Watching Big Brother
Predictably, the South African public has bought into the hype surrounding Big Brother, M-Net’s new reality TV show in which a dozen young people are cooped up in one house while being filmed around the clock.
Throughout the world the various parochial versions of Big Brother and its counterpart Survivor have turned the television viewer into a voyeur. Indeed, for many it is compelling viewing.
It is not a benign sort if voyeurism, however. The entertainment value in programmes such as Big Brother lies in the potential growth of conflict and duplicity among the competing contestants, of whom one will emerge as the winner of R1 million. To that end, the producers have acknowledged that the contestants were selected with the explicit purpose of sowing seeds of discord among themselves. Naturally, this will make Big Brother more exciting but serves to turn these 12 human beings, volunteers though they are, into mere merchandise. The objectification of people for profit has taken another turn.
Defenders of Big Brother will argue that the programme is merely holding up a mirror to South African society, reflecting its prevailing mores. Maybe so. However, the manipulation and tacit approval of fierce rivalry among the participants at the expense of promoting harmonious coexistence is at variance with the Christian faith.
Likewise, the public’s involvement in the process of eliminating contestants could encourage hypocrisy among people who tend to relativise sin, yet feel licensed to pass moral judgment on the participants’ behaviour.
It can be said that reality TV shows degrade human dignity and accelerate the depreciation of the public’s moral consciousness.
At the same time, however, these shows do offer us a superb catechetical opportunity by facilitating a dialogue about the conduct on display, good and bad. This can be particularly profitable when done to the backdrop of Christian principles, especially among the young people who presumably make up the biggest slice of Big Brother’s viewership.
Reality TV is here to stay; the ethical challenge it presents is ours to take.
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