Ticket 2 Ride

There’s a new Netflix documentary out called Jerry Springer: Fight, Camera, Action about the Jerry Springer Show phenomenon.

The good thing about America is there’s room for everyone. The bad thing about America is there is room for everything. The Jerry Springer Show left little to the imagination.

Watching the first part of the documentary, I felt sad, then I felt the need to step away from it. This is not a review of the documentary, even though I finished viewing it. I will say, this documentary is of similar quality to other Netflix films of controversial subject matter. Does the documentary exploit a show that exploited the worst and vile and often most tragic parts of our society? Of course it does.

The Jerry Springer Show didn’t suddenly dumb-down America. The universe of those who appeared on the show already existed; Springer producers trolled the country, collecting, cajoling and manipulating these people and their stories. Former producers talked about their mission, their techniques and methods to land outrageous people and amp up their crazy for their closeup.

This was cruel and crude entertainment for the emperor and his court. Put on a show and exceed the limits of decency, morality and human dignity. Their goal was to top Oprah by whatever means possible. Producers feared for their jobs. Make it outrageous or you’re gone! The production executives knew after two seasons of being a conventional talk show, the low ratings would result in cancellation, so they changed the show’s focus. Jerry Springer has a run of 3,891 shows; I guess that’s a measure of success.

Meanwhile, mild-mannered host Jerry, need not incite the audience, the show has already done that. Congenial Jerry seems as shocked as grandma sitting in her living room watching, as she babysits her grandkids. Jerry goes with the flow. He admits the show is crazy, but defends its right to exist as free speech. He also enjoyed the riches it provided his family, and the success for his career. Jerry tried to fly above the stench, and he did a reasonably good job of doing so. However, when he tried to distance the show from a murder that involved a love triangle played-out on the show, not even affable Jerry was Teflon. That episode is discussed in great detail in the documentary, so I won’t do so here. What it represents is how guests were manipulated, humiliated, and left to deal with the fallout. It was shameful and vile. For Jerry and others to dismiss their complicity and responsibility – they must believe that reasonable people are stupid.

If the Jerry Springer Show hadn’t existed, would something else have landed there? Of course. Remember Morton Downey, Jr.? He is recognized as a pioneer in the evolution of “Trash TV”. Downey had a syndicated talk show in the late 1980s where insulting guests, inciting an unruly studio audience, fights and controversial subjects were the meat and potatoes of the show. Downey was famous, but his schtick didn’t last long as he bounced from radio to cable to syndication for several decades, but he cleared the path for others to follow.

Never underestimate the depth of stupid. Trash TV searches out the topics and presents them in an easy to consume format. Seeing guests humiliate each other, egged on by the studio audience, reminds me dog or rooster fights, or even bum fights involving derelicts battling over scraps for the enjoyment of others.

So, my question is: Are shows like Jerry Springer dumbing-down the country? Is the popularity of radio, TV and internet shows that hammer on human weakness lowering the intellect and/or the compassion of Americans?

Yes.