The Real World

This is the true story... of seven strangers... picked to live in a house... and have their lives taped... to find out what happens when people stop being polite... and start getting real...The Real World. This is how every episode of MTV’s “The Real World” begins, and it hasn’t changed at all since the first episode in 1992 set in New York. Also known as the original reality TV show, the real world is apparently nothing more than seven normal everyday people chosen to live together and have every aspect of their lives on TV for the whole world to see. Every season they find seven new people and a new city to do it in. The footage shot during the housemates’ time together is edited into 22-minute episodes. Each season consists of seven people, aged 18 – 25, usually selected from thousands of applicants from across the country, with the group chosen typically representing different races, genders, sexual orientations, levels of sexual experiences, and religious and political beliefs. The first episode of a season will show all the new characters meeting up for the first time and settling in to their new, and always spectacular house. The first night everyone generally gets drunk to celebrate this new and exciting chapter in their life. LET THE DRAMA BEGIN! The rest of the season will be filled with the highlights of these strangers’ interpersonal relationships with one another. In the third or fourth episode of a season, the seven people will all be given the same job (after-school daycare program, a radio station, public access television station, etc.), so they can work together too. At the end of each week, each housemate was required to sit down and be interviewed about the past week’s events. Unlike the normal day-to-day filming, these interviews, which are referred to as “confessionals”, involve the subject looking directly into the camera while providing opinions and reflective accounts of the week’s activities that are used in the final edited episodes. Finally the season will come to an end with people crying and saying goodbye as though they had lived together for their whole lives.
Recurring themes in the show include prejudice, politics, religion, romance, sexuality, and life threatening illnesses. These themes are sure to be played out based on the seven people they choose. You may think these people are all just picked almost at random, but nothing could be further from the truth. Out of thousands of applicants each year, they pick the same seven characters every time.
The “virginal” roommate- Wide-eyed and pure, this character is nauseatingly nice and proudly naive. Often possessing strong Christian values, he/she has a tendency to get emotional and/or preachy. Ex. Julie (New Orleans), a devout Mormon who says no to sex, drugs and caffeine. Julie (New York), Elka (Boston), and Jon (Los Angeles)

The “All American Male” roommate- With freshly-pressed khakis and a toothy white grin, this character looks like he stepped straight out of a J. Crew catalog. Usually quite boring and often named "Mike," he becomes less generic when he drinks. Ex. Mike (London), Mike (Miami), Colin (Hawaii), Sean (Boston), and Jamie (New Orleans)

The “Gay” roommate- Almost always a gay man, doesn’t always reveal their gay until a few episodes in. ex. Danny (New Orleans), Ruthie and Justin (Hawaii), Dan (Miami), Genesis (Boston), Pedro (San Francisco), Stephen (Seattle) (at least according to Irene, anyway)

The “Instagator” roommate- This character derives pleasure from others people's pain. Two-faced and bored, he/she pits the roommates against each other by spreading vicious rumors. A favorite tactic? Entrusting the most insecure member of the cast. Ex. Justin (Hawaii), Montana (Boston), Beth (Los Angeles), Puck (San Francisco) (If he fits anywhere, it would be here.)

The “Pretentious Poet” roommate- A practitioner of experimental music and/or spoken word, this character carries around a well-worn journal and spends a lot of time alone to "think." Ex., Kaia (Hawaii), Jason (Boston), Kevin (New York), Mohammed (San Francisco)

The "Ethnic" Roommate- Though there's almost always more than one non-white character per season, this one is intent on making his/her heritage a constant issue. Heated fights about racism ensue. Ex. Melissa (New Orleans), Kameelah (Boston), Kevin (New York), David (Los Angeles)

The “Drama Queen” roommate- This is the girl everyone loves to hate. Demanding, attention-starved and deliciously bitchy, she makes a paper cut seem like a life-threatening disease. Ex. Amaya (Hawaii), Flora (Miami), Irene (Seattle), and most of all Brooke (Denver), click here to see her freak out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bljVA45GgQ

The “Playa” roommate- This character often goes clubbing without his roommates for fear that they'll cramp his style. The result? Hoochies parade in and out of his bedroom at all hours of the night. The virginal roommate is disgusted. Ex. Syrus (Boston), Teck (Hawaii), David (New Orleans), Eric (New York), and Alex (Denver)

So what does this all mean? If you ask most people about the show, they will be quick to tell you how UN-Real it actually is. How so? Well when most adults are upset with the show because all the characters do is party, drink, fight, argue, talk about feelings and opinions, gossip, and repeat. Parents say this isn’t how the actual world works. Keep in mind this is a TV SHOW! Its real purpose is to get high ratings and keep people watching. That means all of the boring crap that people don’t care to watch gets edited out. All you see is drama because that’s exactly what viewers want to see. Also keep in mind the age of characters (18-25) on the show, this is also MTV’s main demographic age group of the people they try to reach. The house is typically elaborate in its décor, and usually includes a pool table, a Jacuzzi, and a fish tank, which serves as a metaphor for the show, in that the roommates, who are being taped at all times in their home, are seen metaphorically as fish in a fishbowl. MTV is smart in that they know the perfect formula for great reality TV. This combination of different characters in the house+new and exciting big city+ hot tub (for hook-ups and nudity)+nice stuff that characters aren’t used to and that you would never want to break (but for some reason always does)+huge rooms with several huge beds (more hook-ups)+alcohol+cameras everywhere= exactly what MTV’s audience wants…Drama on many levels. This is why The Real World is known as the original reality show, because now there’s a ton of reality shows with almost the same format. So why do we keep watching if we know this isn’t at all how the actual world works? Why keep watching if we know they edit all of this gathered footage in whatever way/ order the producers want, most of the time construing certain situations in a way that it didn’t actually happen? Enough with the viewers, how about the characters? Why would someone go on this show when they know that for the next few months they will have literally no privacy? My answer, fame, plain and simple. What happens to these people after the show? Well if they’re not famous enough after The Real World, they can then participate in “The real World/Road Rules challenge” where MTV’s two biggest reality shows meet for more reality. This gives people from the Real World/Road Rules several chances to come back and be on MTV again and again and again. Characters like Choral who have been on 1 season of real world can be 6 seasons of Real World/Road rules challenges. Like I said, the only real reason I can think of why people volunteer for this, is to get another 15 minutes of fame and possibly (but extremely unlikely) get some sort of career out of it.
So is the Real World good or bad? In my case, I would say it’s a good thing because I watch it for nothing more than entertainment. But what about others, younger people, older people? Will younger audiences look up to this image and think that’s what they should live by? Will older audiences just continue to think “teenagers” or “What are things coming to these days”? What do you think?