Cerys Matthews And The Death Of Credulity

I used to love Cerys Matthews, her voice, her look and most of all her attitude. As part of Catatonia she produced some unforgetable music.

Sadly I’m a little disappointed in her now. I don’t know if the antics in the jungle in “I’m A Celbrity” were the product of real emotion or a well-judged PR stunt, but either way her “relationship” with Marc Bannerman did not blossom in the most natural of circumstances. I have to say that I didn’t see the “goings-on” and I tend not to follow the tabloid press or glossy scandal mags, but apparently they are now an item.

If I had been one half of the couple and genuinely felt atracted to the other I would have acknowledged the attraction but waited until after the show to do much about it. I feel that I am relatively normal (well as normal as an adult blogger can be) in that I believe some things ought to stay off-camera. If the feelings are real then getting amourous on-camera is IMHO at best ill-considered or at worst taking advantage of the situation to gain column inches (like here LOL), at worst very weird. Oh, yes I know “We forgot the cameras were there” the same rubbish spouted by Big Brother contestants when the annual BB couple are interviewed post-show. Sorry guys, but I get self-conscious when I get jiggy in front of strangers.

If it isn’t “True Love” then it’s pure PR and smacks of desperation. The newspaper headlines as they get engaged, married, separate, divorce, and hurl recriminations will keep then in the public eye for a while. Not that I want them to be unhappy, but the cynical part of my mind can’t help feeling that I’ve seen it all before.

I can’t say one way or the other but every time one of the girls in the office has talked about it I get the same feeling. The Reality part of “Reality TV” is misleading. It’s now just annother part of the business we call show and I have to accept it as that.

I remember looking at TV as a source of entertainment, news and knowledge when I was growing up. Sadly although there are still good news channels/programming the education is dwindling, the entertainment is dumbing-down and I even find myself questioning the accuracy and authority of documentaries these days.

The reason is the insidious spread of the erroneous presumption that a documentary isn’t in itself interesting and entertaining. The belief that shows need to be sexed-up. When this happens the true meaning and truth behind the program is lost.

Right that’s pissed off the TV industry LOL

Let me put this into context. There are great program makers out there, but because of the diluting effect of digital media and the consequent shortage of advertising revenue those good people are finding fewer commissions. I just find it sad when I watch the channels that used to produce great informative and entertaining shows (predominantly the BBC channels and Channel 4) I now ask myself “Can I believe what they are telling me?”

Obituary: The venerable institution of British TV excellence died 11 December 2007 after a long illness. Having fallen on hard times due to unimaginative TV boses and nervous advertisers demanding hit shows led to a formulaic and grey line-up across all channels. Sadly although the intention was to cremate British TV at and send it soaring to Valhalla as would befit its proud history the zombie-like corpse will continue to be transmitted.

No flowers.

Tags: Cerys Matthews, Catatonia, media spin, reality TV, I’m A Celbrity, I’m A Celbrity Get ME Out Of Here, Big Brother, Channel 4, BBC, Dumbing-down Television