in VAnity FAir about the
"reality" TV phenomenon.I think it was writtn by James
Wolcott.Vladimir Nabokov said
that the word "reality" should
never be printed without
quotation marks around it.
here's some snippets from
said article:
"each person on the real World
and Survivor seems assigned
a single character trait as
an i.d. badge( such as rudy's-
the-crusty-ex-Navy-Seal)to
make them easy to tell apart.
This also caters to our desire
to make snap judgments about
casual acquaintances,to do
Proustian Analyses of people
we met for two minutes at a
party during a raid on the
onion dip.We're no better
than carrie's classmates!!!
The brilliant stroke in Survivor is to formalize this
popularity contest-aspect and
put the sentiments to an
actual vote..........
"As the series progresses
the contrast between the
sweeping,majestic,wide-lens
vistas of cloud-laden sky over
ink-blue ocean and the petty
squabbling of the ragtag
survivors becomes more emphatic.Signs of weakness,
fatigue,failure,humiliation-
any setback that might provoke
a crop of tears-culminate in
the in the show's weekly
"Money Shot":the facial reaction of the victim being
voted off the island jury of
his or her peers.NO amount of
bluffing or philosophical
shrugging can hide their
embarrassment of being sent
packing.Like a pitcher given
the hook after being shelled,
the nearly departed takes a
long walk off the mound as the
camera trails.This stigma
may last as long as a peel-off
tattoo-but the way its done
feeds a sChadenfreude that
puts us on a par with the
casino dealer in MIke Hodges's
Croupier whose addictive kick
is watching losers lose.Typical of tv to revive
a craving for ritual and
ceremony and then employ them
to such a mean purpose.