I don’t like vomit. I mean, no one really loves it, but I happen to have a fear, a problem, and “issue” with the idea of your body, angry and bothered, hurling its contents into the outside world. I am, and I’m proud to admit, an emetophobe. As of this writing, I am proud to say that I have not thrown up in approximately 15 years.
Since when has television included so much of the nasty stuff?
Why on earth do editors and producers feel the need to include gratuitous vomit shots in nearly every single program that I happen to watch? This isn’t an issue that’s specifically attributed to any single network, no – it’s seemingly all of them recently that have decided to capitalize on the gross-out factor and send me diving under my blankets to cover my eyes in haste. Did I mention that I hate vomit?
Here’s just a sampling of the programs I’ve seen recently to incorporate vomit into their storylines. Mind you, these gratuitous-vomit-scenes often come without warning, and often, I haven’t had time to properly avert my eyes.
-REAL WORLD on MTV: Poor drunk Sarah goes overboard and barfs all night. I understand that tequila and good girls don’t mix, but do I really have to see what she ate for dinner spilled all over the sidewalk?
-LEGALLY BLONDE on MTV: Since when does one expect to see or hear vomit on a show about singing? When the tension gets too much for one contestant, she races out of the audition room, hand clapped over her mouth, in a desperate sprint to the bathroom. Of course, the cameras HAVE to follow her right behind. As if she wasn’t already humiliated enough.
-BIZARRE FOODS on Travel Channel: All right, so I’ve never actually seen Andrew Zimmern toss his cookies on the air. But I have watched the poor man gag when trying to choke down an exotic fruit that he claimed to have the taste and consistency of rotting onions. Pardon me, but that’s enough to turn my stomach.
-ACE OF CAKES on Food Network: This is about the last network you would ever hope would air a program with a vomit-related scene. But, lo and behold, I tuned in to find the gang happily working on a cake featuring a puking goblin. Of course, I joined the show just at the moment they were putting the finishing touches on the icing vomit. Thanks guys.
And of course, there’s the upcoming HURL on G4, a show that challenges contestants to scarf as much food as they can before performing some stomach-churning tasks. Is that really what television is coming to? Or, on a quest to “push the envelope,” is vomit one of the few allowed gags (pardon the pun) that’s being permitted to go to air, rather than a swear word, or a naked derriere?
Excuse me, but I don’t feel so good….
Ha ha … good points Liz. What’s the breaking point with this? Or when will people exhaust themselves of completely insipid programming? Now I sound pretty self righteous but I am the first to admit I have my own television indulgences … and I guess sometimes the storylines make me want to gag but I almost enjoy these cringe inducing moments — not so when I literally see the act your post so candidly explores …
Had to look up your condition too: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emetophobia. I think I may have the opposite condition, not sure what the medical term is. I just call it “sensitive stomach.”
Guess I should spare myself the effort of attempting to be a participant on Hurl.
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Vomit isn’t the problem – it’s a symptom. There is no bottom. Witness last night’s Moment of Truth (which I was compelled to write about – which indicates that I watched it – for which I am ashamed.)
Brad
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I really enjoyed your post … probably because of that airport story you once told me. But anyway, YES I have noticed that TV has been more gross lately. I guess it’s because viewers are bored with the same old things and networks need to improve their ratings. I also believe that taboo subjects (such as vomit) are interesting to the audience because it catches them off guard. It used to be that when an actor got sick on camera they would turn and the viewers would get the gist of what was happening, but now we get to watch them face to face with our front and center view, in HD! Furthermore, I think such subjects definitely target the younger generations that are still fascinated by green slime and who are turned on at the sight and sound of it. I definitely think that when I watch TV there are some subjects I’d like to be left to my imagination and that includes vomit.
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To elaborate alittle more about the topic, I agree with both Marie and Liz. But in contrast of opinion of why I think some TV shows have gone too far is because really in reality unconsciously thats what viewers want to see. Look at it this way would a show be more interesting if some one is pictured about to vomit and not show it as well as muting the sound. Not sure if i’m wrong but to me it’s like a tease, ok they saw a person about to vomit but did they really? I think Tv shows are now trying to test out the whole reality, trying to bump it up a notch, Not PG/PG13 but a step higher then that, make it more appealing and likeable to viewers,which may increase their rankings. Going back to being more appealing to the viewers. What are people going to talk more about some one who puked, etc? or someone they didn’t see do anything but was about to? Put it this way it’s the same way to look at it as an A-List celeb getting caught doing something bad by the papperazzi. You wont hear anything about the good A-Listers. And You know what the bad ones are the ones who help magazines sell more.
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I can’t stand all the vomiting, burping, farting and any other ‘human’ condition we are subject to in film and on TV today or anytime in theatrical history. Don’t we get enough of ‘reality’ in our own homes. Shouldn’t entertainment do just that, entertain us. Not wish we hadn’t decided to turn on the TV or rent a film while entertaining with our famous potato soup! And while I’m at it; how could Boston Legal decide to go off the air because the reality shows were probably going to chase it off anyway? Reality shows? What a crock. These shows should all be on one moronic station. Preferably a single digit station like 2 or 3 so those viewers would be able to tune in easily. Leaving the other 200 stations to those of us who want quality programming. I’ll take comedy, drama, tragedy, history, political, sci-fi, classic reruns, any music programs, but please don’t give me contrived reality or anything with vomiting humans or animals. The executives in charge must be themselves simple-minded buffoons. God help them and we who are captive to their idiotic programming.
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