VITAMEDIAS
Why Reality TV Is Good For Us: Stop whining about how prime time's hottest genre is destroying America, and enjoy some great television
Indeed, for all the talk about "humiliation TV," what's striking about most reality shows is how good humored and resilient most of the participants are: the American Idol rejectees stubbornly convinced of their own talent, the Fear Factor players walking away from vats of insects like Olympic champions. What finally bothers their detractors is, perhaps, not that these people are humiliated but that they are not. Embarrassment, these shows demonstrate, is survivable, even ignorable, and ignoring embarrassment is a skill we all could use. It is what you risk - like injury in a sport - in order to triumph. "What people are really responding to on these shows is people pursuing their dreams," says American Candidate producer R.J. Cutler. A reality show with all humiliation and no triumph would be boring.
Viewers love reality: Another word for these shows is "humilitainment", where viewers cheer and jeer at participants who become freak-show stars.
"This kind of entertainment is nothing new," says film scholar Lester Friedman.
"There were the Romans and the Coliseum. In the Elizabethan period, hangings and various other forms of execution were public spectacles.
"And there's a long tradition of carnivals and sideshows showcasing unfortunate people performing bizarre acts."
But participation in the past was largely involuntary. These days, humilitainment is big business (and cheap to produce) and people are lining up for their chance of 15 minutes of fame.
[15 minutos para eles, uma eternidade nas programações, que prometem continuar nesta senda?
Um dos "humilitainment" citados - "Strip Search (a raunchy version of Popstars)" - já foi alegadamente adquirido por um canal português. Como me explicaram, "é uma coisa tipo casting pelo país de stripers, evidentemente masculinos, para ensinar 6 deles a cantar, dançar e "stripar". O concurso teve um sucesso enorme na Nova Zelândia.
Tipo os "Excesso" mas com strip... O apresentador anda pelo país em audições com os potenciais candidatos às eliminatórias do concurso. No final sobram 6 jovens robustos que na Nova Zelândia fizeram shows pelo país já depois do final do programa. Uma coisa linda..."
Sem dúvida, "uma coisa linda"... ]
[act.:] 'Are You Hot?' struts its stuff: Skin, sex appeal: Exteriors are all that matter in ABC's new stripped-down reality contest, Are You Hot? The Search for America's Sexiest People, a swimsuit competition where the only talent needed to win $50,000 is the ability to turn around.