I was appalled, shocked and dismayed by BB's decision to air the footage of Emma after she had been told of her fathers passing on the daily show tonight. This is a stark contrast to the way things were handled last night.
Last night I was pleasantly surprised by the decision to shield Emma as much as possible from the ghoulish spotlight. I thought the way they handled her eviction was classy, professional and left the tabloids with no fodder to take the moral high ground.
But tonight was just deplorable. Did they really need to show it? Did we really need to be party to Emma's grief? In my opinion there was absolutely no need to air her reactions. We all knew what had happened, they explained it at the eviction show, so what the fuck was the reasoning behind making us all bear witness to her pain?
I feel it was a disgusting ratings grab in a series that is rapidly going downhill. BB cashed in on Emma's situation and she became nothing but a pawn in a cheap ratings war.
It was very uncomfortable to watch, and for a person like Emma, who repeatedly said she was a very private person and didn't open up often, it must be horrifying to have her grief played out before the whole world.
Yes, she signed up for BB knowing that her father could die. I've criticised that decision and she will have to live with the fact that she chose her fifteen minutes over spending time with her dying parent for the rest of her life, but BB did her a great disservice tonight.
They should have left it the way it was handled during the eviction show. A simple statement from Gretel, and one from Emma saying she wished to grieve in private with her family. Everybody knew what had happened, and there was absolutely no need to take it that step further by showing her very obvious distress and heartache.
I'm surprised BB didn't air the footage of her actually being told. Well done for restraining yourself on that one BB.
I'm no fan of Emma, but she looked visibly shaken, uncomfortable and shell shocked both at the eviction show and during tonight's nominations show.
We didn't need to see that.
Shame on you Big Brother!!!
Monday, June 11, 2007
Train Wreck TV!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
23 comments:
I agree. It was so heartbreaking to watch that, and I've hated Emma from the start.
But it was just wrong. like you said, we didn't need to see it.
Didn't see it myself (nor the Noms show, for once), for which I'm pretty grateful. I was never a fan of Emma (in fact, I think she's a nasty, manipulative, fugly bint !), and personally I *suspect* not all her grief is genuine (playing the sympathy card ... with all the calculating behaviour in the house previously, and the fact she chose to go in despite her father's illness, you can't *help* but suspect at least SOME of the sudden emotion she's showing isn't 100% 'real') - nonetheless, I agree that showing this footage was in poor taste.
One has to wonder whether the producers didn't decide to air it in order to HELP Emma (their sooooo obvious favourite) with the 'sympathy' factor now that she's out of the house, and facing the inevitable round of promo interviews. It's an unfortunate truth, that a lot of commentors are going to shy away from really bringing Emma to task for her bitchy behaviour, given the 'fragile' state we ASSUME she must be in.
Remember though gang - she's the ice-queen. Personally I have to disagree with ya Steph - I think she looked far less "shaken" and on the eviction show than you would think she'd be. Almost as if she was more disturbed to have found herself evicted, rather than to find out the news of her dad's passing. Granted, that's pretty cynical, and the subsequent 'Train Wreck TV' footage would seem to undermine that SOMEWHAT.
Ultimately though, I guess we'll never know - but I suspect there's a mixture of genuine emotion AND calculation at play.
Great post Steph, really agree. Just when I thought BB was showing some decency, they had to go and do that.
Angela, I'm glad I'm not alone in this, there seems to be some people on the forums that diagree.
DB, I think if BB wanted to save Emma they would have shown footage of her breakdown on the live streams and on the Sunday daily show. They knew at that stage what the percentages were against her, and they could have used the sympathy vote there.
I think Emma looked truly shell shocked, and it probably was a mixture of being evicted and the news she'd been told, but as much as I loathe her, I can't bring myself to believe that she was acting.
Blaze, Very true. I stick up for BB on the forums constantly, but not this time. This time i think they were tacky, and innapropriate.
This time i think they were tacky, and innapropriate.
This time? This time??? Please, this show is the lowest common denominator. It was a no brainer that they would air footage such as this. The reason people even watch it at all is exactly for these kinds of controversies. Why else would people tune in to watch some tools in house if not for such conflict and emotion. The fact that you claim to hate Emma and then feel sorry for her 'private' business being aired on TV, shows how good this show is at manipulating their target audience.
I'm glad I witnessed the revelation of Laura's dream and Emma's dramatic reaction to it.
Javatari, Get off your high horse. I really detest it when people who obviously watch the show, bag out others who do.
I hate Emma, but anyone who has lost someone close to them would feel an ounce of sympathy for her at the very least.
