Fear Factor: Cruel Chapter

When the long awaited weekend reels itself into my schedule, I splurge on late night television, given all homework is done, and baby is sound asleep. One weekend I began consistent channel flicking, trying my hardest not to let that monotonous glare grow upon my face. But my effort began to cease within each minute of dramatic soap operas, Real World re-runs, and sitcoms of plummeting and rather perplexing teenage life. Just when I was about to give up on cable television my finger flicked two hundred and something channels down to a non-cable channel. My glare began to fade out and a pinch of energy jolted throughout my body as that daunting theme music of the hit television show Fear Factor poured out the box.

I placed my remote control down and fell into a mesmerized glare, enthralled at the complexity and hazardous arrangement of the stunts preformed by the contestants; stunts can range from being submerged, chained, and locked into a tank full of water while trying to use a key to unlock the chains and free themselves, or jumping from a moving helicopter to try and land themselves onto a marked spot in the ocean. Whoever completed two extreme stunts in a set amount of time entered into the next round where the cruelty began. The contestants were placed in front of tables holding plastic bowls all varying sizes that
served as a buffet of animal organs, live insects, fish oil, and animal lard.

The contestants dug in, gulping down cow eyeballs and washing them down with a giant sized cup of uncooked ostrich eggs, or cockroach and maggot milkshakes, all, for, fifty thousand dollars. I found that to be disgusting and repulsive, but it became sheer cruelty when live insects were blended in an actual blender to make a "shake" and insects were chewed for competition. One contestant put a tomato worm in between his teeth and bit down so hard that whatever the bug was full of spurted out in a bout of green slime. Another contestant took a different approach and put the whole bug in her mouth then chewed, all she could say was "I could feel the bug moving around inside of my mouth." That's just it! The bugs were alive, living, breathing. Those contestants were slaughtering bugs for possible money and entertainment. It didn't help when host Joe Rogan cheered them on as if it were normal. It's not normal it's obscene, cruel.

Does any one else notice this but me? Well maybe I am just over analyzing this show, and maybe I am just a little sensitive on the subject of insects and animals. But I can no longer deny that I am attracted to the show because of the filthy and unusual things those people will eat and of course those ideas for insect entrees, Worm pizza? Worm sausage? It is gross and America loves it but I still think it's cruel. What has television and entertainment come to? .