| Monday, May 22, 2006 |
| Survivor Voyeurism |
Voyeurism.
That's why we watch reality TV, don't we? We're all voyeurs at heart. What happens when you put X number of people together on an island/in the same house/in a competition/chained together/on a stage?? Some say it's scripted. It may very well be, I think.
I'd say Survivor has to be my favourite of it all...Yes, I'm quite the reality TV junkie. Through the years there have been a profusion of them, but I've really stopped watching most except Survivor, America's Next Top Model and Project Runway (woo pretty things galore!!), and the occasional singing/dancing competition. Although even in the early years I wouldn't have gone near Are You Hot? with a ten-foot pole!
I stopped watching Survivor for a few seasons when it got boring, but since then they've made the game more dynamic and unpredictable. And it is the original reality TV show after all! Still, I missed most of the last season (I actually forget to watch TV nowdays), only catching the finale. So I was searching online for Survivor stuff the next day and look what I found...
MySpace profiles of Aras and Shane. Et voila!
Yes, I did sign on to view the pictures. *looks sheepish* Voyeurs at heart, aren't we all. Tsk tsk.
It's funny though, how people who leave comments on their profiles actually seem to talk to them as if they know them personally. Did they really think their "oh aras you are soooo hott" comment would elicit a "thank you, you too" from him? Or that "shane did you start smoking again" would inspire an actual reply? And it's funny when they say things like "ttyl" and "pls comment back".
I've read about this phenomenon before in my last Communications unit. Like how you see someone in the media so much that you somehow think that you know this person. It's called para-social interaction. "The para-social performer is able to establish 'intimacy with millions'". The Survivor format would certainly facilitate this, not just in the way they get individual players to talk to the camera and divulge secrets, but probably also in the way people are made to empathise with them as we watch them struggle and fight to win. People cheer for them, root for them, and make them heroes. It's easy to forget that the person we see on TV may not be real - a result of casting, scripting, editing, or circumstances. Put me on an island to win a million dollars and I'd probably not be the person you know.
And it's funny, too, this instant celebrity thing. The Everyman's X minutes of fame. Like Mr Nong Nong Ago from the Singapore Idol auditions (you'll know who if you watched it last night!), whom you'd probably not even notice before he went on TV. (I predict that Mr Nong Nong Ago will be the next Mr Careless Whisper - his rendition of "Long Long Ago" was really hilarious!) Unfortunately such fame leaves little legacy. Mr Careless Whisper's attempts at a second stab of fame last night were very promptly dismissed, and people will probably, from now on, think that he was shameless, because the fact is - he can't sing! Even the most memorable Survivors will be forgotten a few years from broadcast.
I wonder how all this sudden attention makes them feel? How many people on their lists are real friends and family? The profiles seem legit enough. Shane's comments (they jab and rib on each other's profiles but no prizes for guessing who is funnier) and blog are really funny, and the two seem to be real friends. Look there, even I have been drawn into it.
And yep, I'm not even supposed to have time to type all this. Lol
P.S. There's a most curious character on the CBS Survivor Website called Ralph. Anybody read Lord of the Flies before? Nonono, not Lord of the RINGS by Tolkien. Lord of the Flies, by William Golding. I did it for my Lit. 'A's, it's a really brilliant book. Is the inclusion of this Ralph on the site some sort of homage for the idea of the game or an exercise in irony? Because if you know the story you'll realise the similarities with the show itself! |
posted by esther @ 4:35 PM  |
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| 1 Comments: |
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lol, exactly i been thinking about lately. We are all voyeurs at heart >.<
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lol, exactly i been thinking about lately. We are all voyeurs at heart >.<