Wednesday night at 9 p.m., everyone knows exactly where to find me. My roommates and I are undoubtedly crowded around our living room TV – throw blankets and snacks on hand – ready to engage in our newest obsession that is TLC’s “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo.”
“Here Comes Honey Boo Boo,”or Honey Boo Boo, for short, is a reality show following the daily life of 7-year-old pageant star Alana “Honey Boo” Thompson and her family. The family lives in a rural Georgia town.
The show’s plot varies quite a bit, with last week’s episode featuring a date between Alana’s dad, “Sugar Bear,” and her mother, June, who have been dating for eight years but are not yet married. In previous weeks, the show has featured such novelties as the “Redneck Games,” where the family engages in activities that range from bobbing for pigs feet to mud-pit belly-flop competitions.
Like most reality shows, Honey Boo Boo has elicited mixed reviews from viewers – many of whom are disgusted with the family’s lifestyle, which is characterized by eating unhealthy foods, an affinity for teen pregnancy (with both June and her daughter, Anna, becoming pregnant before the age of 18), a total disregard for manners and plenty of bathroom jokes. Some have even gone as far as to say that the show is a rude exploitation of the family, as it encourages Americans nationwide to turn up their noses and sneer at stereotypical “rednecks” as modern-day circus freaks. Despite the strong criticism, “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo” still managed to nab more viewers than the Republican National Convention. Honey Boo Boo 2016, anyone?
And while many discount the Thompsons as classless and uncultured, Ma and the rest of her clan weren’t raised to be anything but proud. The truth is, June, the matriarch of the family, is a savvy, self-aware woman who isn’t fooled into thinking that viewers are synonymous with supporters.
It is due largely in part to Ma’s strong guidance that the family has developed into a strong-willed bunch that lives their lives according to their own rules. The Thompsons simply aren’t concerned with what’s on trend, what’s popular or even with what society deems socially acceptable.
And that’s more than most of us can say for ourselves. See, while everyone’s busy making a ruckus about what they perceive to be a dangerous deterioration of quality television programming or lamenting the stalled progress of the human race, Honey Boo Boo and her family will be riding their newfound fame all the way to the bank. So, the next time you get ready to mount your high horse, remember that while you may feel light-years ahead of Honey Boo Boo and her kinfolk, you still aren’t interesting enough to get paid to do little more than be yourself.
Tara Massouleh is a freshman majoring in journalism and English. Her column runs on Wednesday.
