Anti MAFS and reality TV

[AngelSG]

A lot of these people go onto the shows to raise their profile and gain insta followers, so they play up the drama to get more camera time and then sook when the edit doesn't go their way. Yes there is editing and manipulation but that can only go so far, these people are still saying those horrible words or treating people a certain way.

[STBG 2]

Just now, Mrs Zee said:

Plenty have previously been on other reality TV shows and some sign up for another after too. 

 

Like Martha who turned up in Celebrity Apprentice and was equally as badly behaved.

[Mrs Zee]

23 minutes ago, STBG 2 said:

Like Martha who turned up in Celebrity Apprentice and was equally as badly behaved.

And Jessica Power who was on MAFS and is about to go on big brother celebrity  

[riotproof]

4 hours ago, Bad Cat said:

People are naive and expect things to be a certain way. They don't imagine the pressure and manipulation that goes on.

Also, they may actually buy into the idea that what the other people did is actually reflected in the show. “I’m not a bitch so it wouldn’t happen to me…”

[STBG 2]

15 minutes ago, Mrs Zee said:

And Jessica Power who was on MAFS and is about to go on big brother celebrity  

Noooo she's not 

Gosh they went all out getting contestants this year. At least they sent one packing.

 

[Jane Jetson]

There is never any excuse for death threats. I don't care about people's free speech when it comes to that shit. I continue to maintain that social media sites need to get off their arses and do something about it, and that networks producing reality shows need to offer their contestants/stars/whatever you want to call them much, much more support in navigating their new uh, reality post-show. Dean included.

However, I do think that Dean was a poor choice to take the central role in such a story (which makes me wonder, again, if Dean's onto the PR side), particularly given there are not a lot of other former contestants interviewed in the piece. I'd love to have heard how some of the Biggest Loser people fared, for example, given that the entire thing was (is? idk) an exercise in voyeuristic fat-shaming.

Dean, well, I don't know the guy. Maybe he doesn't believe a word of what he said and was trying to tap into the alt-right zeitgeist, build a profile that way. Maybe he's 100% committed to those beliefs. Hell if I know. Either way, he came in twirling his moustache and is now having a grizzle because he was portrayed twirling his moustache. If you're starting from scratch writing an expose on the industry, I think there would have been far better places to start.

[Ker]

I've watched maybe 2 episodes of MAFS, and I don't think I watched the whole episode. I found all the people annoying. I don't like Love Island. I think I maybe watched one episode. I do watch the Bachelor occasionally and the last couple of years I've watched Farmer Wants a Wife.

FWAW people seem more normal than MAFS ones. Bachelor I watch to laugh at all the girls saying "my boyfriend" and being bitchy. Although I've seen only one episode of the current one.

I do love reno shows though. I love watching the changes they do and deciding what I'd do different. 

The way I see it, none of these shows are new ideas. Everyone knows what they're about, everyone knows the edits they spin, so why go on it? And as for the House Rules crazy contestants, she was obnoxious. She had to SAY that stuff for them to edit it. So she needed to own it.

[Meepy]

Reality show are a release for me.  They are an escape.  Survivor and Amazing Race are two of my favourite shows of all time.

Skills based competition shows are also great.  Whilst I don’t watch Love Island, MAFS etc. I am bemused by people complaining of how they are treated by the show whilst they are doing it.  They do need to provide much more support prior, during and after the show.  They also need help with managing social media, but that goes for anyone unfortunate enough to have gone viral.However these shows have been around long enough for people to be aware of what can and most probably will happen.  Most are on the show to raise their profile and make money, promote their brand (whatever that may be).

Whilst the shows/network must shoulder some of the blame, there has to be some degree of personal responsibility.  This gets back to people making poor choices and expecting everyone else to clean up after them and forgive their mistakes.  Not one reality Tv participant has been forced to take part in a show.  It is their choice alone, even if they were approached to take part.  

[Jerry]

I can't stand MAFS / Bachelorette etc.  Anything that is loved by teens but portrays an extreme unrealistic version of "love" and "marriage" Ugh. How desperate are these people?  Obviously desperate for fame.

