irritainment: entertainment and media spectacles that are annoying but you find yourself unable to stop watching them." (Taken from New words for 2004)
I say there is an overflow of reality TV shows in this country, these days. First Akademi Fantasia, now we have Malaysian Idol, Audition, and several more. Irritainment. That's exactly what they are. I'm not much of a TV person, but I find myself loathingly watching Diari AF every night. In between shows and during commercial breaks, I will let my fingers guide the remote to Channel 15, to watch the AF auditions. It’s revolting, sickening, yet I still watch it. It’s like a love-hate relationship. What is it about these shows that the masses (myself included) find so captivating? I can't really pinpoint it to a specific reason, all I know is that there is something very alluring in watching regular people like you and me on TV, humiliating and exposing themselves (not literally, of course) to the nation or the world.
Although, I constantly wonder, are those people really portraying their actual self on TV? I wouldn’t know. It could be a front, a strategy to build a fan base. In a segment of yesterday’s Diari AF, the students were given a lecture on the importance of being themselves. At the end of the lecture, the students gathered in a circle, crying their eyes out. Yep, even the male contestants. I don’t understand what made them so terribly sad that they could not hold back their tears till they get off-camera. They made promises to each other that they will be friends forever, and that no matter what happens, they will always stay together. Yeah right, I don’t see Vince and Khai hanging about with the other losers after last season ended. Vince and Khai are now happily charging over 10-grand for live performances, while the others got stuck co-hosting cooking shows or game shows. Anyway, getting back to the part about being individuals, I find it a bit ironic that all 12 contestants cried simultaneously. All 12 contestants also shed tears when they went in front of the camera to wish their fathers “Happy Fathers’ Day.” Please-lah, I’m sure they didn’t bawl when they wished their dads Happy Fathers’ Day at home last year. Despite just going through the individuality lecture, they seem to be acting uniformly, with only their faces differentiating them from each other. And, when they start their crying sessions, keep an eye on the screen, you will see Premiere tissue boxes casually lying about in the background.
Which brings me to the topic of sponsorship. After AF’s fortuitous success last year, the second season meets the fans with not-so-subtle product advertisings. Every single activity in the show is an opportunity for marketers to market their goods. Premier Tissue (as above) for wiping tears and snot, Coke in case you get thirsty, B.U.M. Equipment for clothing, and many, many more. How does this benefit the students? In no way whatsoever, other than finding themselves graduating from the academy, a bunch of anonymous, run of the mill talents trying to make it in the entertainment business. In 3 years, they will be forgotten. I recently saw a local magazine cover with some first season AF graduates, with some local artistes. I couldn’t tell them apart, with their similar make-up and coloured contact lenses. I wonder if personalized advertising would be a better idea. E.g. each contestant endorses a specific product that would supposedly be his or her favourite brand. At least we would hear people saying, 3 years down the road, “Alah, si polan Akademi Fantasia tu…yang suka minum Pepsi tu…” or something like that.
Well, whatever it is the producers aim to achieve; it is definitely doing very well. Again, I ask the question, why do the masses love it so much? I Google-d “the psychology of reality shows” and found some interesting articles. Here are some quotes:
“The message of reality television is that ordinary people can become so important that millions will watch them. And the secret thrill of many of those viewers is the thought that perhaps next time, the new celebrities might be them.” (Psychology Today: Why America Loves Reality TV)
“It IS a circus. It has to do with our needs to become voyeurs, to peek into the deepest and darkest parts of our fellow human beings.” (Bob Simmerman)
Oops…this is getting too long. I suppose I’ll continue rambling on this topic another time.
