The Simple Life

My family has been captivated by the Fox series The Simple Life. We have found it very entertaining. The show was designed to depict 2 spoiled rich "California Brats" that will leave all their credit cards, money, and trappings of bratdom home and live on an Arkansas farm for 5 weeks. It is a great concept for a TV show.

We only have one problem with it. "The Brats" (Paris Hilton and Nicole Richey) are not the only ones making a mess of themselves. The small Arkansas town of Altus is trying to accept these ladies for who they are, but each week it is becoming more evident that they can't. "The Brats" are acting more and more horrible each week, but so is the town. Not only do "The Brats" have a difficult time adjusting to "Country Life", but the town is having a difficult time adjusting to "The Brats." The town stoops down to cater to them like they are celebrities (which ultimately leads to the girls stepping all over the townsfolk) and the result is that the girls do whatever they want and the town picks up the pieces.

A case in point is the episode when the town's Mayor tries to capitalize on "The Brats" celebrity stardom by having them man the town fair's "Kissing Booth". It starts off good, but after a while "The Brats" discover that they can have more fun by having the town's young men stop paying to kiss them on the cheek and start paying to kiss them on the butt. The Mayor and many of the older ladies of the town are upset. But, this is just symbolic of what the whole town is doing to "The Brats". The older ladies of the town are treating "The Brats" like celebrities and kissing their butts throughout the show, but only in a symbolic way, not out in public. They act one way to the girls in public and another way in private when the girls are not around.

I believe this comes from from the short-term nature of the show. If the girls were to live there for a year or more they would have a much more difficult, but more meaningful time adjusting to the town and the town would adjust better to the girls. Right now though they both understand that this is a short-term arrangement and that all they have to do is tolerate each other for a few more weeks and it will be over. There is no incentive for either the town or the girls to change and adapt in the short-term. My main beef is that this show is very entertaining, but at the expense of many normal people. The simple Life makes "Country Living" look demeaning. "Country Life" is a life of fulfilling responsibilities, sticking to something through completion, and commitment. I fiind this show lacks all three.