Well, it's been a rum old day. As I've commented elsewhere, I am the "Anti-Midas", meaning that everything I touch turns to shit. Or, as my library boss decided at lunchtime, I have the "Eddie the Eagle" touch. Ah well. I guess I should have known what was in store for me today when the car wouldn't start... Computers went belly-up and one of the resident nutters made a complete beeline for me and started yammering on about wanting me to "impress him", and have a "shared intimate experience in the future" amongst other things. I think he actually wanted something photocopied, but I can't say I'm sure, and I freaked out when I bumped into him whilst walking home after work...
Still, am in the safety of the house and comfort of my pyjamas now and am not moving for anyone or anything. Have been exposed, thanks to my housemate's dubious viewing taste, to the Jeremy Kyle Show this week, and it got me thinking, to the extent that I want to air a few views on here. I actually don't know where to start with it all though.
Looking at the guests that were on yesterday, I didn't think they should have been put through that experience. They all struck me as vulnerable people, who all had issues that went far deeper than what was being addressed on screen (woman's partner slept with 16 year old god-daughter - matey boy was denying it and had lie detector test which "proved" he was lying). I felt that the poor 16 year old girl, who was painted one minute as the innocent victim of an older man and the next as a deceitful minx, certainly had some kind of learning difficulties, she really wasn't the full shilling, to quote my boss once again. The poor god-mother was just torn apart by the betrayal and not knowing who to believe, in the knowledge that one of the two closest relationships in her life - her partner or her best friend - was about to come to a nasty end. I really don't think they had the easiest of lives as it was, and going onto national TV to air the truth surely can't have been a good call. Is it ever though?
I think what annoyed me most about it all though was Kyle himself. I found his attempts at sympathy syrupy, false and hollow. His manner towards the partner, who as it turns out had done something pretty low and shameful, was just disgraceful. His questioning was aggressive from the outset, he shouted down the boy, belittled him, and needled him, even questioning his family background, making a statement along the lines of "if your father had shouted at you maybe you wouldn't be in this predicament". Anything the boy said to try and defend himself was derided. Ok, he did something very wrong. He was stoned and drunk when he did it. There is a lesson to be learnt there. But I don't think it is Kyle's place to act as judge and jury and humiliate him. He's lost a lot as it is. He's hurt a lot of people with his actions. It's down to him now whether he chooses to learn the lesson which arose as a consequence of his actions or not.
It struck me as being like bear-baiting. There's a volatile mix of people, simmering with all manner of emotions, and Kyle brings them all together, lights the blue touch paper to make great telly, and then packs them off into the back room to talk with Graham, while he wheels out another bunch of lambs to the slaughter. I even found the advert to call if you had an issue they could feature on the show sensationalist, almost as if he's trying to put the words into people's mouths, using phrases like "you feel stabbed in the back".
I do wonder what kind of vetting takes place on these programmes. I'm sure the producers would turn around and say it's rigorous, but some of the stuff that crops up is just so close to home for these people, I'm sure they cannot possibly comprehend what some of the consequences of their actions could be. What happens when they go back to their hometowns and their everyday lives? Are they hailed as heroes or driven out, vigilante style? What will the rest of their families and their friends make of having dirty laundry aired in public? What about the partner, whose stupid actions whilst under the influence have now painted him a villain on national TV - what of his life? How does he pick up the pieces after that? I think some of these people are just too vulnerable to be put through it all.
Maybe that's just me being judgemental...
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