Tuesday, January 13, 2004
Reality
Ok, I'll admit, I'm a moderate fan of reality shows. I know they're trashy. Worse than trashy, to me, is that they're lowest-common-denominator programming. When most of the American public tends to like something, I'm immediately skeptical. And I know it's cynical, but I don't really like to be lumped with the general public. But, in this case, I'm right in the thick of them. Of course, I know that I try to rationalize it - I'm not of a fan of those "bad" reality shows like the Bachelor or Joe Millionaire. I just like the "classy" ones like Survivor and The Amazing Race. See? Not that bad. Except, I know they're essentially all the same junk.
What's amusing is that the "reality" shows are becoming so forced and scripted that they're starting to developed their own cliches. Alliances, betrayals, character archetypes. It's amazing how quick it becomes entrenched. But one difference in reality shows is that there's a much tighter feedback loop - the same people who are familiar with these concepts are the ones that are acting them out in the next season. So it allows them to more quickly play against type, or try to buck convention, or "win" whatever game they're playing by setting standard expectations and then defying them. It can quickly become confusing, but it can just as easily become nauseating, because so many of these people are so self-aware, there's not a "real" moment among them.
I guess, once again I'm rationalizing - trying to claim that some of these shows are worthwhile and a bit "above" the fray" because there are multiple levels of psychology going on by the participants and the producers. I'd like to say that I only like the shows because I'm looking for those rare moments in which the shows achieve postmodern nirvana, but I'd be lying. Watching stupid people bicker can be just as fun.
However, it is true that there are some outstanding incidents of meta-reality that I have enjoyed while watching these shows. Maybe I'll have a explicit example to illustrate what I'm talking about once the newest show I'm interested in kicks off - "Survivor All-Stars". Think about it - previous participants of different series Survivor are going to compete against each other yet again. Assuming they've all watched the other episodes, they should know an amazing amount about each other. This is quite different from most reality shows, in which the participants know nothing about the other contestants. These players not only have seen how the others play the game, but they've seen the "aftermath" - the public persona of the person outside of the game - since most of these people have gone on to become at least F-list celebrities. It should prove interesting, I hope. At the very least, maybe there will be a fist fight.
What's amusing is that the "reality" shows are becoming so forced and scripted that they're starting to developed their own cliches. Alliances, betrayals, character archetypes. It's amazing how quick it becomes entrenched. But one difference in reality shows is that there's a much tighter feedback loop - the same people who are familiar with these concepts are the ones that are acting them out in the next season. So it allows them to more quickly play against type, or try to buck convention, or "win" whatever game they're playing by setting standard expectations and then defying them. It can quickly become confusing, but it can just as easily become nauseating, because so many of these people are so self-aware, there's not a "real" moment among them.
I guess, once again I'm rationalizing - trying to claim that some of these shows are worthwhile and a bit "above" the fray" because there are multiple levels of psychology going on by the participants and the producers. I'd like to say that I only like the shows because I'm looking for those rare moments in which the shows achieve postmodern nirvana, but I'd be lying. Watching stupid people bicker can be just as fun.
However, it is true that there are some outstanding incidents of meta-reality that I have enjoyed while watching these shows. Maybe I'll have a explicit example to illustrate what I'm talking about once the newest show I'm interested in kicks off - "Survivor All-Stars". Think about it - previous participants of different series Survivor are going to compete against each other yet again. Assuming they've all watched the other episodes, they should know an amazing amount about each other. This is quite different from most reality shows, in which the participants know nothing about the other contestants. These players not only have seen how the others play the game, but they've seen the "aftermath" - the public persona of the person outside of the game - since most of these people have gone on to become at least F-list celebrities. It should prove interesting, I hope. At the very least, maybe there will be a fist fight.
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