardashians

I blame Honey Boo Boo and the "culture" surrounding her.

Schumer had a good time on that show I hear.

And now Mark Burnett has a nice cushy gig on taxpayer dime.

I said out loud to my husband when we first saw The Real World, and then Survivor, "This will be the end of civilization as we know it." I have always DESPISED reality TV. These 3 things: Reality TV, Social Media, and late stage capitalism/corporate greed ended democracy in America. Absolutely.

None of it is reality just scripted nonsense

I couldn't even comprehend watching any reality programs. None! How the word 'reality' got into those shows was beyond me. And I'm not sure what The Apprentice was, but I already despised Trump, so that was never watched either.

Twitter is a close second.

The first time I ever saw this show my reaction was literally that only a fascist society could ever enjoy such a mindless and abusive premise for a show. I wrote my PhD about how Americans would surrender their freedoms. But I have the wrong skin color so nobody cared what I said.

Facebook and this phone that I'm typing on. The hostility, hate, and billions of lies being amplified and masked behind screens.

Deeper dive, Anti-Union Sentiment did it. Without Anti-Union Sentiment there wouldn't have been a writer's strike earlier in the 00s, and without that Reality TV wouldn't have been as big. We'd have had more TV Dramas without it. Anti-Union Sentiment destroyed the World.

Omg teenagers please stop your odd misuse of lowkey 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

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No, I think it was before that. I think it was Survivor and Mark Burnet and the rise of all Reality TV. It turned people's brains into 5-sec edited clips arranged into 45-min brainwashings. TV never recovered and the cancer only grew from there.

But The Apprentice elevated "Him". Survivor may have started the Reality trend, but it still had an interesting concept, originally based on Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None". The decline was expedited by the writers's strike, leading to all sorts of nonscripted shows like The Kardashians

Most certainly, that changed TV forever. Technology exasperated things too, by killing their age old formatting.

I’d put Fox News above the Apprentice.

100%

I noticed, and I spoke out about it at the time….most just gave me a blank stare, or repeated lies/propaganda abut the “great business man”. And the scam, the con, goes on, with the cruelty and damage increasing daily.

Me too.

Marketing without strict truth in advertising laws and a crippling lack of education about marketing techniques.

Conservative Christianity worming it's way into our courts and places of power.

Going even further back, the Great Revival led to the specific version of white conservative Xtianity (I refuse to call it Christianity when they'd kill Christ again if he showed up today) that now runs this country.

True. Also groups like the Moral Majority back in Regans days really cemented that truly vile form of hate they now embrace. Claiming HIV was their God's curse on gay people and sitting back and just watching people die.

You literally can't exaggerate the damage that Ronald Reagan did to this country. I hope to pee on his grave someday.

May all of your wishes come true.

ALL of reality tv

Tech

I'm shocked at the number of people that haven't read the NYT's 18 month expose on the REAL DJT. Most only know the version created by NBC/ Mark Burnett - this PROVES he is a total fraud, and a terrible investor. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

I’m sorry to say I have not read it. But I am now! Thank you so much for this.

Reagan. He opened the doors and invited the far right evangelical Christian nationalists to the table. He wanted their votes. He unleashed and normalized UNTOLD awfulness by giving these people legitimacy and voices. They are bigoted, prejudiced, and should not be shoving their Bible into gov’t.

I’ll go one further and just say reality TV in general. Starting with The Real World back in the 90’s.

I noticed never watched it knew Trump was a bastard from day one ! Why because he’s a narcissist who got what he has from rich parents and being a horrible human being ! Anyone surprised is beyond me …. Like Hitler …. When you don’t pay attention we end up like we are now … F this fight back

Unions we have to Strike ! May 1st we Protest like it’s 1775 but peacefully ! If we don’t then we will end up like 1930 Germany ! We have no king! Due process is a thing! If our Congress won’t take action we will! Talk is cheap take action! Boycott @50501movement.bsky.social

bUsInEsS gEnIuS

The acquisition of 90% of this country's media by a handful of depraved psychotic oligarchs.

Let's go old school and say Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. Fred financed Donald’s illusional lifestyle, that led to that show, which led to commercials and movies, and then The Apprentice.

