Divorce Court

I was sitting at home today, lazily watching horrible television programs that one can find on a Friday afternoon. I stumbled upon Divorce Court, and since there was nothing else on (no cable at my home) I decided to see what it was (having never watched the show myself).

The show was a courtroom reality show, in the style of the People's Court, where two people come together to face-off in a courtroom with a single judge. The show, however, targets a specific genre of courtoom cases: divorces.

What I found interesting was that the show was real, yet incorporated many aspects of television that ordinary people not taking a media studies class may miss. For instance, many times during one person's "testimony," the camera did a close-up on the opposing side's face to catch their reaction. I didn't know if I liked this or not: on the one hand, it helped to see how the otherside reacted; but on the other hand, it sort of villainizes the opposing view. In a court of law, there should be no good-vs.-evil, and the audience should not be given a subjective view of the proceedings.