So, in the wake of Top Chef DC, DC Cupcakes and Real Housewives DC pulling in mediocre ratings, the blogosphere was ablaze with posts about how DC sucks at reality TV. The posts were written in the familiar self-deprecating tone, taken time and again by bloggers seemingly hell bent on portraying DC as the poor man’s NYC.
Sigh. Why don't we have crazy housewives?
Our hip eateries are hip, but not hip enough, our reality shows are good, but not good enough, our trends are timely but not timely enough. And now, our wealthy and stupid housewives are wealthy and stupid, but unfortunately, not wealthy and stupid enough. Sigh. We can only dream of reaching the collagen-filled levels of “dramz” of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
Don't you wonder what makes her tick?
So, instead of people in DC rejoicing in the fact that DC may be a bit too cerebral for “Real Housewives” (we were voted America’s most literate city), the blogosphere issued their proverbial sigh over DC’s seemingly perpetual runner-up status. And why not? I know I have lost sleep over why our cupcake show wasn’t the most popular iteration of cake-based programming on television. OH GOD WHYYYYY?!
courtesy of Zombie Cupcakes
Jesus. ENOUGH DC. Real housewives of DC failed because no self-respecting political wife would commit reputational suicide by going on that show. We should be PROUD of this. DC’s reality TV is the effing presidency. It’s the Supreme Court, the Pentagon, and Congress. So why do we give a sh*t about a stupid reality TV franchise?
DC, Always the sidekick
It’s this self-deprecation that frames DC as a NYC bizarre stepsister. In reality, the cities are not comparable. We are not the hometown of the Haiti Relief Concert singers, but we are the city sending people to HAITI. Do I want great DC fashion? Yes. Do I want delicious restaurants? Of course. But do I want us copying whatever’s trendy with the gusto of a high school teen attempting to climb the social ladder? No. We shortchange ourselves by doing that.
So no more cupcakes, no more yogurt, no more Housewives, instead I have decided to do a series every Friday, called 30 days of DC, which highlights awesome things you can do ONLY in DC. They will not be long, because I dislike many words, but they will be things you can only do here.
STARTS 1/14/2011!
AMEN! What a great post. Well said! The thing is–I, for one, don’t *need* people to think I live in the greatest city ever. I don’t even need to live in the greatest city ever. I love DC, period.
Thank you! I never really understood what all these reality TV shows were gunning for. If they thought that they were going to be able to tap into the political beast, they were sorely mistaken. What staffer is going to jeopardize their boss’ or group’s reputation? What IC analyst is going to draw publicity? The sort of people that would have made a DC show interesting aren’t about to jeopardize their futures; this is a town after all of people who build their livelihoods in part on how well they can control public perceptions.
I totally agree. Thanks so much for pointing this out. It should come as a compliment that DC is not consumed with superficial ideology and immature behavior.
I totally agree. Thanks so much for pointing this out. It should come as a compliment that DC is not consumed with superficial ideology.
So I guess an Elizabeth Warren/Snooki bitch fight is out of the question? We’ll never get to see “the Situation” in the Situation Room?
Say it ain’t so Spy!
And C-SPAN comes in 3 channels. All the reality tv a girl could ever want…