How I Got Radicalized
‘MasterChef Junior’ Is a Cooking Show About Generational Wealth
Welcome to “How I Got Radicalized,” which tells the story of a cultural moment that made you drastically rethink how society works.
I’ve loved shitty TV since I was in elementary school. As a kid growing up in the 2000s, my attention was split between live broadcast TV, early-era Netflix, and Friends in syndication. The only way to feel a part of something bigger was through reality TV like America’s Next Top Model and American Idol, a buzz that happened when a whole generation came together for an hour every week to revel in their competitive entertainment.
As monthly streaming subscriptions overtook our home antenna use, the excitement of event TV became harder to chase. The only way I could catch that high was watching Big Brother’s live feeds, available 24/7, and read updates from its ravenous superfans. As exciting as this was, it felt like work, and I wasn’t a kid anymore. Trump had just been elected and I had a full-time career; I wanted to spend the precious hours escaping the doldrums of adulthood. I wanted easily digestible drama, served up on an hour-long platter. That’s when I found MasterChef Junior.
