FREE ESSAY ON EDITED REALITY: A LOOK INTO MTV'S THE REAL WORLD

EDITED REALITY: A LOOK INTO MTV'S THE REAL WORLD

Edited Reality: A Look into MTV's The Real World 
My life can not go on. How can I continue to live when I realize that we pass
stereotypical, trendy garbage off as respectable American television? My goal is not to
rain on anyone's parade, but upon reviewing MTV's The Real World I felt sick to my
stomach. This show is everything we don't want people to know about American youth This
show portrays 18-23 year old young adults as emotional head cases. The Real World takes
every stereotype a person could ever imagine and exploits it. If the show really wanted
to show reality MTV would not edit it to turn it into a complete and total soap opera.
The only thing real about MTV's The Real World is the REAL nice house these kids are
living in for free because they got REAL lucky. 
Opposite the belief of MTV, young adults do have problem solving skills and the ability
to think rationally. After a while I found it a little ridiculous to see three separate
people cry about three different things in one hour. . For those of you who aren't
familiar with the show it is set up as follows. MTV's The Real World is a reality-based
show about seven strangers who are made to live in a house together. MTV chooses
contestants from completely different walks of life to attempt to stir up conflict as
often as possible. For example, this season in New Orleans they chose a Mormon girl who
attends Brigham Young University to an openly gay man to a black guy from Chicago, this
show's covers all the possible bases during casting. As the show's popular opening saying
goes, "Find out what happens when people stop being polite and start getting real." The
problem is that I watched two half-hour episodes and barely saw anything I could deem
real. If it wasn't someone breaking into tears because they have been so close-minded all
of their life, it is someone explaining their everyday hardships. If the goal of the show
is to have constant drama in the house MTV succeeded, but if the goal was to interest
viewers I would have to give them a C-. I felt like they needed me on the show just to
slap every one of these kids and show them how ridiculous they have all acted for the
past five months. Is it possible to consistently cry when you are living in a wondrous
house in downtown New Orleans in the midst of Mardi Gras? When you don't have to pay rent
and are surprised with such novelties as a vacation to South Africa? I understand that
people are going to occasionally get upset in any situation. I also think that most of
these real heart to heart "confessionals" with the camera are a surefire way to get on
television and eventually become famous. With the successes of past Real World cast
members such as Eric Nies and Teck Holmes (both were hosts of MTV shows), some Real World
cast members may use their spot on the show to further their careers. As anyone could
point out, the more you cry the more you make it onto the air.
I can not handle MTV's blatant use of stereotypes. MTV tends to portray every one of
these young adults as sex-crazed, except for innocent Mormon Julie, of course. In the
first episode I watched the Mormon is portrayed as so naive that she seems stupid. I
don't care who you are or where from, no one in this country is as naive as they portray
Julie to be. One of the most disturbing stereotypes is how they portray David, the
African-American guy from south Chicago. For years MTV has painted the picture of black
males to be womanizing and confrontational, they did it one more time. MTV knows that
they are picked up by a prominent young audience, the responsible thing to do would be to
try to break stereotypes. MTV doesn't stop with black men; gay men also get portrayed in
a negative light. MTV may not know this, but not all gay men are horny and promiscuous.
Danny, the twenty-two year old gay guy in the house has a boyfriend back home. He decides
not to stay faithful and then blames it on the alcohol. I believe the exact line he says
is, "you know it is so hard for people to be alone." Five months away from your mate does
not excuse cheating on someone, but I'm glad we are making that so unclear to America's
youth. The final stereotype is MTV's most common. The minority female who has been
oppressed every minute of her natural life and therefore feels the need to bring up her
past every chance she is given. Melissa fits into this category. She is part Asian and
part African-American, and lets everyone know it at least twice a day. I understand that
MTV casting wants certain kinds of people, but when it only pushes America's fight
against racism, sexism, and sexual freedom backwards MTV must take some responsibility. 
Did MTV ever want this show to be real? Maybe. There was a time when Jerry Springer
wanted a real talk show, too. The ultimate mind changer was the obvious fact that drama
brings ratings. When I say drama I mean debate, arguing, and clashing opinions. MTV's The
Real World is a great idea, but the editors make it into a young adult soap opera with
bad actors and even worse camera work. When the show first appeared in 1990, It was an
experiment. No one knew how it would turn out, especially the houseguests. It grabbed
America's attention with it's voyeuristic filming style and college kids who were just
there for a free house. As you can see, the situation has changed on both sides of the
camera. We never see the houseguests living their normal lives. The editing has gotten so
obscene that every time you turn the show on someone is either crying or throwing
something. The houseguests are in it for the wrong reasons and I think the audience is in
it for the wrong reasons, as well. When the show first originated people watched it
because they were interested to see how diverse people would survive in a house together
for six months. At some point, we now want to see who will be the first person kicked off
for not fitting into the group or who will be the first guest to throw a fist. We never
experience these people with jobs, true love interests, or the problems of everyday
people in that age group. 
MTV's The Real World is not even close to reality. MTV shapes characters to fit into a
certain mold that they know they want from the start. The show alienates blacks,
homosexuals, and women for ratings and people continue to be intrigued year after year.
How real is a life where you have a free car, a free house, and no job. If that's the
real world then let me in because I'm pretty tired. The characters that you see on tape
are not the same as the real life people. They have been shaped, molded, cut, and pasted
to fit the MTV profile of interesting cast members. People my age do not always let their
emotions run their lives as The Real World likes to pretend. I think most of us would
have a hard time crying at a free house during Mardi Gras. Also, by watching this show
you are accepting the bigotry that MTV persistently displays. Lastly, you might as well
watch a soap opera with trained actors, because the editors can make this show into
whatever they want. I don't mean to ruin anyone's opinion of MTV's The Real World, but I
do believe that everyone has the right to know what he or she is watching.