I refuse to believe that the Kardashians, Honey Boo Boo, and Duck Dynasty (which I mercifully still don't know anything about, and perhaps to save my soul I'll avoid knowing what it is other that than vaguely knowing it's ~redneck) are the soul of the US, even if it's the most-easily ridiculed part, and
a ranking of most-watched shows for 2012-2013 should bear this out. There have been some ~animated shows mentioned as dark indicators for the US, but The Simpsons (which I haven't watched in 15 years) and South Park (also a long time) were not without their moments, and they lack a certain element that I think defines the inner-most level of TV hell (which Kardashians, Honey Boo Boo, Survivor, Amazing Race, whatever Simon Cowell's attached to, and probably *almost* reality competition show and many other reality shows eagerly employ): deeply-personal trivial/artificial conflict. Sports and many other competitions are artificial, but they're not intrinsically personal, so they leave a space for people with cooler heads to have serious discussions and see if something deeper can be accomplished (even basketball players are using more-sophisticated tactics than they did a couple decades ago). Many good stories show deeply-personal conflicts while still making them authentic (even if they're in a fantasy setting, they can be analogous to real-life scenarios), compelling people to better-understand their own lives and those around them. A problem is when viewers get deeply emotional, especially angry/smug, for nothing. Without some lesson or understanding to draw from that experience, people are not just worked up, but they're left empty, which makes for a particularly toxic experience.
If one tries to describe a broader circle of rubbish, it's easy to rationalize throwing the better part of anything into the pot (and the "90% of everything is crap" saying starts to show up): cable news is generally either slanted or lazy; sports are unimportant; sitcoms (whether acted or animated) have shallow, uninspired writing; crime shows distort reality; Weather Channel is disaster porn; History Channel does not live up to its name.
It does sort of beg: what is worth consuming anyway? If the idea is that reality TV is trash, and a bunch of other content is no good, let's flip the topic around and say what is worthwhile. Are there any stories, games, movies, shows or other diversions that are worthwhile, perhaps that help make other countries strong? As gratifying as it may be to list off a bunch of negatives to avoid, it behooves us to have positive alternatives to consider.
