The Real Housewives is a series on the Bravo network that began in 2006 and has been a huge hit since then. The show is a response to the ABC series “Desperate Housewives”. It began with the Real Housewives of Orange County and spun into other series including New York, Atlanta, New Jersey, and soon Washington DC. It is a reality show that follows affluent women through their everyday lives. We follow their jobs (if they have one), their family, and their social lives. There is inherently a lot of drama that erupts between the women. This drama and seeing how affluent people live is the main draw of the Real Housewives series.
The Real Housewives of Orange County has had many changes in the women who starred in the show. Only one of the original women from the first season still remains on the show. The women are very stereotypically from California. For instance, most of them are blonde, tan, and have had a lot of (visible) plastic surgery. They are very materialistic and as viewers we spend a lot of time watching them shop and go to the spa. The women who star in the show are also in tabloids and all over the internet. There is a lot written about the women in the news because they are dealing publically with things like divorce and financial issues such as losing a house. Therefore, people are paying attention to them on the show and also off of the show as well.
I think this series, and more specifically the Orange County show, is very interesting from a cultural perspective. The huge ratings that this show gets is very telling about what we, as a culture, value. For instance, we are so intrigued by wealthy lifestyles. We, as a culture, value wealth and materialism. We value these things enough to watch their lives rather than living our own lives.
However, I think it is also important to mention that the show also shows us that although these characters are very well off, they too have problems. They have marital problems, family problems, and also (especially recently) financial problems. Many of them have the affluent lives that they are living because they are spending beyond their means. Because of the recession we are now seeing them struggle from their previous rampant spending. I think it is very important that the viewers of this show are able to see that sometimes living their lifestyles are not realistic and also that they deal with the same problems as others deal with as well.
The Real Housewives of Orange County has had many changes in the women who starred in the show. Only one of the original women from the first season still remains on the show. The women are very stereotypically from California. For instance, most of them are blonde, tan, and have had a lot of (visible) plastic surgery. They are very materialistic and as viewers we spend a lot of time watching them shop and go to the spa. The women who star in the show are also in tabloids and all over the internet. There is a lot written about the women in the news because they are dealing publically with things like divorce and financial issues such as losing a house. Therefore, people are paying attention to them on the show and also off of the show as well.
I think this series, and more specifically the Orange County show, is very interesting from a cultural perspective. The huge ratings that this show gets is very telling about what we, as a culture, value. For instance, we are so intrigued by wealthy lifestyles. We, as a culture, value wealth and materialism. We value these things enough to watch their lives rather than living our own lives.
However, I think it is also important to mention that the show also shows us that although these characters are very well off, they too have problems. They have marital problems, family problems, and also (especially recently) financial problems. Many of them have the affluent lives that they are living because they are spending beyond their means. Because of the recession we are now seeing them struggle from their previous rampant spending. I think it is very important that the viewers of this show are able to see that sometimes living their lifestyles are not realistic and also that they deal with the same problems as others deal with as well.
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