I’ve never been really big on reality shows. Unlike tens of millions of us, I can’t stand American Idol and Dancing With the Stars. I used to like Survivor but feel it’s run its course. DittoThe Apprentice. As a guilty pleasure I admit enjoying a couple of episodes of this past summer’s I Survived a Japanese Game Show, but a little of that went a long way.
The Amazing Race, however, is another matter. I’m additcted.
Sure, you can get caught up in the storyline dramas, as you do with other reality contests. The hotties, the nerds, the goofballs, the bickerers, the nasties, the older folks, the hippies, the fitness nuts, the ethnics, the gay couple - they’re all properly represented (my favorite season, #9, is a good example).
Barry and Fran – Two of my favorite players from Season 9
But what makes The Amazing Race special is that while it entertains, it also serves up insightful lessons in geography and anthropology; lessons that give me pause about how I might be perceived by others whose cultures are different from my own.
Between the intra- and inter-team sturm und drang and the wild and crazy team challenges that make up the show’s general “plot”, one can pick up a host of cultural tidbits - a country’s work product, tools and types of labor; sports; music, art and architecture; modes of transportation; topography, nature and climate. All in less than an hour a week.
Most fascinating to me is how the Americans function and behave in these exotic locales, and how in many cases those who embrace the experience as an opportunity to learn about and engage willingly in other cultures do better overall than the ones so focused on winning the race that they blow obliviously through town, curse out cab drivers and ticket agents and otherwise perpetuate the “Ugly American” stereotype upon all who cross their paths.
I hope CBS keeps this show on the air. It’s won every Emmy thus far awarded for “Best Reality Show”. It has a commitment to top-notch quality: great production values, interesting storylines and incredible preparation. The show has a good advertising partner in Travelocity (the little gnome makes an occasional appearance as part of a challenge or two) ; and there’s a loyal group of followers who buzz about it online. But ratings-wise, it’s only okay; CBS doesn’t promote the show near enough, and it still hasn’t gotten a green light on shooting in high definition. It could definitely use a better marketing push.
