The Jeremy Kyle Show is the UK equivalent to The Jerry Springer show in one respect- and many other so-called talk shows in that they seek pleasure in humiliating and embarrassing ordinary members of the public by means of airing their dirty laundry in public. I know that this show has only been on air for 2 years, but my goodness why is this still on? Coincidently, I had heard of Jeremy Kyle before because I used to tune into his talk show on the radio where viewers phone in with their dilemmas and he'd come up with a solution to each and every one of them.
Whatever your views are on the guy, one has to agree to a certain extent that on some occasions, he does speak the truth. However, what the detractors of Kyle's will argue is the rather unnecessary approach and manner he takes to verbally addressing his guests. Often arrogant, hypocritical and verbally aggressive in his tone of voice, even patronising and cynical towards them on his part, Kyle somewhat reminds me in this sense of the types of people I have encountered throughout my life- the bullying, often narcissistic and horrible people of which i will not go into mentioning names. The assertion that because of their ego, they think they are entitled to and HAVE a right to be entitled to speak to people in the way that they do, -which is unacceptable and one i find heinous, not to mention trying to shut others up and not giving them a opportunity to explain themselves to them. Another celebrity of whom fits this particular mould is someone like Vanessa Feltz, another person I dislike- also arrogant, patronising and to an extent, 'nasty', especially in regards to her views on certain issues.
The show itself is based loosely on the American model of talk shows-i.e; lots of cheering, heckling and jeering, person explains their dilemma- be it relationship or otherwise to the crowd and host, the host goes into a little detail, the guest's partner, friend, relative or whomever comes out amid the booing and jeering and sits down, the guest tells that other person what is on their mind, that other person ends up crying or loses their temper. I mean, this is voyeuristic TV to the extreme.
Almost the same thing happens with every show. Demographically, the typical Kyle guests tend to be from a working-class background, white, under 40, mostly female and made up of low income families and single mothers. I for one am not disrespecting them because I am from a working class background myself, but the thing is with most TV shows, particularly talk shows, they paint the image of your average Joe as being unemployed and on benefits or low paid, and perceiving them as being lazy and unintelligent- which the vast majority of us are not.
This type of TV show is a form of reality TV in my book- reality in the sense that, the dilemmas that we hear of are real life and the people on the show are real-life. The similarities between reality TV and talk shows are uncanny as they are shockingly bad that they are regarded by many as the lowest forms of TV programmes available.
Frankly, if you want advice on your marriage, relationship, friendship or whatever speak to a properly trained counsellor, a member of the NSPCC, phone a domestic violence hot-line, or even speak to someone you know well and trust. Don't, whatever you do, go on TV and spill the beans to someone like Kyle and have it transmitted on air.
