Need help from U.S. friends (re Jerry Springer)

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 08 Apr 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Diana	08 Apr 2002
I am having a playful argument with my son - but it gets pretty heated some of the time. We get that ghastly "Jerry Springer" show retransmitted in Switzerland by a French TV channel. I sometimes even watch a few minutes of it, just out of sheer disbelief. (They've even started a clone of it on another French TV channel). But I'm arguing with my kid. I reckon that the people are actors most of the time. He reckons that they're all real people with real problems. What is the take on this in the United States? Actors or not actors? Thanks for your help.

blumoon	08 Apr 2002
actually i read in the inquirer that there have been actors on the show...now i dont know how much truth there is in the inquirer either :p sorry i couldnt be any more help to you :(

funkpuss	08 Apr 2002
Hi I use to watch it myself when it was on and some of the stories were true but all of the recent ones are just one big ACT Waht a load of rubbish it's not the same anymore! FP

truthsayer	08 Apr 2002
jerry springer is simply the hugest embarrassement to america. i truly hope ppl worldwide don't think we all inbred morons like the ppl on that show. just like i hope ppl don't believe we all live lives of wealth and glamour. television is not a kind ambassador for the world to see us in reality no more than what we see on tv is to the rest of the world. i prefer to think that news shows like 60 minutes or 20/20 is a truer idea.

Mystick Dragon	08 Apr 2002
Pretty much ALL of the shows had people PAID to embarrase themselves like that. I mean, what talk show lets its participants strip, cuss, and other vulgar things like that without trying to stop it. The Maury show sometimes gets like that, but it NEVER goes THAT far, Maury kicks them off. So, yes, it is fake. --Dragon

slinky_jo	08 Apr 2002
I prefer watching Rikki Lake ;)

january	08 Apr 2002
I think that Springer gets so many replies from an few whorish Americans who want to make a few bucks by exaggerating or blatantly fabricating stories. They'll be anything and do anything to get paid. Its almost like those "travelling healing mircle-workers" from late ninteenth-century America whose "shows" were comprised entirely of actors pretending to be blind, crippled, etc. Or circus sideshow acts. He's just modernizing what has already worked and making many believe. I can just imagine that brainstorm session at the network when creating this show...take what works to shock, amaze and draw a crowd, fly with it and you're a broadcast genius. Hey, it worked for Marilyin Manson. And PT Barnum. And our dear friend Miss Cleo. Sensationalism works in America but its not a true representation of the general population at all. But it is hilarious (I know, I just contradicted myself!) ~ january

Diana	09 Apr 2002
Oh, so in general, these are not actors, but people who get paid. This now makes more sense to me. I suppose then that many of the people make up their stories, and there is no truth in it. Makes it even more stupid then, 'cos they're not even doing their form of therapy. I told my son what you all said. And we've both won the argument, so everything's okay again :) Thanks for the info.

kayne	09 Apr 2002
In Australia we get Jerry Springer, Ricki Lake, Oprah, Dave Letterman and an assortment of terrible soap operas all on free-to-air commertial TV... I much prefer to believe what I learn about Americans from Aeclectic :D

truthsayer	09 Apr 2002
Quote: Originally posted by kayne In Australia we get Jerry Springer, Ricki Lake, Oprah, Dave Letterman and an assortment of terrible soap operas all on free-to-air commertial TV... I much prefer to believe what I learn about Americans from Aeclectic :D thank-you kayne and i do hope we make a much better impression here than on tv. the fact those shows are free to air should speak an unspoken messages to anyone who watches them. oprah isn't too bad. she does do some socially redeemable things like the ones on diet and exercise. i think i have the most problem w/ her shows w/ Dr. Phil, the marriage therapist. he's got good ideas but is too confrontive. he makes a big deal about being sensitive but he comes across as insensitive to me. yeah, he cuts out the bull but he's still too harsh for a professional who deals w/ ppl's innermost feelings. i don't think they should air dr. phil lecturing couples w/ children about their marital probs. these kids could get razzed and humilated by their peers and other adults b/c their parents were put in their place by dr. phil. to me dave letterman is just superficial and insensitve but still in better taste than rikki lake or jerry springer. some of the things he does is funny but i don't find harassing and embarrassing other ppl very funny. i really don't understand how all these shows where ppl are willing to sell their integrity got so popular. i get too embarassed for these ppl to even watch these shows. sorry. rant over.

zorya	10 Apr 2002
i think they are real people who fake or exagerate their problems just to get on t.v. the scary thing is that there are lots of real people like them who aren't on t.v. i've seen and heard them.{{{zorya shudders}}}} truthsayer; i agree about oprah! i think she sincerely wants to make the world a better place, but she's way off with dr. phil. he's just plain mean. rant rant. now,if she could only have gary zukov on more often..... (on the side.....her calling her magazine "O" really cracks me up!)

truthsayer	14 Apr 2002
oh! i love the shows with gary zukav!! he is so deep. i hope to get his latest book eventually. he's difficult to read but his spiritual journey is so...i don't know the right words. it's not like he's a channeler but his life is the channel. if you really like him, he has a website that's really thought provoking. i like him b/c he is a former green beret yet now he has reformed into a sensitive spiritual gentle man. have you ever watched sylvia brown on montel? when i first started watching her years back i was impressed but now i get a different vibe from her. i i think it was when she got the face lift. something in me said--i thought spiritual ppl weren't vain and materialistic? some of what she says in her books is interesting but i find it contradicts what other psychics say. some things smell of carrying her own agenda. of course, she would say they were wrong and that worries me about her. always question absolute opinions!! i don't get this feeling from gary zukav. he seems sincere, grounded and nonmaterialistic.

