Reality TV is constantly inventing new ways to shock its viewers. This past week on Survivor it was the outing of transgender contestant Zach Smith by gay competitor Jeff Varner. In a side story (in real life), Varner was subsequently fired from his job as a real estate agent by a boss who was quoted as saying that Varner is “in the middle of a news story that we don’t want anything to do with.”
The uproar on social media was immediate and unforgiving. Some of the harshest criticism was for Varner and his use of the word “deception” to describe Smith’s secret. Others were harshly critical of CBS for deciding to include the scene after months of deliberation.
But it turns out that CBS and Smith worked closely to prepare for the episode’s airing this past week.
According to the New York Times,
From the moment the episode was filmed nearly 10 months ago, the “Survivor” producers had been consulting with Mr. Smith about how best to handle airing the incident, which included a strategic media rollout and working with Glaad, the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender rights group, before the episode’s broadcast.
Jeff Probst, the show’s host and executive producer called it “one of the most raw and painful studies of human behavior that has ever happened on ‘Survivor.’ ”
But I’m left with a question that goes to the heart of reality TV as a programming genre. For the Survivor-type shows where contestants compete for a grand prize, deception, betrayal, and backstabbing are not only allowed, they are encouraged. Deception is how you play the game on reality TV…and, unfortunately, increasingly so in the world of politics and international relations. But I digress.
One viewer took to Twitter refusing to accept Varner’s apology saying, “Apologies only have meaning when they are expressing sincere regret for a mistake. What Varner did was no mistake. He intentionally humiliated Zeke and tried to justify it.” Exactly! That is how you play the game on Survivor. The drama created by conflict is why most people watch, and have been watching Survivor for more than 13 years. The business model for Survivor and CBS is based on people doing outrageous things in front of cameras and microphones. CBS will cash that check over and over again…or at least as long as the audience shows up asking for more.
But we’re still left with the question; why did this tactic by Varner elicit such a strong response from viewers? Just like the collective judgement directed at United Airlines, the moral outrage targeting Varner and CBS is indicative of society’s desire for justice. We know when something is over the line. But whose line is it, and where should it be drawn?
Some of the ugliest disagreements (on social media and elsewhere) are between people who want to draw the line in a different place than where others think it should be drawn.
I agree with what Omarosa Amigault said when she stated that people loved Donald Trump because he shared the affluence and success stories with them. I think that this applies to all Reality TV because in some form, all series in this genre exploit riches as a major hot ticket. People love people when they have money to spend and especially when they get to see them spend it. I didn’t include this in my original comment so I had decided to make a second.
The following bullet prompts will be answered:
What is it about the Reality TV genre that the public finds so appealing?
Why are some forms of deception and trickery okay when “playing the game”, while others are not? Who gets to make these rules? Give an example from another competitive reality TV program, (e.g. Bachelor/Bachelorette, Big Brother, Amazing Race) that illustrates this conundrum.
What responsibility, if any, does CBS have to protect contestants from other contestants on their reality TV programs?
A great majority of the viewing audience in today’s society enjoy the TV Reality genre because the “actors” in this particular genre are seen by the audience as regular everyday people, with whom they can relate.
The rules are flexible and so long as the number of the total viewing audience that is “out there” is tuned in to a particular show, the rules will be amended to keep the ratings high. The broadcasting executives are usually in charge of making the rules.
CBS has the responsibility to ensure the overall safety and wellbeing of all and any of its contestants on their reality TV programs.