The 'Ordinary' Celebrities

Mike "Boogie" Malin, Parvati Shallow, Herbert "Flight Time" Land and Nathaniel "Big Easy" Lofton, and Rachel Reilly and Brendon Villegas. They were all normal people, like all of us, who wanted to make some money and acquire a little bit of fame. From Big Brother, Survivor, The Amazing Race, and many other 'game shows,' they've become celebrities in their own way. Rachel Reilly and Brendon Villegas become 'famous' after their Big Brother debut and showmance, and then went on to the Amazing Race. They were ordinary people beforehand, living their normal lives. So why go on one of these shows? Maybe even a bigger question, why do the producers and people who create these reality TV shows want ordinary people?


Rachel Reilly and Brendon Villegas

 We all want our 15 minutes of fame, whether it be good or bad. I think I speak for most people when I say we all want a taste of what the celebrity life could be, the glitz and the glam. We feel as if these reality TV shows will give us this taste of fame, and potentially make us celebrities. Some say it's for the experience, to satisfy their love of competition and adventure, or for all the prize money. But we all have an egotistical side to us. Wouldn't it be great to have your name out there and be known, while still acquiring all this money and experience? Or even pursuing your dream on a show like "American Idol?" I think this would be amazing - I am admitting to my egotistical side. I'd love to be famous - but I'd realize the cons that come with it as well. I think part of being on TV and becoming your own celebrity is not giving in to what others want or giving up part of your morality to please the viewers. There is baggage that comes along with signing up and joining one of these types of shows, and I think people have to realize this before deciding already - I want to, and will, become famous.

Seeing a celebrity in public is exhilirating and amazing - you can go take your picture with this celebrity, talk to them for a bit, and this humanizes the celebrity. They are people too. Seeing any average person walking on the street is not exciting. You don't stop every person you see on the street to take a picture. So why do producers and creators of reality TV shows want ordinary people on their shows, when reality TV with celebrities creates more interest and publication for the celebrity? One reason is we can relate to the people on these shows.They could be us! This is one of the reasons why casting directors get a variety of different people on these reality TV shows - black, white, gay, straight, bisexual, transgender, etc. The more variety of people their are, the more variety of audience members will be able to relate to these characters.

But how do these producers create an interest in ordinary people? The producers create interesting, unusual or unexpected situations using many different tools. One main tool is alcohol. When under the influence, the alcohol alters the way you react in a certain situation - whether it be a better or worse reaction (a worse or more dramatic reaction is what the producers want). The producers creatively edit these situations, so they become more dramatic, tragic, comedic, or whatever other kind of mood they want to set. Often reality TV is junk food for the brain, so we don't pay attention and really think about if the situation that we see is the situation that actually happened. Another way the producers create an entertaining show is by doing something called niggling. The entertainment business explains this as simply giving 'guided questions' to the participants. What niggling really is, is a producer or camera person who subtly coaches contestants, and asks leading questions to try and induce drama. They make small comments about what is hapenning and about the other participants, that more often than not rile up the other participants. This creates a false situation for the audience to see, and the participants often complain about this way of creating an entertaining show. Sorry, but it's part of the business.

I don't know if I would want to become famous from one of these shows, that many people do win by luck and a bit of strategy. I would want to become famous for something I'm proud of, like my music. But my egotistical part of me says well, I would really want to become famous for doing anything, really. Which side to give into if ever given the oppurtinity? Still not quite sure.