Re vera, potas bene

MTV has removed itself even further from the mainstream, dedicating two shows this season to the scions of ostentacious wealth.

Laguna Beach, the real OC is nothing more than a platform for encouraging the masses to act like the super rich spoiled little brats on this show. This snottly beasts with their expensive daily habits think nothing of violating all sorts of CA penal codes recognizing that they have not one shred of risk from being charged with any of the crimes they commit. They further uglify the culture by flashing their complete lack of thrift by travelling excessively from one mansion to another, from one ski resort to another surf resort, from one luxury restaurant to another Ritz hotel. The editors have made sure that not one bit of compassion or concern is shown by any of the players, whilst they jive and groove to the day's potentials, whether they be denigrating friends or cheating on ex's(how this is possible is the only craft that editors and directors seem to employ).

But even worse than LB is Sweet Sixteen. Tracking the short brief history of incredibly spoiled bitches receiving the keys to luxury cars and five star hotel suites from parents with way too much money to spend on utter lunacy, this show attacks the core of adolescent development. In essence the message is that if you aren't one of the wealthiest bitches you are so unworthy in this life that you will not ever be able to enjoy your own rite of passage. It is ironic that they find only those families whose daughters are some of the ugliest freakiest not so sweet sixteens to film anecdotally. I can only assume that this is because the other RB's families know that their kids will violate even more laws than those kids on LB. I can see the shows next year, the parents begging MTV to come film their expenditures of money on parties, amounts that could buy most people new homes, shed on four or eight hours of partying and celebration. "Look at me, look at how much my parents love me, by spending all this money on me!"

It concerns me that the message that these shows provide to the masses is one of how it is just too bad you aren't like this, and whatever you do, do not challenge or question or inquire; just shut up and know your place in the schema of things in the US. As if Katrina never happened we are reminded that only the rich white families will ever be able to sustain their own lifestyles, at the expense of the poor. And where is the middle class in any of these shows. You don't see the doormen, the waiters, the gas station attendents, the maids, the slaves of the gentrified money classes. They are carefully and faithfully excised from these kids lives, while we all know full well, that none of these kids could survive without them.