As for Farmer wants a wife - all you need to do to find a farmer is move to the country. Plenty of farmers out there.

 

However I am a major Judge Judy fan, if that counts.

[Sugarplum Poobah]

I've hated the concept of MAFS -- I think it makes a mockery of commitment and how a relationship should develop by turning a wedding into a ratings contest. I read that article a couple of days ago and the behind the scenes stuff is awful (although I have to agree with a PP, I've never actively watched it and I knew who Dean was and what his views were -- he did put himself out there a bit).

I will out myself as a Love island tragic though -- precisely because it doesn't take itself seriously. It's actively a competition and the major motivator seems to be increasing a contestant's social media profile. That said the British version takes itself far less seriously than the Aussie version (haven't watched the US one). The commentary is absolutely hilarious too. And yes, there are contestants who cry a few tears -- but these days the female solidarity is pretty impressive and the emphasis on not settling for second best behaviourwise is laudable. 

Interestingly when it was first on free to air in Australia and I'd only seen the ads I was vehement about how trashy it was and how I wouldn't be watching. Then the first episode (UK series 2) came on TV while I was up to my elbows in something messy in the kitchen. By the time I'd finished what I was doing and had washed my hands I was hooked. 

A dating show where the prize is 50 grand actually feels more honest to me than pretend proposals etc

And as a rider -- I know there have been serious issues with it as well. I do think that reality TV needs to take a long hard look at itself in general.

[LifesGood]

I could measure in seconds the amount of time I have spent being conscious of MAFS and I don't think I've ever watched a single frame of it. Even mindless trash needs to have standards.

[Froyo]

Dealing with assholes IRL is enough, I don't choose to watch asshole behaviour for entertainment. 

I do love Bake Off, The Amazing Race and Masterchef however. 

[Tinsel]

6 hours ago, STBG 2 said:

Like Martha who turned up in Celebrity Apprentice and was equally as badly behaved.

Funny that!  

[Antifa]

The British version of Love Island is toxic, from what I’ve heard, and racist with it. Not to mention that two former contestants and a host have committed suicide - https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/jul/29/from-racism-to-trolling-love-island-is-merely-a-reflection-of-real-life-toxicity

Tho only time I see any of them is while watching Gogglebox, I can’t cope with the conflict. I much prefer shows like Bake Off, Sewing Bee or the Pottery Throwdown where it’s skill based and people help each other.

And while I used to watch Grand Designs avidly when it first started 20 odd years ago, for about the last decade it’s been too much “person with too big an ego and too much cash throws money at monstrosity with gadgets” and less about genuinely interesting architecture. 

[Mrs Zee]

15 hours ago, STBG 2 said:

Like Martha who turned up in Celebrity Apprentice and was equally as badly behaved.

And her Mum going on Big Brother when it wasn't really about desperately needing the prize money.

[DragonsGrace]

18 hours ago, Kiwi Bicycle said:

My cousin's  cousin was in one of the British ones. An ultra modern house built on a tiny triangular piece of land next to a river made to look like rusty steel. The town wasn't too happy. She wasn't too involved as it was her husband's vanity project. In it they ran out of money and the husband was considering asking her parents ( in NZ) for a " loan', but they didn't in the end. Her parents finally saw the episode and her father almost spat the dummy. He said the guy would of been sent packing if he did.

They are still married ( it was his 2nd marriage), but they sold the house 4 years ago because it was too far away from London where she is a lawyer. They brought a new place he's renovating.

It's  this one here.https://www.themodernhouse.com/past-sales/lewes/

I love to go looking for the houses featured in Grand Designs on Apple maps using the basic location and landmarks shown in the episode. I remember watching this ep and finding the house on the map.

[leosmum]

I’m not into the dating / matching shows personally, but I confess I’m a bit partial to the Real Housewives franchise! Not to the extent of watching every show or every series, except the Australian version - however, I enjoy a bit of browsing every now and again. Less so now that I have a bunch of other streaming content to choose from, I’d have to say. I recognise the fakeness but quite enjoy the outrageous behaviour - total escapism, I think!!

