Reality

     The two best shows on television are Catfish and Love After Lockup.

     Catfish chronicles the real stories of young people who finally meet those with whom they’ve fallen in love online, but have never seen in person nor on live video.

     Love After Lockup documents couples who finally meet after they’ve fallen in love while one person was incarcerated and the other was a free citizen.

     Spoiler alert: things do not go well.

     While they are both billed as reality television shows, it takes little time to recognize the shows are about the uniquely human compulsion to argue against reality.

     Viewing them is essentially like walking through a poorly decorated live museum of human behavior. There is the “He Was the First One to Actually Listen to Me” exhibit, the “Look at All the Beautiful Pictures She Sent Me of Herself” gallery, and lastly, my favorite, the “This is How Both Our Lives Will be Perfect Once We’re Finally Together” fantasy loop.

     The only glimmers of hope appear when, during individual interview portions, the protagonists are asked to reflect on their experiences.

     “There are times when I think to myself, ‘If he really loved you he would have already come to see you by now.’”

     “I wonder sometimes whether or not she’s only using me for money while she’s still in prison.”

     “I have a bad feeling about this.”

     For a fleeting moment I see them acknowledge the truth like a tiny fairy godmother frantically waiving her wand in the rear of their psyche, a billowing cloud of glitter swirling above her head. Sitting on my couch I silently beg them to look at her, listen to her, be with her. Or at least watch their episode back. Because let me tell you, it’s a good show.