UnREAL - Discussions - *Sleuthing - Spoilers*

I am only speaking for myself here and place no expectation for anyone else to process UnREAL in the same way. And I do realize it's a dramatization and not a documentary. Yet IrishGal, you stated it so well the other day, when you referred to this show as the Wizard of OZ equivalent of "pulling back the curtain."

So for me, it's one thing to hear about the manipulations and the scripted aspect of this show for entertainment and quite another to watch it play out. In the moment when I'm watching TB and seeing people make "fools" of themselves, I've given little regard to what TPTB needed to do to get that soundbite or crazy action. Are the cast members in on the joke or are they the butt of the joke? It probably depends on the awareness of the contestant.

Visual media, visual storytelling is very powerful for me. Visual is my primary learning style. So again, even though I "knew" the manipulations were being done to create the entertainment, I didn't really understand the extent or depth of it. This is a horrible analogy and I don't mean for this to sound flippant, but it's the only one I can come up with at the moment...so I'm asking for forgiveness in advance. When I heard people jumped to their deaths from the WTC on 9/11, of course, I was in disbelief, troubled and saddened, but when I saw the footage, I was shocked, horrified and moved to tears for them. Seeing things visually, moves me to a deeper understanding and feeling. It's the way I'm wired.

So what does this all mean for me? Honestly, I'm not sure, but now atem's refusal to watch this show makes so much more sense to me.

I guess it's fair to say that up to this point I've been very naïve and gullible in my watching of TB...even though I knew to some extent of the manipulations. It's a miracle that any long lasting relationship has come from it. Perhaps the people I should feel most sorry for are the early contestants who more than likely went looking for the possibility of love. Perhaps today's contestants are more aware and much more willing to let themselves go through this for their 15 minutes. But, I just don't get why...unless they are looking for some kind of a break into the entertainment field.

Still processing...

Even more frightening, Litta, is that when you are done processing, you could turn out like me. 
Saving lots of room on my snark couch.

^^Haha, Kasha! That thought actually crossed my mind last night...that snark is the only thing that might be left for me. Only, I would need to be a snarker-intern first. Do you sell training wheels?

I tend to think that it's less in your face than on this show, Litta. They can do anything they want on this show because it's scripted for real but I think TB does more things like the drinks, casting, hours on their feet, getting them to do some odd entrance, etc to get the crazy going on the first night. Once they're in the house they use the Bachelor Bubble to get a lot more drama and manipulate people into thinking they're falling for the lead by taking away the outside world. Then there's the PI's and suggestions. Still not okay but I think it's less intrusive for the cast which is why they mostly seem okay after the fact depending on their edits.

All of the reality shows have some aspect of this. It's a show with ratings after all.

Reality Tv.....it's like this big circus animal. I never knew about the manipulation etc until about three years or so ago. I used to watch the show Laguna Beach & The Hills. Lauren Conrad wrote a book about her time on those shows and I read it. That was the end of me believing that anything that happens on a reality show is real. Ever since then I have watched TB the same way I watch any soap opera. It's much more scripted then most would like to believe. Whether I sit down to watch a soap opera or read a romance novel...The Bachelor is on the same level.

I have not watched Unreal yet. I dvr'ed it and will watch it tonight.

On a separate note, I got a good laugh out of the "Fleiss" character having sex with the the lead producer during taping.  Lol.

I enjoyed it more then the Bachelor/ette shows. Of course, they had to create a storyline for the show, but you really could see the extent of the manipulation that is use on these "reality" shows.

emusha wrote:wow ...is all I can say. And it doesn't even come across as exaggerated based on what has been said about behind the scenes maneuvers... that's gotta be the strangest part.

So true.

Pia1 wrote:Where can you watch the epi?

RS has a link to it on his website.

After watching the episode I can only imagine that the most gullible and naive of contestant goes on this show and claims to be "exploited".

It's 2015 and despite their shock to the bubble, and as much as I loathe TPTB, this show made me realize that, after so many seasons of this show in the US, there is no conceivable way that these contestants are completely ignorant of what it takes for them to get their 15 minutes of fame and that fame is likely their sole reason for going on the show.

Essentially, it's nothing more than a parasitic-symbiotic relationship that goes both ways. Basically a love-hate relationship with contestants and TPTB that they both need to feed off of in order to get what they both selfishly want (ratings or fame). And if the contestants want to get more fame they will need to play the game in order to stay on the show and extend their screen time and thus, SM followers, sponsorships, etc, etc.

Sad to say, but I feel less sorry for the contestants after watching this. It's horrific what TPTB do to get what they want, but it's more horrific what a desire for 15 minutes of fame will cause contestants to willingly sign up for. In today's SM world and after so many seasons, I am just not buying this "I am clueless" rhetoric.

I can hear my BOARD FRIEND Atem ( Whom I Miss) laugh out
loud. It's not the same without you. Hope your doing well.
  

That's an interesting perspective, AAL. There's probably more truth to what you say than not. It does help give me perspective on what I saw last night. So thanks for that.

It's interesting, in light of what you say, to reflect back on the show. I must say I had less empathy for the Brittany character than I did for the Faith character, though both were clearly being manipulated. Brittany seemed more tuned in to what the producers were doing and pretty much refused to give them the soundbite they wanted...until the last manipulation. Her character seemed to be there for the fame. Faith, on the other hand, seemed completely naïve. Her character did not seem to be one of those 15 minute seekers.

Ah well, I know it's just a show. The "shock and awe" of it is wearing off, but I think my rose colored glasses are forever broken.