Twenty three million viewers. If it ever were true that strength is in numbers, then it should be obvious that any network would jump at the chance to have such figures and would air practically anything to get such attention.
The recently-aired show “Who Wants to Support Prostitution?,” I mean, “Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire?” is a perfect example of a show that made Fox executives jump for joy in one night over ratings and hide in embarrassment over truth the next.
The show, which not only kills any traditional idea or value of marriage, also proves how network officials only show society the smut they want to see.
What ever happened to wanting to see people in love marry? Nowadays society seems pleased to support the holy bond of marriage between people who meet in between commercial breaks.
Aside from that, here is a rational question for either Rockwell or any of those 50 gold diggers — why would you go on national television to marry a stranger? Being on television for many may be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity but should not marriage also be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?
I cannot complain too much about what network officials choose to air. They will only air what they know society members will watch. I think though, that my main problem deals with the people who watched the show. If it were titled “Who Wants to Contribute to the Divorce Rate?,” would everyone be so apt to watch? I just do not understand the way in which people think. The United States has a 50 percent divorce rate and people complain about “our” nation’s lack of family values and “our” problem with this and that. I think that a new values problem is watching a show that uses two dangerous powers: sex and money and tangles the sacred bond of marriage up in the process.
Now Fox officials have their stomachs in knots over the latest news that their millionaire prince Rockwell was not only a burned-out comedian, but also a man with some ugly history. Recently the executives have found themselves pushed into a corner trying to provide an explanation why their investigative reporters could not uncover the tiny detail that a former girlfriend of Rockwell’s had once obtained a restraining order against the millionaire groom. According to the Los Angeles Times the allegations against him are serious. Rockwell was not only accused of hitting, but also of threatening to kill his ex-girlfriend. Now what would happen, let say if Rockwell went psycho on his romantic honeymoon with new wife Darva Conger and sliced up his chosen bride and buried her in those Caribbean sands? What would the network do then? I wonder if officials would still consider airing materialistic women flaunting themselves to wed accused abusers-I guess it would depend on the ratings and if it were sweeps month.
I do not feel sorry for the little woman of the picture either. No one made her kiss and agree to love and to cherish a man she hardly knew. She decided to keep that $35,000 wedding ring and the new car that were guaranteed to her despite whatever outcome resulted from the marriage. She wore the bathing suit and sold herself for big bucks.
I guess what it comes down to is how little progress society makes in terms of what its people preach. The excuse that watching the “Who Doesn’t Have Anything Better to Do?” show for its entertainment value just does not hold upright either. Marriage is sacred. How long ago was it that people started to forget that?
Alisha Rosas, a sophomore journalism major, is managing editor of the Campus Times. She can be reached by e-mail at rosasa@ulv.edu.
