It’s time to end the culture of bullying on reality TV
While bullying might be great for ratings, reality TV’s dramatic scenes are creating a culture at odds with the TV networks’ purported values, writes Charles Sturt University’s Dr Soseh Yekanians in this crossposting from The Conversation.
Australians have embraced reality television. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing (I watch it myself) but there’s an unhealthy appetite for seeing people psychologically tearing one another apart both on and off the screen.
On Ten’s The Bachelor, contestants’ Cat and Romy’s merciless name-calling and bullying behaviour became so vicious that they were dubbed the “mean girls”.
On Seven’s My Kitchen Rules, meanwhile, competitors Sonya and Hadil’s slurs, which included likening one contestant to a “blowfish gasping for air”, eventually led to Seven asking them to leave the show.
Great article, and well done for dragging this into the minds of our industry.
Isn’t bullying and manipulation almost essential to the genre. People are cast who will create drama, story lines are created to create conflict. I don’t disagree that it should stop but would anyone watch it if it did?
When we wind up thinking the choice is between making money through the promotion of harming others or not it’s time to acknowledge we’ve lost our way and that we’re part of the problem.
Agree Adam – it’s time the impact of this was at the forefront of the industry’s thinking rather than used as a tool for ratings.
The very worst aspects of human values and human nature repackaged as ‘entertainment’ that ultimately incriminates it’s audience. Yuk.
I wont watch The Block after the way Scottie bullied a contestant into backing down (on camera) after she accused the show of putting too much pressure on the contestants to create drama. Of course they do. But in this case the women’s partner had a mental breakdown on camera. And he was a builder! Disgusting Scottie. Maybe when someone sues for duty of care…