Facebook. I stand 10 toes down on that statement....FACEBOOK.

I maintain that the majority of society’s issues could be fixed by removing all internet speeds faster than dial-up for anything but essential services (hospitals, banks, etc) or other businesses. No smart phones, no streaming video, no internet gaming, bring back delayed gratification.

Also no social media providing a constant drip of unfiltered disinformation, propaganda, and rage bait for people who are incapable of determining what a legitimate source is.

It all went don't the drain at the time of early 2000s MTV dating shows...

Bingo.

And not just the USA version ALL of them had narcissistic presenters who are all full of dog shit

He is the symptom. Not the underlying cause.

Most Reality TV in general!

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The Real World, dumb ass MTV ruined it with that shit! “Reality” TV has been rampant and dumbing down people for way too long.

Bingo.

So proud to say I NEVER watched one second of that childish display of pretend "professionalism".

Facebook

No, further back than that, it was Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous

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Some of us suspected that garbage for what it was, and never watched. Knew back then he didn't deserve any of my time or attn. Was also obvious on the clips I'd happen to see that the man is demeaning, abusive, neglectful, low IQ, and extremely SMALL INSIDE.

I remember watching about 20 minutes of the first episode and turned it off. Trump twice lost the Emmy for best “reality” series to Survivor, and still has t gotten over it. What a small and mean-spirited man.

Fox. Why aren't we boycotting Fox as a whole?!

Mark, Mitch and Merrick

Facts!

the powell memo.

And News Radio!

Reality TV

I blame Mark Burnett for building the illusion that Trump even had coherent thoughts

I would go one step further and say reality TV or even simply, TV

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What dramatically improved society and was gone before its time? Community

Reality TV in general

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i remember thinking it was unwatchable

🤔 Hell's Kitchen did a pretty good job of normalising bosses abusing staff . . .

I thought it was a shite show and never watched more than a couple of minutes when it first staryed. That was enough to determine Trunt was a narcissistic asshole and was also a complete moron.

Bam!!

If that’s kinda true, then Real World deserves a kick in the ass. One of the m’f’r’s is in Trump’s cabinet now.

Real housewives

As a Project Manager, that show pissed me off. Always looking to blame someone for a project failure when the PM is responsible for all of it. The buck stops with the PM. Grrr!!!

“Reality” TV

I would say reality television in general.

FYI you forgot your alt text

Hoot! Sadly a certain sector of the population believes reality TV. I equate that show to the intelligence of Kardashians

I hated the Apprentice and only watched a few episodes. I never understood why anyone loved to see people fail and be humiliated by an obnoxious F*....just to kiss his ass.

I want to know why people fought so hard to get a reality star in office.

All of the above (Fox News, The Apprentice, Limbaugh, Reagan, etc.) and accepting Emperor Musk's offer to buy Twitter

All "reality" programming

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Ugh. Facts.

Agree, but I hang that shameful distinction on all reality TV. The Apprentice is just the one that created the biggest monster.

Reality TV has a hell of a lot to answer for! Utter dumbing down of society!

The beginning of the disaster that is today

Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous

Fox news

The Apprentice is a good answer. My answer is Gamergate.

I think The Apprentice is mentioned specifically for elevating Tr#mp. Reality TV in general has produced a lowest-denominator TV viewership (some shows excepted), but that element of society was there anyway. DT gave them a hero & fooled ppl into what he was really like

#MarkBurnett release the tapes! Fuck your NDA. Michael you must know the loopholes. @michaelcohen212.bsky.social

Mark Burnett is to blame. He needs to come out and explain it wasn’t ‘reality’ it was scripted.

Never liked that program; Republican mother was a faithful watcher!

The whole thing was a lie too. Donald doesn't have the balls to fire anyone face to face. He always has a subaltern do it.

Noel Castler, who has a podcast, actually worked behind the scenes on that show--he says absolutely every single thing about that show was fake, from the Boardroom to the decision process, to of course Trump's "in charge" persona. He was sniffing Adderall & pooping in his Depends the whole time

Noel is a good follow : bsky.app/profile/noel...

That it stayed on the air a long as it did showed us that many Americans have misplaced values. Mark Cuban had a similar show at the time. It didn't last because he expected the competitors to treat each other with respect. Common courtesy and decency is not a formula for gaining TV ratings.