Kaz	14 Apr 2002
thruthsayer, i only know gary zukav from reading his "The Dancing Wu Li Masters" which is an outstanding book i can recommend if you are interested in new physics and don't have scientific knowledge (or not much). it points out parallels with modern psychology and eastern stuff, all in laymans terms. great read, also for those who do have scientific knowledge. kaz

zorya	14 Apr 2002
i have dancing wu li masters, and seat of the soul and i love them! soul stories was an o.k. read but i didn't feel like i had to buy it. often when i feel down, i open seat of the soul to a random page for inspiration and i visit his site often.

purplelady	15 Apr 2002
I used to watch Oprah more, but now dr. Phil just isn't my cup of tea. And he's on there SO much. Does anyone ever watch "Politically incorrect with Bill Mahr" ?It's on late night. I like him! I can't stand the Jerry Springer show , but have to tolerate "cops" when my s/o watches it! Check out the SNL version of "cops"!

Umbrae	15 Apr 2002
TV is a time stealer. Sure COPS and Jerry Springer are bad. So are Sit-Coms (in any language). TV stifles the brain, it does not help you create, or love. (The best show I ever saw was Jordanian sit-com, I speak no Arabic, so my wife and I made up our own story line). Computer games? Time stealers. We are on this earth for a limited amount of time. That is it. If you really want to trade in hours of your limited time on this earth… In between sound bites, we are bombarded with enticements to purchase things. These items are not just “offered” for sale, we are manipulated by the media culture to feel that if we do not have them, we are missing out. Notice how Advertiser’s rarely point out the “selling points” and benefits of a product any more. Mostly they create an enticing atmosphere around the product that people want to join in. It is one of the reasons that folks get confused with Card Meanings. It takes work. It is not instant. It takes shutting off the TV. Jerry Springer…Sure it is bad TV. Folks still watch it…Hell, we even export it over to Switzerland where THEY watch it…and pay us for the privilege. Think carefully before you turn on that box. It will steal time.

Sam	07 Jul 2002
well, i being an expert on dirty amaerican talk shows (ie jenny jones jerry springer, (jerry! jerry! jerry!), rikki lake, maury etc.), know that the people are fake on jerry springer. that's why the show is funny though!!!

Dark Inquisitor	08 Jul 2002
Since Jerry's show is coming out of Chicago, I am sad to say I am too close for comfort. I think most of it is fake, but some of it isn't - there is a recent murder case involving show participants. Dr. Phil has some good points and his plain style of speaking is a refreshing change from other professionals. However, he is grounded in a very military, controlling attitude that is really obnoxious. It's disgusting & bewildering to see quivering females passively accepting this.( Get a backbone, please, wimpy white women of America.) It's sad to think that the rest of the world gets their impressions of Americans from our bad tv. After the WTC attack, it was so wonderful to have all the crap swept off tv and replaced by the real people of courage & conviction. Tarotphelia

destinyawaitsme	08 Jul 2002
Well, back in the day Jerry was all real. He was trying to be the next Donahue. But no one wanted to watch it, (my grandma watched it when I was at her house when I was younger) so he gradually started making his show a little bit more trashy, more shocking, bring on the midget KKK. Let's just say grandma isn't an avid fan anymore. I know now that all the guests on his show are paid. If you watch closely enough...theya re really bad actors at that.

wavebreaker	08 Jul 2002
We had a Dutch version of the Jerry Springer show, for a very, very short time. Turned out that they couldn't find people to appear on the show so they had to hire actors. When that was found out, they cancelled the show... We still do get the Jerry Springer show, but I doubt anybody takes it seriously. It's seen as "entertainment" (not the kind of entertainment I like though...). As for TV being a time stealer: it depends what you're watching and whether you believe everything you see. I like watching a comedy or a good film just to have a bit of a laugh and relax. Or documentaries about all sorts of subjects, to educate myself. It's not TV itself that is the time stealer, it's how you use it.

floracove	08 Jul 2002
I do not care for the TV any more unless it's an episode of x-files I haven't seen, but it still hasn't made a total connection for me. (Does anyone understand the over all idea that is suppose to be thur the whole show, I mean besides being x-files) Sally's gone and as far as I'm concerned she was the best, Oprah's gotten boring to me, I just feel like its all just a waste of time. Most of the time my TV is on PBS the educational channel for my girls. If there's a good movie on I might try to catch it, but if I don't my hearts not broke... I am addicted to this little box here though, and I don't waste my time on yucky sites (if you know what I mean)

Jimilyn	09 Jul 2002
The *only* time I ever see these "talk shows" is when I'm at home sick, sick, sick and don't even have the strength to pick up the remote and click it. I drift in and out of sleep...and I know *that* must not be too good...letting all of that bad energy stuff into my mind while I'm sleeping. :( But I have to be very, very sick for this to happen. Fortunately for me, I rarely get that sick. I rarely watch TV anymore. When I do, I like to watch PBS. I don't even have cable...I never would watch it. Wellll, if I did have cable I might watch Pet Planet, the Food channel, the Learning Channel, Discovery. But I don't have a lot of time for TV. I spend too much time up in my classroom at school. I never feel like I'm prepared enough and keep finding things to do. :( And when I'm home, my dogs think I spend too much time on the computer. LOL! So my big time killer is the PC. About the only thing that seeing Jerry Springer or similar show does for me is to make me very grateful that my life doesn't even come close to being that bad and that the people I know are much nicer and more trustworthy that the people portrayed on the show. I always wonder how anyone could allow themselved to go on national or international TV and let themselves look *that bad*!!!!! And that goes whether they are for real or faking it. Who'd want to look that bad in fron of the world??? Couldn't pay *me* enough to do it. Jimilyn

The Need help from U.S. friends (re Jerry Springer) thread was originally posted on 08 Apr 2002 in the Chat board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Chat, or read more archived threads.