Reality TV With a Social Conscience?
Gritty and Hard-Hitting Intervention Stands Out Among TV Programs
Apr 2, 2009
Yet while reality TV is mocked for its triviality and sensationalism, there are a few reality TV shows that stand out not just for their interest and quality, but also for bringing a much-needed element of social consciousness to our television sets.
The A&E network appears to be the leader when it comes to socially conscious reality TV. The most prominent of A&E’s documentary-style television shows with a social message is Intervention, an hour long series that is unlike any other on television today. The show profiles the lives and struggles of people with severe drug, alcohol and other addictions and what their families and friends go through.
Painful Reality of Addiction the Focus
In no way does the show glamorize drug use or addiction, as some Hollywood movies have been accused of in the past. The show is at times very hard to watch - addicts featured on the show usually have little left to lose to their addiction but their lives. It is not uncommon for an episode to feature an addict who no longer has a place to call home or a job to support the cost of their addictions. It often really is a life or death situation and it is harrowing to see how close some addicts come to death before finally agreeing to treatment after a surprise intervention is staged.
Regular viewers over the past six seasons will recall the painful ordeals of people such as Charles, who was molested by his father as a child and became a homeless heroin addict on the brink of death, or Kristen who prostituted herself to fund her addiction and often was unable to find veins in her arm to inject with drugs so would use veins in her neck instead.
The show provides a rare glimpse into the downward spirals caused not just by addictions to hard street drugs like heroin, crack and meth, but also from alcohol, inhalants, obsessive compulsive behaviour, eating disorders and compulsive shopping.
Hope Offered to Addicts and Families
What makes Intervention unique and socially-conscious is that it does not just show drug addicts in a seedy or scandalous way for our voyeuristic pleasure. Intervention is a show where family and friends of the addict come together to stage a professionally-facilitated intervention - an emotional and sometimes confrontational moment where addicts are forced to look at the stark reality of their problems and learn the consequences if they do not agree to go into three months of in-patient rehabilitation far away from friends or family.
The show gives viewers a chance to witness the personal hell of an addict or someone with compulsive behaviour and how their behaviour and illness has destroyed their lives and relationships. Most importantly, Intervention shows that there are alternatives and above all, hope. At the end of each episode, the addict is taken to treatment and is then interviewed a few months after becoming sober.
Addicts on Show are Not Always Successful at Sobriety
The show must also be credited for its brutal honesty. Not all addicts complete treatment and not all addicts who complete treatment stay sober. At the end of each show the viewer is informed of what happened during and/or after treatment and how long, if at all, the addict has been sober. This ensures the show does not create false expectations or a feel-good story at the expense of the reality of addiction.
The show is a continuing success for the A&E network and will no doubt inspire like-minded shows, hopefully of the same quality and impact as Intervention.
Additional Resources
The Recovery Project - Developed by A&E to break the stigma of addiction
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