Religion?

"Greed is Good"

t.v. In general.

Fox News.

I am proud to say I have never watched that worthless show

The deep and multitudinous insecurities of adult men with the emotional intelligence of a 12-year-old.

I knew a guy who worked on that show and he could not be persuaded he was doing anything wrong. I ended that friendship real quick because those were the “birth certificate” days.

Never saw it but I would have to agree that it hooked people on displaying their anger, having a victim mindset, acting in revenge and rude behavior.

wrong show, right Producer The entire #narcissist “fuck you to your face” #mentality started with #Survivor

I remember when it first came out I wanted to barf every time his stupid face was on the screen barking “ Ya fired!” I could not figure out how my fellow Americans kept tuning in season after season. What was so exciting about watching a trust fund brat act like an asshole week after week. So gross

You can go back a little further and just call out all "reality" shows. Cut that shit out at the ROOT.

Reality tv in general. But yes, specifically that show!!

Amazon

Egggggg-Zactly Fucking mark burnett... www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general...

Kinda puts a whole new spin on who the REAL apprentice was at the time, now doesn't it? !!

popula.com/2019/02/24/a... Lots of stuff.

Further back than that. It was MTV not playing music videos.

I remember it was music with no commercials 24/7 in the beginning around 1980ish.

I blame Mark Burnett.

Damn

Life styles of the rich and famous. It was the beginning of over consumption of goods. Marked by the massive amounts of storage unit facilities in the United States

The internet is really responsible. Letting everyone spread and access non stop lies, propaganda, conspiracies, and misinformation completely unchecked. We’re at a point where a large portion of the population believes the earth is flat, vaccines cause autism or are dangerous, and Trump is a genius.

Reality tv and social media fucked this world up…😎

And that Mark Burnett, dude who made the apprentice… He could release tapes that would prove what an idiot Trump is. He did say Trump was so bad that they had to spend three times as much time editing because he couldn’t stay on script. And because surprise surprise reality shows are not reality!

A lot of MAGAts think of Trump, as this character he played on TV. They think he is Smart & a "Good Businessman." It may be the main reason that Trump is president today... because his followers can't differentiate between FANTASY and REALITY. Trump has proven he is good at being a Conman & a Thief!

Three DISTINCTLY weak as fuck chins, just begging for a baseball bat to rapidly disassemble their empty skulls.

No physical violence or threats thereof thank you very much!

Pass. :)

Imma keep wishing physical violence on a family of degenerates that are raping the constitutional rights of 340 million people. :)

His WWE appearances and affiliations (including our vomit-inducing education secretary) would support their inability to tell fantasy and reality apart.

Let's not forget Fox's contribution to blurring the difference between fact and fiction😒🤬

MAGATS think Hulk Hogan is an athlete, Lee Greenwood is a performing artist etc. They are easy to con.

Burnett could do that but I’m sure he signed an NDA like anyone who Trump breathes on has to sign and at this point, do we need any more proof of what a racist raping asshole Don Trump is? The proof is all out there. BTW, NDA’s are not sovereign immunity documents. Just a ploy to intimidate.

Yeah, but they do run out

Disagree. The answer to this is clearly: The Kardashians.

Yes, and "Real Housewives", etc. Which evolved more from "The Real World" than from Survivor. But The Aporentice is what specifically put a has-been grifter back into America's conscience and convinced ppl he was a good leader

The large amount of damage that Caitlyn Jenner has done to the trans community is immeasurable.

The thing that kills me about this is that I was so convinced The Apprentice PROVED he wasn't a good businessman. Otherwise, why would he be hosting a silly reality TV show?

My vote is Jerry Springer on TV and Howard Stern on the radio. It's the exact moment in time that it became acceptable to publicly laugh at and mock people who are different.

I think Jerry Springer started the downhill slide.

Followed by Rosanne.

And "Shark Tank".

"Reality" TV in general, IMO, but she's not wrong.

Mark Burnett escaped all of the blame he richly deserves 🤨

100%👇🏼

Reality TV as a whole.

Agreed!!

bsky.app/profile/jose...

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