OK, so Bacchus and I are having a convo about DesignStar contestants in the last posts' comments, and I thought I'd bring it up here into a new post...
He's bugged by the gays on the show acting straight by saying 'I don't have a wife at home' and ignoring their partners by not acknowledging them on camera. Kind of like when Hilary Swank forgot to thank her husband on Oscar night... OOOpsie. Excuse me, but your disrespect is showing.
I'm bugged by the gays on the show acting like cartoon stereotypes, whether by their own choice or network dictate. (A caveat: I do not include Sparkle Josh from last season in this category. Nope. He's the real deal! If it wasn't for his accent, I'd wonder.) I was incredibly bothered by one contestant on another show - Shear Genius - going ON and ON and ON about the beautiful wife he had at home. As if to say "I am the only male hairstylist here who is NOT GAY but I can't say that out loud so I'll drop 'my wife' into every line I utter..." I am just so frustrated by it even being an issue. Gay, not gay, whatever. These are competitions of skill and talent, are they not? Living arrangements, sexual preference, number of or absence of children, annual income, credit rating - non-issues!!!!
But I'd like to steer this in a parallel direction: Do you believe what you see?
Are those characters real - flaws and all, intensified by close quarters, timelines, no sleep because Matt snores like Mr. Deb, and stress? Or are they manipulated by carefully-edited footage to support a dramatic build in tension through the season? (One could ask this question of any reality show.) It's television. What do YOU think? Reality Schmeality.
I mean, Tracee just bugged me from day one. She's the kind of designer... ummmmmmmm.... decorator...... that people think of when the term 'DIVA' is used. (Yes, you hear me shuddering) But in all honesty, is she really like that? Is she really a hothead self-absorbed irresponsible troublemaker? I seriously doubt it. At least, she's not that way ALLLL of the time, which is what the show implied. Even though she wreaked havoc, she wasn't eliminated - why? Because there is no decorating without drama, people! They had to build her rep as the beeotch, and then keep her on to stir it up. How sad is that? I mean, this woman has a family, a business to return to...will this portrayal damage her reputation and affect her business? Will clients avoid her because they think she is a P.I.T.A. to work with? Will her kids be hanging their heads in shame at the way the world views mommy?
I've heard more than a few times from friends and clients that I should enter the DesignStar competition. Yes, I possess the ability to handle the design work. But it's the fallout that scares the bejesus outta' me. I may be more Jennifer than Tracee, but I am scared to death of which 'character' in the drama they'd cast me as: the beeotch, the ditz, the whiner, the perky one (not so bad, actually), the den mother, or the Diva - and I mean that in the worst way.
Well said. I know they are characters but really if you want a flaming stereotype at least let him talk about his boyfriend.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if there is any real fall out or if your own reputation would trump the tv rep. The reality is most people forget the shows after a season or two. Like we say being the beeotch isn't a bad thing if you are good.
I'm glad you brought up the decorator term. Everytime they say designer, I always say "Decorator". There is nothing wrong with being a decorator it is very important work, but really their challenges aren't design work, it is decorating.