Australian TV is awash
with reality shows. Perhaps, that should read Australian TV is stained with reality shows. It seems
that, in reality, these reality shows are
heavily scripted and are, indeed, very far from reality. I do not need to name
the reality TV shows. You know them. People pitted against each other, and or
the threatening environment, to impress the flamboyant, extroverted judges as
they perform tasks, such as cooking, renovating a slum, surviving in the jungle or a houseful of hunks and bimbos
or even choosing the love of a lifetime.
People watching a reality show would expect it to be unscripted
and actually happening, as in real life. Sadly, this is not really true. A good
example of a reality show being structured in unreal situations was the last
series of The Bachelor.
Now, I do not watch reality TV but I do know that in The
Batchelor a bevy of beauteous redheads, blondes and brunettes ( OK, mainly blondes) work their way through
a filtering interview process until reaching an emotionally charged finale where
only two lovely ladies are left. The
Grand Finale results in the hunky bachelor choosing one these luscious looking girls
to be his ever loving lifetime partner. Cue violins, flashing lights,
fireworks, love hearts, hugs, kisses, lustful looks and heaps of commercials.
Not to mention massive sales for the glossy magazines which do follow up
stories on the “lovebirds”.
But No! Not in this year’s finale at any rate. The bachelor
in this series was a well known rugby player with a quirky turn of phrase,
named Neil “Honey Badger” Cummins. On
the final night, the Honey Badger threw the reality show into chaos when he rejected
both of the finalists .Oh, no! The cad.
Naturally, both girls were devasted. Millions(?) of viewers
were stunned and the show’s producers went ballistic. Social media went into
meltdown as people expressed their shock, horror, amusement, disbelief and
total cynicism at the “reality” of it all.
The problem was that Neil ‘Honey Badger” Cummins had not
followed the script. What should happen in the reality show which is The
Bachelor is that on the final night, the handsome bachelor chooses a lucky girl,
they vow their undying love for each other, have their photos plastered all
over glossy magazines and then, about a month later, they “break up” and link
up with their respective real partners. Again, the “break up” is accompanied by
massive media coverage.
The problem, this time, was that bachelor, Neil “Honey
Badger” Cummins, could not follow the script. He did not want to tell a lie and
say he loved someone until death we do part when, in all reality, he did not. So,
he told the truth. He let both finalists know that he was not going to choose either of them.
Pandemonium! A slice of reality crept into a reality show and the reality show
just could not handle it.
The message is clear. Successful reality TV show must be
based on liesypocrisy and manufactured situations that are far, far removed from actual
reality. How sad. Even sadder, however, is the fact that most viewers of
reality TV shows are well aware that it is all a charade based on lies. They just love the
manufactured emotions, the stressful scenes, the joys, the disappointments and the lies
that flow from the participants scripted responses.
Maybe, that explains why national politics is becoming a real
blood sport.
