It's often been said that McDonalds helped bring down the Soviet Union. Obviously that's an oversimplification but the theory is that the Red State allowing in one of the capitalism's most notable brand names was a sign of how things were about to change. Maybe they hoped people would have a Big Mac, think it was gross, and turn their back on "American cuisine" but instead it was a huge hit, people lined up around the block, and it left the people craving more.
Two years later, the USSR was no more.

And if there's a way for the West's way of thinking to seep into the minds of the Middle East, could reality TV be the way? Reality shows are already popular in many countries in the Middle East and they have their own Big Brother and Got Talent franchises and already people are talking about how these shows offer new avenues for politic and social discussions and for people to find away to question the norm. More importantly (sadly, but more important nonetheless) I believe that the chance at celebrity or belief that anybody could be famous could do some major damage to a social system that seems to require everyone to fall into line. In a land where women still need to stay covered up, never mind be heard, the desire to want to be seen could have devastating effects.

But is that a good thing? I mean, obviously freedom of expression is great but even some of the moderates in our own American Conservative party thinks we may have gone too far. (Although we in the US can't take all the credit/blame, The Economist recently pointed out that most reality franchises actually come from the UK. They've created almost half of the worlds reality franchises.) Case in point, there are now 22 version of "Wife Swap" floating around, a show that basically allows men to live their fantasy of living with another woman (albeit not the woman of their choice and it usually ends disastrously.) Our reality TV "I want my 15 minutes and I want it now!" mindset has led to the Octomom, Balloon Boy, sham weddings, and countless other questionable-to-damaging antics. I've often argued with a co-worker of mine that "16 and Pregnant" does more harm than good because, for every girl who watches it and thinks "I don't want to be like that", there are three who wonder if having a kid might be there way to get noticed. Not necessarily there own show and on the cover of People and Life & Style every month but noticed in their own circles/town/family.

More and more, it seems that ill behavior is celebrated on the TV which, in turn, makes it more acceptable in everyday life. I'd like to say that it is just more acceptable to kids and that parents can hopefully set them straight but after working on Real Housewives of New Jersey for a year, I have about as much faith in the kids acting as the voices of reasons than most adults.

Now, obviously, the title of this post is a massive overstatement for effect but there's something to be said for trying to limit the amount of something that pushes the envelope in the wrong direction far more often than it breaks down barriers in a positive direction (which it occasionally does, to be fair.) Because once the genie's out of the bottle is one thing, but if the genie then gets her own show, there's no going back.