pagesix Zoe LjubicEDITORIALS Column Negative campaign Reality television fails to entertain viewers west opinionsads dissuade 7. Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew In today’s world, technologycentrists plays an Twenty-one melodramatic celebrities are sent to rehab for various important role in each person’s daily life, but drug and alcohol addictions, treated by shrink to the stars Drew Pinsky and his staff, unearthing the deepest, darkest secrets of before computers and digital Rexly cameras, students w Uzma Ahmad over-the-hill performers who seem to have unlimited resevoirs wrote by hand and usedw 35mm Penaflorida cameras with w Editorials Editor of shame. film to take pictures. wFor decades, Niles 6. My Fair Brady Managing Editor Centered on the lives of 57-year-old Christopher Knight, who Township District 219 has offered a course for played Peter Brady on The Brady Bunch, and 26-year-old Adrianne students to develop an understanding about Curry, winner of the first season of America’s Next Top Model, The 2008 Presidential election is four days away, and both this show follows the absurd and ultimately futile attempts of Democratic35mm photography candidate Barack and Obama publications and his Republican design. opponent Since the advent of reality television with MTV’s The Real the May-December couple to forge a lasting relationship. The JohnFaculty McCain are making their final push, hoping that their long With emergence of digital cameras and design World in 1992, many television networks have lowered their program follows Curry and Knight, who met on another irritating road to the White House will not be a dead end. Over the course of software, digital imaging and such program as standards and increased the amount of unemployment benefits reality show, VH1’s The Surreal Life, tracing their steps toward the past few weeks, both candidates have courted undecided voters paid to actors and screenwriters by allowing more and more junk marriage. The show depicts their petty arguments which often withAdobe a flurry InDesign of radio andand television PhotoShop advertisements. were added to to infiltrate our television sets. resemble parent-child tiffs, which is perhaps predictable since We have all seen and heard the ads that Obama and McCain provide students a comprehensive background in In the past five years, reality programs seem to have proliferated Knight is old enough to be Curry’s father. have approved. Both sides are trying to convince us that their plan photography and publishing. like rabbits. Despite its unbearably pathetic nature, reality 5. Pussycat Dolls Present: The Search for the Next Doll/ is right and that their platform is best for America. television has enjoyed an explosion of popularity in the 2000s, as Girlicious Unfortunately, Sadly, in responsein many of these to the ads, course’s each candidate declining goes out of programmers hope to make easy money by launching low-budget, The former follows a group of gallingly provocative, utterly his way to disparage his opponent—not just his positions, but the popularity, District 219 administrators un-or-semi-scripted shows. vacuous “talent” auditioning for a position in the Pussycat Dolls rival’s characters and personality as well. have come to a conclusion: next year, Such programming exploits vulnerable participants and (PD). The contestants are groomed by PD’s founder, Robin Antin, According to the Associated Press (AP), over the past month, exposes the dirt and grime of their lives simply for the audience’s and are judged on their vocal and dancing ability. The show was so 34photojournalism percent of Obama’s will ads has not been be negative,offered. while virtually all amusement. Not only is this cruel and degrading, but also successful that it spawned its equally odious spin-off, in which the of McCain’s spots have been pejorative. In an interview on www. Photojournalism’s popularity emerged from nonsensical, idiotic and highly uninteresting. Most of these shows PD choose the members of a girl group that promises to outskank mediamatters.org, Ken Goldstein, the director of the University its serving as a prerequisite for the yearbook contain no substance and only offer viewers a display of rowdy, the original, if that is possible. of Wisconsin Advertising Project, provided data shows that for money-hungry contestants, brutally stepping over anyone who 4. I Love New York/New York Goes to Hollywood theand duration newspaper of the campaign,staffs and 39 thepercent fact of that, Obama’s for ads have stands in the way of their grand prize. Starring Tiffany “New York” Pollard, these shows follow an idiotic been positive and 35 percent negative compared to McCain’s 26 years, it was the only opportunity students were In light of television networks’ decline in providing quality amateur actress and double loser on The Flavor of Love (see below) percent positive ads and 47 percent negative ads. Even though the offered to