I’ve also always enjoyed Bake Off (UK and Oz), Grand Designs and Selling Houses Australia - but again, I think the rise of the streaming services means there’s so much other content to choose from, I watch these a lot less than I used to.

[Lurker]

16 hours ago, Jerry said:

I can't stand MAFS / Bachelorette etc.  Anything that is loved by teens but portrays an extreme unrealistic version of "love" and "marriage" Ugh. How desperate are these people?  Obviously desperate for fame.

As for Farmer wants a wife - all you need to do to find a farmer is move to the country. Plenty of farmers out there.

 

However I am a major Judge Judy fan, if that counts.

Do teens these days watch reality TV? None of the teens I know watch FTA at all. We did, but that was all there was! 

[pelagic]

My parents wouldn't watch Survivor way back in the day. They said it would encourage people to treat each other badly and turn on each other and was bad for society. I watch Survivor, but I really see, more and more every year, what they meant. 

[Sugarplum Poobah]

4 hours ago, Antifa said:

The British version of Love Island is toxic, from what I’ve heard, and racist with it. Not to mention that two former contestants and a host have committed suicide - https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/jul/29/from-racism-to-trolling-love-island-is-merely-a-reflection-of-real-life-toxicity

 

I totally agree with the writer of that article about the Danny Bibby comment -- he should not have been on the show. But the bloke they kicked out a couple of seasons ago for rule breaking -- no he shouldn't have stayed.

The other stuff, not so much. Although certainly the aftercare and support could be better (particularly in the past). However I think blaming show for the behaviour of social media trolls is a bit rich. That something that we need to call out as a society as a whole. 

ETA: I wouldn't call the show toxic -- I think what's happened to contestants afterwards is toxic though and that's a much bigger issue that show critics don't want to deal with. Because that's something that society as a whole has to take responsibility for. 

Edited August 3, 2021 by Sugarplum Poobah

[Jenflea]

i watch design reality shows such as grand Designs and reno ones such as the Block but I refuse to watch any that are marketed as a 'social experiment' when you KNOW that's code for drama and trashy behaviour cloaked in pseudo scientific terms.  It's not an experiment, we all know what is going to happen when 2 strangers are put together by 'experts' for TV ratings. 

[Tinsel]

3 hours ago, DragonsGrace said:

I love to go looking for the houses featured in Grand Designs on Apple maps using the basic location and landmarks shown in the episode. I remember watching this ep and finding the house on the map.

I do the same with Escape to the Country.  I challenge myself to find it before they get to the next house.  Sometimes I find all three (go me!) but have a strike rate of 2/3.  Town/village name, landmarks, house footprint shape, outlook - anything to give me clues.  

[Seayork2002]

Just now, Tinsel said:

I do the same with Escape to the Country.  I challenge myself to find it before they get to the next house.  Sometimes I find all three (go me!) but have a strike rate of 2/3.  Town/village name, landmarks, house footprint shape, outlook - anything to give me clues.  

A mum at my baby group was on escape to the country with her husband near where we lived, she told us all about the filming but I forgotten it all now

[pelagic]

1 hour ago, Sugarplum Poobah said:

 

ETA: I wouldn't call the show toxic -- I think what's happened to contestants afterwards is toxic though and that's a much bigger issue that show critics don't want to deal with. Because that's something that society as a whole has to take responsibility for. 

I think of society as being responsible in a number of ways though. 1) Promoting such shallow, nasty behaviour. 2) Finding such behaviour interesting. 3) Building people up too much 4) Tearing them down. The positivity is as bad as the negativity - it eggs these idiots on to greater heights of nastiness, plasticity and shallowness, which of course they then (quite unsurprisingly) get dragged for. The whole thing is toxic, not just whatever happens afterward. The very rewards of the show are toxic. 

[ainira]

I just realised that there is one dating show that I liked and used to watch pre-kids: If you are the one. Can be brutal at times but some sweet moments. Like the episode with the guy where pigeons WERE HIS LIFE, but managed to make it to the end with a date. 

I was also a fan of Iron Chef back in the day, especially when Chairman Kaga would do the short video on the ingredient with some catchphrase, like "Let the apprentice do the peeling".

Also a fan of Ninja Warrior from Japan.