Wednesday, May 30, 2007

kindneys! anyone want some kindeys?




Reality show to offer kidneys as prize

"...In The Big Donor Show, which is set to air this Friday, a terminally ill cancer patient will select one of three patients to receive her kidneys. Viewers will watch testimonials from the three Dutch contestants, aged between 18 and 40, and send in text message advice to the donor to help her decide who should receive the lifesaving operation..."

My initial reaction was shock & disgust. But im not so sure now. i've taken a breather to reflect. We can definitely say that a kidney donor version of 'perfect match' is in bad taste. Adding a competitive element ot organ donation is hardly nice. But is it worthy of disgust & thus censorship?

The argument portrayed by the network that organ donation may increase. They had a point, this may make organ doaning amore popular. Even so it did little to abay my concerns. There are better ways of increasing organ donor levels. And of course the network is making a nice profit that i doubt will be donated to charity.

Havign said that though - should we side ourselves with the opposing force. The christian democrats that is. They speak about this show as "caus[ing] confusion and anxiety" amongst the public? Um... why would the public become confused by this show? and why anxious?

While we have sympathy for the act that some of the contestants will loose, they did choose to participate, even if the choice is loaded. its not a question if invading privacy or causing inconvenience. No one is getting 'hurt' by the show.

If we become anxious is it because often like to ignore that reality is often a lot worse than television? As the network executive says: '...we think the reality is even more shocking and tasteless: Waiting for an organ is just like playing the lottery'

Sometimes i think that our disgust/anxiety often conceals/hints at issues we are not always comfortable with. These are issues we like to ignore or simply brush aside.

Sometimes shows like this almost redeem themselves because they are controversial. They put the issue out there, when we would otherwise brush past it. How many times does red nose day start a discussion about organ donation? I do mean 'almost redeem's' though. Its still indifferent. Its still bad taste.

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