Why do we always come here, I guess we'll never know. It's like a kind of torture to have to watch the show.

That's the muppet show for all the google-challenged. So, the point was raised in comments:

The real problem with cartoons is that they, more than ever, reflect reality rather than provide an escape from it. On the other hand, so-called reality programming (like I would want to be on an island with several people I don't particularly like striving not only to survive, but all the while harboring the suspicion someone might give me a million dollars if I were successful) has increasingly less to do with any reality that I have ever seen.

While admittedly there is very little redeeming value to be found in most reality TV (look, it's yet another edition of MTV's The Real World, featuring 7 alcoholic collegians, three of whom are gay or from a recognized minority, each of whom behaves like a different one of the Seven Duffs from the Simpsons: Sleazy, Queazy, Edgy, Surly, Tipsy, Remorseful, and Dizzy!), many of us, nay, all of humanity can learn various lessons from Survivor. First of all, fire is a necessity for life. It's mythology come to life, people. Second, you need to eat protein to maintain your strength. I don't know why being on an island for two weeks makes every person into a dietitian, but so help me, it does. They never stop jabbering about protein literally all day long. Third, it is good to be in the majority, for they have all the power. If you are able to flip yourself from the minority to the majority, let the other side have it. Make them clean up around camp, make them hunt for food, and whatever you do, don't let them privatize social security because you just took over Congress tribal council. Most importantly, many people will try to befriend you during your 39 days on the island, but they want to cost you and your family one million dollars (say it Dr. evil style, it sounds better). When the time comes, screw them over, and remember what you can do if you had a million dollars. Side note, if you do choose Kraft Mac and Cheese, remember it is made only two miles from my apartment in lovely Champaign, IL.

Ok, having completely failed to address the issue of escapism in reality shows, let's move on to cartoons. Why are they so real these days? The obvious answer is that life has become cartoonish. Remember, America's most informative source of news is a fake news program, the Onion reports actual news two years ahead of time (dkon gets credit for showing me this one, which was published in 2001 [!?!]), the people we choose to lead us are certifiably insane, and the most powerful man in the world still says "nukular". If Karl Marx was once right in suggesting that "History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce", the proper approach is now more Groucho, in that it's often hard to tell the difference between tragedy and farce the first time. Remember "Heckuva job"? How can a cartoon be more buffoonish than real life in these conditions? The Simpsons sent Homer into space in 1994, the Russians sent tourists there in 2001. South Park started out with "Jesus vs. Santa in 1995 (after JC vs. Frosty in 1992), explaining the true meaning of Christmas; Bill O'Reilly has yet to get the memo. Honestly, how can any fictional work really push the limits of believability these days. Okay, I'm sure a few brave souls can manage it, but in general, when life becomes a daily farce, satire is the proper medium to excoriate it.