Slashdot Mirror
Reality TV "Astronauts" Lift Off
RJG writes "In the latest reality show on British TV, three British "space tourists" last night succesfully blasted off on a five day mission and are currently orbiting the earth 200 miles up. Or so they think. And to forestall the first question. They aren't experiencing weightlessness due to a combination of being in a low orbit (rather than outer space where the weightlessness is) and a few under-floor gravity generators."
The lesson here is the same one as in the U.S. with Jay Leno's Tonight Show: You get to be on TV if you can act like you are really stupid.
I'm an American. I love this country and the freedoms that we used to have.
No kidding. We don't need to watch the Capricorn One sequences in which these nitwits are faked out by the producers; just show us the moments when a prospective "space tourist" showed that glimmer of intelligence and skepticism, only to be promptly whisked from the room to avoid contaminating the other hopefuls. As with American Idol (supposedly), the early elimination rounds would be the most watchable.
But I never watched "Idol" because the idea of the early shows bugs me, and I hate this, actually.
A show in which people volunteered to go through a *real* space training program, say the equivalent of NASA shuttle crew training, could have been interesting and would have taught the audience something. It also could easily have put the audience through the same voyeuristic "look at human nature" experience reality shows are supposed to be good for. (Whatever.)
Instead we get yet another show by, for, and about mean and stupid people. What's the point of tricking the dufuses this way, other than to ridicule them and to show you can do it? That's sociopathic programming. Oh, wait... Maybe that's the "reality" part.
"Fundamentalism" isn't about divine morality. It's about human authority.
Of course the "astronauts" know it's just a show.
Of course they know they're not in space.
What you are witnessing is the first real reality show backlash. The TV programmers have figured out that there are enough gullible people in the world who watch and believe these shows that they can hire a basically competant series of actors who go through the motions of a reality series. Come on, they've been able to study the reactions of reality show participants for months if not years.
The real "participants" in this series are the audience who laugh at "players" they think are stupid enough to believe what they are going through and post messages on blogs and sites like Slashdot being so witty about America not being the only stupid country. The producers can then show all these blogs and the reactions of audience members who they've interviewed before revealing the that the joke is on them.
If you don't want to repeat the past, stop living in it.
assuming that they aren't paid actors
Good, good. You're beginning to get the picture...
If you don't want to repeat the past, stop living in it.
At least they're making fun of their stupid people, we tend to put our morons on pedestals.
"Things are more moderner than before- bigger, and yet smaller- it's computers-- San Dimas High School football RULES!"
Everybody seems to think that these people are really stupid. But firstly, I think people on slashdot are into technology, and therefore know what is and isn't possible. Also, these people have no reason not to believe the producers aren't telling them the truth. The Milgram Experiment show that people will do stuff that they don't want to do, just because some guy in a white suit says that they should. I believe this shows that people are going to believe the guy in the white suit, even if what he says is a little far fetched.
Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
You obviously haven't seen any Japanese game shows....
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"And may your days be long upon the earth."
Many of the reality shows in the US are packed with professional actors, but not because they are actors. They are there because they have the time and willingness to be on the show. They want to be actors, but are just participants in the show. Many careers have been launched from success in reality shows, so lots of actors are trying to get on them as participants.
Learn to love Alaska
Alternately, perhaps the participants know it is fake and choose not to let on. I always suspect this when I see a hypnotism show. I think many of them aren't really "under," but it's a matter of peer pressure, and "hey! I'm on stage in front of everybody!" TV exposure is valuable, and I think a lot of the "reality" shows get overwhelmed by wannabe actors who just want to parlay an appearance into a career in entertainment.