Wife Swap

Really. This show is the opposite of the Milgram Experiment, although at times it may seem as such.

Two couples (not necessarily heterosexual) exchange the presence of each of their wives between households for a period of 2 weeks. The first week, the temporary wife goes by the rules of the wife of the home she is staying in. The second week, the temporary wife gets to change the rules, which does not always go as planned.

There is conflict and insight in this show. Through the process of the wives and families assimilating to each other over the course of 2 weeks, we gain insight into these families and we gain insight into ourselves.

One great result of this show seems that both families seem forever changed in some way. They realize that there is more to life and that learning from another can benefit them. They do not always like the messenger, but they appreciate how their lives have benefited.

My greatest joys of this show are that stereotypes break down and we see that there is more love in the world than often meets the eye.

Wife Swap was not something I was ever going to watch. I thought it was about sex. A friend said she watched it, explained what it was, and that piqued my interest. I enjoyed the fact that the families "traded" moms for 2 weeks. It gave enough time to see how everyone was doing things, and then implement the changes. I especially like the way the husband and wife teams talk after the show. The follow up is terrific, it is so uplifting and encouraging to see people's lives get better once they learn to appreciate what they have, and change what is wrong in their lives. I don't think any extra drama is needed. On one episode a knife was brought out and "Stu" the rabbit's life was under threat. I think this was dramatized a little to much, probably as a result of director intervention. I do not think this is necessary. What I like about the show is it is REAL, it is helpful to the parties involved and it is unique to American TV.

Reality TV.

00's was the beginning of the end of TV because reality TV were gradually showing up and occupying people's minds with garbage that was never 100% accurate. Reality is supposed to be 100% accurate, although people insist on remaining fool'd by the concept of reality TV. I ask what do they gain from it?

Wife Swap another manipulative program was about people swapping their wives for another wife. Literally. You had the annoying wife, the Christ freak wife, the authoritarian wife just to keep people watching. Wife Swap was pretty popular in the 00's for a while only because of the fat Christ Freak wife who freaked out because the house was unChrist-like. I think that's the episode that really made Wife Swap popular.

Wife Swap is just another garbage reality TV show. I was only a teen at the time and I could easily tell which shows were garbage, yet grown adults were unable to differentiate. Shows intelligence isn't about getting a Diploma, getting a Masters or having children. Intelligence is about knowing wrong from right, seeing the smallest picture and having self-control.

I've watched a few episodes of Fox's Trading Spouses and I liked some of the episodes a lot. I especially loved the episode that takes a man from Southern America and puts him in a New York city apartment with a very rich New York family. The two families were different, yes, but the Southern man tries to fit in with the new culture and does a very good job. The host family was nice and treated him like a guest. What was nice was the way the host family carried on as normal.

Most episodes of Wife Swap are different, however. Like Trading Spouses, the families are completely different, but the problem is that instead of simply having the wife living with a new family the show tries to start a fight by getting each wife to read some sort of manual about the other family and then after a while to set rules. The wives who swap don't even try to adapt to the environment. They are intolerant of other cultures. They loudly and proudly hold on to their way of life, thinking it is superior, and try to change the other people in the process. I hate it most when the wives tell us at the beginning who they are. You don't learn about who someone is by listening to what they say because their ideals about what they should be will get in the way with what they really are. There's a reason why people buy status symbols like large cars and large houses. They are trying to express themselves and project signals to others so they can be recognized as belonging to a certain social identity. Too many families use Wife Swap as a vehicle to show off their identity. Everything the parents do on the show, whether it is sport or shouting at their kids, is just another weak attempt to conform to an image or a stereotype.

It's not just the contrived conflict that makes Wife Swap so painful to watch but also the fact that you know the wives are posing for the camera. It is so clear these women are desperately trying to show off their identity for the world to see. In other words, they are acting, and that goes against what I expect in reality TV.

This is a really good show, showing the different families around the world swapping with each other. I just don't get the negative reviews!