kevin (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} kevinbelt) wrote,@ 2009-03-24 10:05:00 |
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I don't watch much TV, but I turn my TV on fairly frequently. I like to have the background noise. A few years ago, I would watch news, but then the tone got to be too screechy. I watched sports, but I can't stand ESPN's constant editorializing, so that limited my options. In football season I left it on the Big Ten Network, but I don't care as much for basketball, so instead I have alighted upon HGTV.
HGTV airs two kinds of programming: design shows and real estate shows. The design shows are of varying quality. Some are useful; some are cringe-worthy (note to landscapers: replacing all the grass in someone's front yard with mulch is not a pleasing landscape). These generally run during the day and on weekends, so I don't see very much of them. In prime time, HGTV runs the real estate shows. They are myriad, but interchangeable. There's "Property Virgins", in which a yuppie helps other yuppies buy their first house (in the process explaining that six-bedroom/four-bath houses in the nicest part of town don't exist in a price range of under $100,000). There's "My First Place", in which a different yuppie each episode helps other yuppies buy their first house (in the process explaining that six-bedroom/four-bath houses in the nicest part of town don't exist in a price range of under $100,000). There's "The Property Shop", in which a yuppie complains about how hard it is to be a realtor. There's "The Unsellables", in which a (remarkably hot) British yuppie tells other yuppies that the reason their house is still on the market is because they don't clean well enough. There's "Designed to Sell", in which a decidedly less attractive British yuppie and an American yuppie tell other yuppies that the reason their house is still on the market is because it's ugly and needs to be remodeled. There's "The Stagers", in which a yuppie daughter yells at her yuppie mother for not working as the daughter would like, and an apparently unrelated gay man attempts to confirm every stereotype of homosexuals (speaking with a lisp, wearing really tight jeans, using a vocabulary of only "OMIGOD" and "fabulous). The crown jewel is "House Hunters", in which yuppies look at three houses and decide to buy one, like a game show. Sometimes they complain about the price, or the neighborhood, or the condition of the kitchen. There's nothing wrong with this. I do the same thing when I'm looking for a place to live. It's just rather grating to watch other people do it.
This week is "House Hunters International Vacation Home" week, in which we get to watch yuppies drop half a million on a house they'll visit maybe twice a year, often in countries that are desparately poor. (Favorite moment: when the buyer in Nicaragua asked why there were bars on all his windows.) It's an annoying show even in good times, but it's even more so in these times. In Nevada, one out of every 70 houses is in foreclosure. It seems mean-spirited to make these people, who are losing the only home they have, watch people compare their $600,000 vacation condo on Waikiki to their $3m mansion in Beverly Hills. So I wrote a letter to HGTV:
Instead, escapism rules.
(Cross-posted to Facebook, because even though I think it has jumped the proverbial shark, I want to consolidate my social media usage.)
HGTV airs two kinds of programming: design shows and real estate shows. The design shows are of varying quality. Some are useful; some are cringe-worthy (note to landscapers: replacing all the grass in someone's front yard with mulch is not a pleasing landscape). These generally run during the day and on weekends, so I don't see very much of them. In prime time, HGTV runs the real estate shows. They are myriad, but interchangeable. There's "Property Virgins", in which a yuppie helps other yuppies buy their first house (in the process explaining that six-bedroom/four-bath houses in the nicest part of town don't exist in a price range of under $100,000). There's "My First Place", in which a different yuppie each episode helps other yuppies buy their first house (in the process explaining that six-bedroom/four-bath houses in the nicest part of town don't exist in a price range of under $100,000). There's "The Property Shop", in which a yuppie complains about how hard it is to be a realtor. There's "The Unsellables", in which a (remarkably hot) British yuppie tells other yuppies that the reason their house is still on the market is because they don't clean well enough. There's "Designed to Sell", in which a decidedly less attractive British yuppie and an American yuppie tell other yuppies that the reason their house is still on the market is because it's ugly and needs to be remodeled. There's "The Stagers", in which a yuppie daughter yells at her yuppie mother for not working as the daughter would like, and an apparently unrelated gay man attempts to confirm every stereotype of homosexuals (speaking with a lisp, wearing really tight jeans, using a vocabulary of only "OMIGOD" and "fabulous). The crown jewel is "House Hunters", in which yuppies look at three houses and decide to buy one, like a game show. Sometimes they complain about the price, or the neighborhood, or the condition of the kitchen. There's nothing wrong with this. I do the same thing when I'm looking for a place to live. It's just rather grating to watch other people do it.
This week is "House Hunters International Vacation Home" week, in which we get to watch yuppies drop half a million on a house they'll visit maybe twice a year, often in countries that are desparately poor. (Favorite moment: when the buyer in Nicaragua asked why there were bars on all his windows.) It's an annoying show even in good times, but it's even more so in these times. In Nevada, one out of every 70 houses is in foreclosure. It seems mean-spirited to make these people, who are losing the only home they have, watch people compare their $600,000 vacation condo on Waikiki to their $3m mansion in Beverly Hills. So I wrote a letter to HGTV:
The bursting of the so-called "housing bubble" has led to the most severe economic downturn in this country since the Great Depression. HGTV is uniquely positioned in mainstream media to explore the causes and effects of the housing crisis, and to educate its viewers on how to avoid some of the traps to which so many others have recently fallen victim. Instead, HGTV chose to air "House Hunters International Vacation Home Week". I understand that HGTV programming is aspirational; however, the tone is so out of sync with the times that it is almost offensive. I would like to register my displeasure and express my hope for more responsible programming in the future.Granted, watching a show about a family getting kicked out of their house would probably be depressing. But imagine how helpful a show about home finance could be. If you're thinking about buying a home, you could tune in to see why taking out an adjustable rate mortgage for 125% of the asking price is a bad idea, or what kinds of things could turn up in a home inspection, or what kind of auxiliary expenses (e.g. property taxes) you'll need to budget for when calculating how much you can afford. That sort of information, distributed so publicly, might really help.
Instead, escapism rules.
(Cross-posted to Facebook, because even though I think it has jumped the proverbial shark, I want to consolidate my social media usage.)
