I’m not a great fan of Big Brother. The concept or the show. I have a problem with the intrusion of cameras. No, really.
Reality TV? Make an artificial house, full of cameras constantly recording, take a group of strangers and incarcerate them there, knowing that everyone outside is watching. And don’t pick average people – that’s boring. pick misfits, clowns, sharks and the vulnerable. Because it’s got to be entertaining. Yeah, that’s real.
An interesting psychological study? Psychological insight is where you find it, my friend. This is just good old British Prurience. Curtain twitching exalted. The Victorians would spend a diverting Sunday afternoon (after church, of course) rattling the bars of the loonies at Coney Hatch, or Bedlam. Aren’t they funny?! And I’m sure there were insights and pathos there, too; but that wasn’t the reason for going there. My, how we’ve changed.
But it is perhaps ‘real’ at one level: I think it represents an aspect of culture faithfully. I heard recently that there are more CCTV cameras in Britain than in any other country in the world. Yes, even more than America (which is rather bigger, let’s face it). That’s why this picture tickled me. Yes, we’re filming you. You don’t get to see us, or even know who ‘us’ is. But look, old chap, play fair.
We can’t quite see you in that cap; would you mind taking it off, awfully?
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