Revising Response to Pop Culture - Essay Example

To many people, “True Life” lets them know they are not alone. The show sometimes focuses on very controversial issues that are not typically discussed openly, such as questioning one’s sexuality, dealing with debt or homelessness, or infidelity in relationships. MTV producers of the show really catch viewers’ attention with the title “True Life”. Every episode is further personalized with unique subtitle for every episode. Although what is aired may cause controversy at times, the show is still keeping audiences’ and the critics’ attention for its honest portrayal of the lives of young adults today.

“True Life” allows viewers like myself to connect with people all over the world through a personal issue that is being shared. Finding a common ground between viewers and the subjects of the show, despite their differences, is what makes the show so popular. Many people do not realize how similar they are to someone from a different background until they are exposed to the other person’s daily life and how they deal with some of the same struggles and obstacles to achieving their goals.

I think the show sends a very important message that despite our perceptions of people different from ourselves, at our core, we all face adversity and have to choose the paths we take to get to where we want to be. “True Life” is targeted mostly to MTVs typical audience of teens and young adults, however, in an interview with Betsy Forhan, MTV’s Executive Producer of “True Life”, we see how the show relates to other groups as well. “We have a constantly evolving audience and as the older people phase out, we have a brand new audience that is just being introduced to our show”, says Forhan.

Forhan also credits the varied staff of the show with its appeal to so many people, “In our office, it’s a range of ages from our executives in their early 40’s to the young people who are just out of college” (Forhan, 2010). Having a broad range of people work on the show to discover what’s happening now that will interest viewers in from different backgrounds really helps keep the “pop” in the popularity of the show. “You gotta keep moving with the times, things change so fast”.

Forhan is also proud of the many awards her docu-series has won, including a 2005 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Documentary and a 2008 Emmy Award for Best Special Class Series. “True Life” has ultimately succeeded in doing what the producers intended: portraying the situations in life that are sometimes the hardest to accept. Anyone who has gone through an addiction of any sort, rehab or counseling, a big move, an uncontrollable disease or disability, perhaps an unexpected pregnancy or death, or even being gay can relate to at least one or more episodes.

The show supports the notion, “that which does not kill you only makes you stronger” by letting the audience into the real dilemmas of people and watching them struggle, and hopefully succeed. Seeing others pull through, whether you know them or not, leaves you with a sense of being proud and keeping faith. At the end of the show, there is usually an update of how the subjects have faired after the show aired, which helps to further the emotional connection with the audience. There are negative sides to the show, however.

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