A new revolutionary phase in television may have begun on 2010's Superbowl Sunday night when the first episode of Undercover Boss aired immediately after the Super Bowl game. This time slot gave this program a good chance of a wide audience. This may prove to be a blessing for working people, who have been struggling to keep their jobs, as corporations look for their bottom line, and workers struggle to work longer hours at jobs that compress what used to employ two, three, or more human beings into one job.
TV Reaches a New Phase as An Art Form
The TV reality show genre may have found its potential as an art form in its role as a reformer of the U.S. workforce. The capacity of television to be a valuable force for good, as a learning tool, as a mirror of our society has long been known. But rarely has this potential been realized, as product advertisers and TV stations have been reluctant to risk loss of corporate support in the huge competition to reach mass quantities of viewers. It has also been evident that this competition for viewers has resulted in the loss of quality shows in an attempt to please everyone. Perhaps, it is due to the loss of advertising dollars to the internet, but T.V. now seems to be willing to take desperate measures to reach the public with programs that will have meaning to them.
The First Episode
The COO of Waste Management, one of the largest waste management corporations in the United States, begins the first show with the idea that he wants to work as an employee undercover so that he can see, first hand, how he can cut costs and improve the efficiency of his company. During the episode, he goes to work as a new hire and trains for one day at a variety of entry- level positions under workers currently working their jobs. He works with a woman garbage truck driver-collector, a port-a-potty cleaner, a trash sorter, a trash picker, and an office manager. During his training, the COO becomes emotionally involved in the lives of each of his trainers, realizing the amount of pressure each employee lives under.
Transformation to Come?
This show was not only and eye opener for the COO of the company, but it may have been a blessing to all workers, if it turns out to have a large following. It may be a blessing for us all. If it succeeds, expect a transformation in society for the better.
Yana Marshall - Yana Ungermann-Marshall is a writer, artist and Information Professional currently working at Altadena Public Library as a Reference ...