take a photography course. Despite entertainment, West Word offers a compilation of the Top 10 Worst as she mistakenly believes that she can, respectively, find love and data clearly shows that McCain has more negative ads, Goldstein Reality TV Shows: establish a successful and noteworthy acting career. arguesthe fact that that Obama it awardedhas outspent students McCain bya onlya huge a margin on 10. Rock of Love 3. A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila advertising. general elective that could not be applied to any This reality television dating show features Bret Michaels, the This cringe-worthy twist on other reality dating shows features a Which brings us to cost: according to the AP, on Oct. 6, Obama department’s core requirements, 10 full sections balding, irritating lead singer from 1980s hair band Poison. The bevy of provocative contestants—lesbians and straight men—who spent $3.3 million on campaign ads, and his campaign is on pace show involves 25 “rocker” girls facing challenges to earn “dates” compete against each other for the affection and attention of toof set the an all-timecourse record were for offered campaign at dollars both spent schools on ads. as At least with Michaels, competing to eventually win his heart and assume notorious, bisexual MySpace™ celebrity Tila Tequila. the majority of his ads talk about the current issues that Americans recently six years ago. the role of his girlfriend in the narcissistic hope of gaining as much 2. The Hole in the Wall face and how he is going to fix them. Meanwhile, the bulk of Today, because of the addition of media attention as possible along the way. Based on a popular Japanese program, this would qualify as a game McCain’s ads barely mention what he will do, focusing instead on 9. I Love Money show if the emphasis were on winning. Instead, the show takes whatdigital Obama imaging has not donecourses or has added done poorly. to the fine The title says it all. Contestants on this abomination—greedy perverse glee in making contestants look as idiotic as possible as Why are there so many negative ads? Do negative ads work? arts curriculum, the popularity of digital products of failures from other, unsuccessful reality shows— teams of inept contortionists try to fit through human-shaped holes Goldstein said, “Negative ads are more likely to be factually photography has risen immensely. As a compete on this show in ridiculous physical and mental challenges in a moving wall. Seriously—I am not making up this stuff. accurate and more likely to be on policy than positive ads. Positive in an attempt to win a grand prize of $250,000. 1. Flavor of Love adsresult, are a guystudents in khakis apparently walking on the have beach lost with interesthis dog or sitting 8. Farmer Wants a Wife Yet another aggravating dating show in which contestants are in front of a fireplace in a fuzzy sweater, and that simply doesn’t in photojournalism. Only two sections were A bachelor farmer chooses a potential romantic partner from referred to by nicknames created by the star of the show, gold- have a lot of information.” offered between the two schools this year, and amongst a group of 10 whiny and scabrous single city women toothed, clock and Viking helmet wearing ex-rapper Flavor Flav, Inherent in negative advertising is the notion that the American who pitifully attempt to face the challenges of a rural lifestyle in from the group Public Enemy. Trashy girls and the talentless Flav publiconly is19 easily students manipulated. pre-registered However, recent in polls both indicate schools that this yet another dating program. This show makes The Simple Life (who, like Knight, is old enough to have fathered his dates) create is not the case and that the public is increasingly offended by such for the 2008-2009 school year, prompting the look like Masterpiece Theater. the perfect recipe for a reality show at its worst. ads.decision Even theto conservativedrop the course. Arizona Republic, the newspaper of record in McCain’s home state, has commented on the subject. In Democrats make clean sweep in West Word endorsements an article No titledone “McCain’sis to blame Negative for Adsthis Could increase Backfire,” in columnist Danpopularity Nowicki writes, of digital “McCain imaging now runs classes the risk of and blowback from Editorial hisdecline relentless of attacks,the photojournalism which have included classes. contested Digital allegations This year’s primary election season was a milestone in American Through his extremely eloquent and powerful speeches, Obama history. It marked the first instance in which, regardless of the has captured the hearts of citizens all across America. He is truly Going too far with negative outcome of the Democratic primaries, Americans could make a passionate speaker who has established hope and has instilled history, with the election of either an African-American or a the notion of positive change in the minds of supporters.