No, I think it's that most people can't afford to work for free for months at a time, and very few people are born into the kind of VC connections that make that a positive-expectancy move.
For people who don't have EIR gigs to go back into, startup failure is really unpleasant and can take a long time to recover (career and savings-wise) from.
Moments later edit
And who are these people with the "EIR" backup plans that you're thinking of? The "EIR's" I've met have all been former successful founders who are simply being effectively pre-funded. That's not some class privilege; it's an additional perk of having won in the past, and it's not one of the bigger perks.
My point was about teenagers trying to figure out what to do with their life. I came to Silicon Valley from another country with no connections and definitely no means from back home. Obviously part of being an entrepreneur at a young age is being able to deliver enough value to an employer to always land back on your feet.
That's not what's holding somebody who has been told throughout all their life that they'll never accomplish anything back, though.
The purpose of this TV show is to sell advertising and make money for the network. Nothing more than that. That's their (Bravo's) business model. And they are executing it brilliantly. Many of their shows are tremendously popular and have inspired spinoffs as well.
IMO one of the larges inhibitors of entrepreneurship is a lack of confidence that is instilled by the education system. A thoughtful show about Silicon Valley could show how people from all different walks of life come here to build their dreams. It could inspire kids interested in technology to learn, it could show them that all you really need is an internet connection. Instead it shows that the typical tech entrepreneur is white(-ish), good-looking, outgoing and a party animal.