MTV: Morals, Trust, and Values

The days of Date My Mom, Jackass, and Next are over. MTV (which obviously stands for Music Television) is creating a new genre of television and it’s teaching its audience how to approach life. Between the shows The Buried Life, World of Jenks, Made, Teen Mom, and If You Really Knew Me, MTV is entering a world where reality shows don’t need to have drama, sex, and humor. These four shows are documentary-style programs that feature young adults making a difference in the world and changing for the better.

The Buried Life features four Canadians who have created a bucket list and with the help of MTV productions, are trying to complete everything on it. Each episode they attempt to check one off the list and in turn must help a random person accomplish something they want to do before they die. They have reunited fathers and sons, helped a young girl conquer her fear of heights via rollercoaster, and even built soccer stadiums for third-world countries at war. Things they would like to do before they die? Help deliver a baby, streak at a sporting event and get away with it, and ask out the girl of your dreams are just a few. The show is at 10:30 pm on Mondays.

World of Jenks is a new show added to MTV’s line-up. Andrew Jenks is a filmmaker and somewhat of an anthropologist. He wants to experience life in as many different roles as possible: poker player, homeless person, rapper, etc. His ability to submerge himself in whoever he’s shadowing is more than commendable. The up-close-and-personal filming technique allows viewers to feel as if they’re along for the ride with Jenks. Check it out Mondays at 10 pm.

There have been over 100 episodes of the show Made. Honestly? Some are kind of annoying like when it’s about a brat who wants to be made into a sk8er girl or a white boy who’s trying to rap. But then there are the inspirational stories about a nerd who is a closet beauty queen. It’s a show about how a little encouragement can help you accomplish your wildest of dreams. A little encouragement and some help from MTV, that is.

I won’t dedicate much of my time to Teen Mom other than to say it’s the sequel to the show 16 & Pregnant. I guess a lot of people like it or something (it’s MTV’s most popular show second to the Jersey Shore). You should watch it or something?

The last one on my list of MTV Soup for the Soul shows is If You Really Knew Me. I’ve seen a few episodes, enough to know that they should be doing this at every school. Seems strange at first when you’re trying to pry secrets out of the bad boy or the popular girl. But then it’s as if the hosts perform this crazy voodoo thing and everyone starts crying and hugging and realizing how alike they all are. Personally, I really enjoyed high school but I know there are a bunch of schools, or even students in particular that would have benefited from a program like this.

So in case you took a hiatus from MTV due to the awful line-up that used to be, I suggest you high-tail it back to this network and see what they’re offering. I mean, it’s not like they’re playing music anymore, right?