The Learning Channel, which features shows like I Am Jazz and Little People, Big World, may have some learning of its own to do.
I used to be somewhat of a TLC junkie, and as I learned this weekend, I still might be. BrideDay Friday’s and Extreme Couponing Saturday’s were my specialties. It’s easy to find yourself sprawled out on your sofa on a random afternoon indulging in reality garbage. It’s even easier to convince yourself it’s okay when you’re watching TLC, a channel ironically branded: The Learning Channel.
TLC has for years given viewers glimpses into different and fascinating lifestyles that are often controversial. That was always the fun of binge-watching the channel. However, a few months ago after watching one too many hours of The Little Couple and repeatedly seeing ads for the premiere of the show I Am Jazz, I realized how oddly disturbing the channel really is.
Of course the channel is not filming it’s stars engaged in sexual activity or any sort of inherently sexual act, but that doesn’t change the fact that many of TLC’s shows have an extremely voyeuristic nature. I can’t help but feel like their programming is created to show how alternative and progressive they are when in reality the shows seem exploitative.
Are the stars of TLC shows everyday people with lifestyle features that are supposed to be spotlighted or ignored? Or, are they just gimmicks on a channel that is no more than a cable television version of the human circus?
The Little Couple and Little People, Big World are two great examples of TLC’s ability to disguise their shows as this great progressive outlets for marginalized groups. Many of the stars of both shows have dwarfism which is why they are small in stature.
Minutes into any episode of either show and I want to press the snooze button. Who finds any of this entertaining? Both shows are so boring I jump for joy at each commercial break. Though it is personal opinion, the only people who I think are personally benefiting from these shows being on the air is TLC.
Yes the shows are able to convey that people unlike you are just as “normal” as you, but they also serve as an artificial cage. It is as if the channel is saying, “look how these people interact, look here.” I’m sure it boosts their ratings to pretend they are a progressive channel.
Their newest show came during a wave of popularity. I Am Jazz centers on Jazz Jennings, a transgender teen, and her day-to-day-life with family and the struggles of growing up as a teenage girl.
A brief look at the description of the show would strike the average person as seemly progressive and a huge step for television. The show is in fact a large step for mainstream media — but that’s just what TLC wants. TLC’s fatal flaw is that it presents these shows as progressive and even teetering on “activism” when really the channel takes no sides.
Who's to say the channel won’t create a reality television show for Kim Davis, the now infamous county clerk who would surely contradict I Am Jazz’s message?
The determinant is money and ratings. TLC’s surplus of shows serve the eager and voyeuristic mind and they profit. Enjoying an afternoon of binge-watching isn’t a crime but, I know I think twice every time someone praises new TLC programming for being ahead of the curve.
Kenyetta Whitfield is a sophomore studying journalism. What do you think of TLC's shows? Email her at kw162913@ohio.edu.
