TIMES VIEW | It ain't pretty but it's for real

For long, those who criticised television as a dumbed-down medium held that it peddled frivolous entertainment, which had nothing to do with real life. Then came reality shows. Now the charge is that TV is offending viewers by putting too much reality on screen. That charge came up most recently with respect to Big Brother contestant Jade Goody, who has been tragically diagnosed with terminal cancer.She is allowing the last weeks of her life to be filmed for TV, and even says she is thinking of having her death filmed. Is that crossing all limits of privacy or propriety? Or should we begin to demystify death?
Privacy isn't the issue here, because the filming is being done with Goody's consent. Did she do the right thing in giving her consent? The truth is that no one really has the right to judge her. In a free society, the judgment should be left to her and to those who are filming the programme, based on their interpretation of audience interest. Those who don't have the stomach for watching such a programme are free not to watch, but they shouldn't impose their choice on others. Apart from choice, there are other philosophical issues involved as well. The ancient Greeks elevated tragedy to a high art form, but modern culture is much more squeamish about it. Modern culture, however, hasn't been able to abolish death. So why refuse to talk about it?
It isn't good enough to say that TV programmes broaching death would be too much for children to take, because children often have to cope with the death of loved ones in real life. What about the voyeurism charge that is flung at reality shows such as the ones Goody participated in? Art and culture is often a means of participating in the lives of others, and great art can be intensely voyeuristic. Death is a radically lonely experience. Since medical technology cannot rescue Goody any more, who can grudge her the public sympathy she is likely to get as she shares with viewers the process of her dying?COUNTERVIEW | Have we completely lost it?