We didn’t need Edward Wyatt to convince us that being part of a reality television series would probably be a bad idea. We’ve seen it ourselves repeatedly, regardless of the title or story. Contestants are constantly shown as stressed, tired, angry, rude or hysterical. Despite that, millions still flock to the lines for few weeks of screen time, to be displayed to the masses and mocked by teenagers sitting in their pajamas on the couch at 9 P.M. looking for a good laugh.
Through various interviews with ex-contestants on shows like “Hell’s Kitchen” or “Project Runway”, the horrifying stories of their treatment on and off set are revealed. Phones, laptops, music players, periodicals are taken from them. Socialization between contestants is restricted. They are given little food but a generous supply of alcohol. The contestants of “Hell’s Kitchen” remember getting 5 hours of sleep a night at the most. Creating this environment for the contestants places contestants in a more vulnerable and off-balanced state than usual. Wyatt notes that this is favorable for producers because it allows them a greater amount of control when manipulating interactions between contestants to meet a certain goal for the show. The contestants become mice in a “televised psychological experiment” that run around for the entertainment of the masses.
“TV Contestants: Tired, Tipsy and Pushed to Brink” - Edward Wyatt
A Penny for your Thoughts?
- Why are reality television series so popular in our culture today? What is the appeal in watching people humiliate themselves on air or fight amongst themselves over issues that don’t directly concern us?
- After reading this, I couldn’t help but automatically make a connection in the structure of reality TV shows and how the Hunger Games was portrayed. Even though many of us were appalled by the idea of having children kill each other off on live TV, is Wyatt trying to show us that reality TV is not so different?
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