Hunger Games/American Idol

I really liked the comparasion of American Idol and The Hunger Games that we discussed in class this week. It is strange to think that a show as innocent as American Idol has any type of relation to something as brutal as the Hunger Games. In both you have contestants and people who control your fate. On American Idol, you have the contestants, battling out the competition by singing and trying to convince America that they are worthy of being the winner. In the Hunger Games, you have contestants who are battling through acts of violence to eliminate their competition while also winning over the crowd. In the beginning of both shows, you can see innocence among the contestants. They are unique and come from completely different backgrounds. Throughout the course of the show you can see their appearance and sometimes even there humbleness change. Depending on what genre the contestants in American Idol belong to, their clothing changes. The country singers slowly progress into wearing flannels, holey jeans, cowboy hats, or southern bell outfits. The rockers begin to wear leather for every performance. During the Hunger Games, Cinna and the other prep team members changed the appearance of Katniss so that she would win over the people of the different districts.

                Another thing that relates directly to both American Idol and the Hunger Games is that the contestant’s fate is completely in the hands of the people being entertained by the show. You vote for your favorite singer and you sponsor your favorite tribute. Your interest in the individual is what keeps them in the competition, and alive.

REALity.

This video does not relate directly to the episode that I discuss in this blog. This is a trailer to the reality show that I have chosen to write about.

For my hour of reality television I chose to watch MTV’s hit show, “The Real World”. The shows main focus is on a group of diverse strangers that a chosen to live together for several months in a different city. Cameras record anything and everything that goes on with the cast over the 3 months that they reside in San Diego. MTV’s official “Real World” site states, “The diverse group includes a Zimbabwean Gymnast, a Professional Football Player, a Nuclear Engineer, a Drag King, a Model, a Bisexual Recent Graduate, and a San Diego Native who, as the youngest in the house, may have something to teach her roommates yet”.  Through reading this description I think that anyone could be convinced to watch the show. The particular episode that I watched was called “Pride and Prejudice”. It is a little ironic that a highly respected piece of literature by Jane Austen has the same title as a television show that airs late a night so children won’t accidentally get caught up in the “trashier” scenes.

                I usually don’t get too wrapped up in reality shows such as this, but this particular season has actually been more interesting in a positive way. The issues that are addressed throughout the season are real life issues that are being discussed in society. The two major issues dealt with on the show are eliminating the prejudices of homosexuality, and suicide prevention. The Bisexual Recent Graduate aka Frank, and the Drag King aka Sam are two of the individuals who are fighting to eliminate the discrimination that people have on the homosexual population. The Nuclear Engineer, Nate addressed the issue of suicide prevention by doing charity work.

                I am not saying that reality television is in anyway inspiring, but there are some issues addressed on certain shows that have positive aspects to them. Reality television is so entertaining because we believe that the people on these shows are just like us. We find it fascinating to think that that could be us on the television. I feel that our role as the viewers is to encourage the cast members to act as if people are watching. Although no one seems to act reserved on the shows, they know we are watching. It makes their actions seem a million times better or worse because they are willing to act a certain way knowing that all of American can see.

                We influence the games because we participate and encourage the players. The people on some reality shows are not actors and actresses. They are real people from towns just like ours who finally got a chance at fame. It is their decision once on the show if they are going to act as a positive influence or negative influence.