The Reality Reality Show
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morally despicable Others from themselves fulfilled—and with corporate
sponsorship. Is it any surprise that the show also takes the form of a lesson in
Liberal social contract theory wherein a war of all against all is only stopped
from time-to-time by the creation of alliances that are fundamentally driven by
selfishness rather than a true sense of community? Yet, if we look closer, we
find that the narrative deconstructs itself even farther, for this is, after all, a
show about continual surveillance, and as such, it is strangely nostalgic. As
Mark Andrejevic argues,
one of the recurring themes of reality TV formats that
document the ongoing rhythms of the daily lives of their cast
members is that of a return to premodem or traditional
community. This is not merely a coincidence: one of the
distinctive characteristics of modernity is the loss of the forms
of mutual monitoring associated with traditional community
and the emergence of the distinctive anonymity of urban life.9
In the past—or at least some false constructed past we imagine through the haze
of modernity—you and I would have been neighbors. You would have known,
through a kind of bottom-up personal surveillance that is fundamentally
different from the sort we are using now, a lot about my life. This is not
necessarily because you would have been nosy, but because we would have
shared a life. You would likely have known how I was feeling, where I was
going, what I was hoping, and who I was dating.
The dating show is a popular format in the world of reality TV—and a clear
case of nostalgia. One is tempted, of course, to say that what we see on reality
TV dating shows is not appropriately representative of real life dating, but just
as in the Borges story where the king orders a map of his territory that is drawn
to 1:1 scale—a map that perfectly mirrors the kingdom and thus the people start
living in the map and soon can’t tell which is the map and which is the
kingdom—so are reality dating shows presenting us with a reality that is
ultimately reflecting reality dating. In a recent study by psychologists of the
dialogue on reality dating shows, it was discovered that the cliches of men being
sex-driven and women being sex-objects were being played out alongside a new
generalization which the researchers were more startled to discover: the
assumption that dating is a game.10 Not just on the show, that is, but in general:
dating has winners and losers, requires strategy and duplicity, and ultimately it is
directed toward a frivolous end.
If this game has its own twists and turns, then so be it. A few seasons ago
on CBS’s “Big Brother,” Justin threatene d to twist and turn a knife into fellow
contestant Krista. “Would you mind if I killed you?” asked Justin. Krista
laughed and continued to make out with Justin. “I’m going to slash your throat,”
he continued." And Krista just continued to be all kissy and makey-outey. Justin
was soon asked to leave the show.