This promises to be the most important blog post I'll write today!
I never watched crappy TV until I became a grad student. Unlike several of my friends, I can't keep working past a certain point on things that require actual intellectual energy. I can grade papers or read for sections, but I can't do my own work later than about 4 most days. Thus, when Becky and I were both grads at Oregon we'd usually call it quits by dinnertime and, well, we'd end up watching Survivor. Sometimes.
Over the last three years we've narrowed down the shows we watch. I really hate Survivor and won't watch it anymore, but I'm completely into Deadliest Catch. I've lost interest in Amazing Race, but I've officially come out of the closet regarding America's Next Top Model. And here's what I've learned: It's all about the editing. Almost no one is a saint or a monster, but reality TV is almost completely populated by saints and monsters. Think about it: if someone were to record everything you did for a week, they could splice it together such that you'd look like Gandhi or that you'd look like Hitler. Or, at least, a complete jerk. Maybe not Hitler.
The editors of reality TV shows create characters out of real people; it's not just that the drama of the shows is "real" in the sense that it isn't scripted, it's that the surreality of the format leads the viewer to like or dislike the characters more than they would if they were actors. It's hard not to think that they're "really" like that.
I first noticed this with Amazing Race a few seasons back, when Rob + Amber the Survivor winners were brought on the show. They were complete assholes and when they finally lost to the saintly Uchenna and Joyce, it was a triumph of good over evil. Then I started noticing that other reality shows had comparable villains, but sometimes the villains would suddenly appear in a different light, or the other people on the show would reveal that the character chosen by the editors as last week's hero was actually a total ass-hat.
This has reached its zenith, for me, in this season of America's Next Top Model. Every episode has a new villain, often but not always the girl who is eliminated. At the start of the season, it was arrogant Jazlene. Then it was bitchy Renee, then crazy Jael, then last night it was neurotic, whiny Britney. The thing is, Britney was one of the hero characters until they eliminated the others, then the editors spliced in every scene they could find of her being a pain in the ass.
So: for those of you who watch reality TV, watch for this phenomenon. I find it more enjoyable to trace the editorial decisions than the actual content of the show most of the time.
And yes, I just revealed how low the bar really is with my attention span and general intellectual maturity level. I know, I know, I should be reading Proust or something until late into the night....but I'll stick with Tyra for now.
5.08.2007
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8 comments:
i've discovered a couple of really great British shows - DSDS is over, and there's only one episode left of Germany's next top model. I feel very, very sad.
When I lived at home, my mom was really into reality TV. Besides American Idol (seasons 2 and 3, no idea what's happening to it these days), I also remembering watching Survivor, Joe Millionaire, Extreme Makeover, and several episodes of this with her.
P.S. My friend from L.A., who you briefly meant in December when he visited, is a video editor. He did several seasons of Amazing Race and Biggest Loser, and I can tell you that he did not make the decisions of what to cut--other people told him and he did as told (the producers?).
Right, I didn't mean to imply that the editors themselves were calling the shots, just that the editing process is what creates heroes + villains on reality shows. I would be amazed if any studio would let their editors have that much control.
Pancho and I *love* The Deadliest Catch! We watch it so much in fact that I once had a dream that we were on the Northwestern with Captain Sig Hansen and his brother Edgar! Ha!
Watching Deadliest Catch always freaks me out. When watched it, I kept expecting to see some of my dad's former deckhands or a classmate or classmate's husband/baby daddy or somesuch.
I think they should have that show in Smell-o-vision(tm). Mmmm... wet, fishy, sweaty men.
I like the Time Bandit because it's called that, although they never catch any fucking crabs. I like the Cornelia Marie because the captain's cool in a gruff captainy way. I like Sig Hansen because that guy is nuts.
Ooooh ... one of my friends is one of the people with control. This is what I know : They make an A, B, and C plot. Thye let the characters/actors/ reality people know sometimes too. Like they'll turn off the camera and say, "Wait--- we really wanted to feature your reaction to your haircut as a C plot this week. Are you really okay with it?" That's how I hear it goes. You don't want to think about that while you're watching though-- and good news - just becasue I told you doesn't mean you will -- in my experience!
Please erase this comment after you've read it. Trade secret I think.
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