The lowest common denominator? Hardly. Ever watched Next top model? or those horrid dating shows?
If you hate BB so much, why on earth do you watch it, and why in God's name would you even read one line on a blog about it????
The X in the corner is there for a reason, as is the OFF switch on your remote control.
Excercise it.
Bkeela, Can I ask why?
Fuckin Oath.
Agreed.
Rubbed me up the wrong way. Death is just something that shouldn't be fucked around with BB or not.
Hey Steph,
Look, I didn't see the daily show on Monday (I saw the eviction show on Sunday) so I can't actually come on here and either support it or condemn it, but I can't believe what you you are saying Steph.
A couple of weeks ago, my suggestion that Emma's private life should not be discussed on a public forum (your blog) was rejected on the grounds that...
"When she CHOSE fifteen minutes of fame and signed up for that she lost any right to her anonymity"
They were your words Steph. How is what happened on Monday any different? She CHOSE to stay on the show after receiving the news on Saturday night, so must have known that the cameras are still watching her.
It is a bit hard to judge Emma's motives for choosing to stay in the house because we are not privy to what was said between her and her brother. Was she told how much media attention it had received? Did she get any inkling that she was likely to be evicted the next day?
As much as I wasn't drawn to Emma's personality in the house, I do feel for her because I think her decision to enter the house was judged savagely by some based more on Emma's personality than her decision. If it was someone like Aleisha (who arguably has a warmer personality) who had made that decision, would she have been judged as harshly? From what I have read recently, the death of her father was rather sudden and unexpected. Yes, Emma knew that he was suffering from cancer, but what can often be forgotten is just how long some people can live with the disease. I have a great uncle who has been battling cancer for over 10 years. While I am not as close to him as I am my own father (who has successfully beaten cancer twice), I can't imagine that if my dad had been suffering for that long a period of time, that he would not want me to pursue the things that were important to me in life.
luckyluke
MissBeck, There are a lot of people who feel the same way, the forums were going into meltdown over this issue.
LuckyLuke, I did say those things and I stand by them. She HAS lost the right to anonymitiy, we will discuss her ad nauseam, and she'll be picked apart. And yes she chose her fifteen minutes over spending time with her father, something that I'm sure she'd be regretting even just a little right now.
You didn't watch the show so I suggest you go to Youtube and hunt it down. What I'm objecting to was the camera's firstly showing her absolute horror when Laura told her she had a dream about Emma and a "father figure" when just that night she had found out about the passing of her father.
The look on her face was just chilling!
THEN, as if that wasn't bad enough, the camera's showed her IN THE TOILET, crying and sobbing with Aleisha.
Now, I know reality tv is all about showing humans and human reactions, but when it's something so very personal as the reactions of someone who has just found out their parent has died, then that to me crosses the line into trainwreck television.
As I've said previously, she did sign up for this, and that did give us the right to comment, what it did not give us the rights to was being a party to her grief, and bearing witness to the actual reaction of her to this news.
Go and watch it. You'll see how even a heartless mofo like me, could be made uncomfortable and left cringing at this footage.
Javatari, Get off your high horse. I really detest it when people who obviously watch the show, bag out others who do.
You'll have to point out where I bag out people who watch the show cause I missed that one. Perhaps you are taking it personally as I insinuated that I thought you were being a tad naive in your shock/disgust at their showing the footage.
I hate Emma, but anyone who has lost someone close to them would feel an ounce of sympathy for her at the very least.
I too feel sympathy for the loss and would have more if she hadn't wanted fame more than spending time with her father. But I also respect it's her business and thus I can only have an opinion.
The lowest common denominator? Hardly. Ever watched Next top model? or those horrid dating shows?
This is a misunderstanding. I meant that it is this 'kind' of show, as opposed the the lowest of all such shows. This does not necessarily mean it's a bad thing. But if you're taking the opposing opinion, I'd like to see you argue it as mensa material!
If you hate BB so much, why on earth do you watch it, and why in God's name would you even read one line on a blog about it????
Again, you'll have to point out where I said I hate BB, cause I don't recall doing so. I probably watch 1 daily show a week and part of noms, or fnl, or eviction, so I'm not a fanatic, but I don't loath the show as you assume. I didn't realise that you were the negative opinion police.
The X in the corner is there for a reason, as is the OFF switch on your remote control.
Excercise it.
Perhaps you should have taken your own advice when you started to feel uncomfortable watching the footage.
Having lost a brother, I am truely sorry for her loss.... estranged or not .... it sux!
I had the unpleasant task of ringing my brothers girlfriend to tell her he was dead .... I can't erase that scream from my memory .... it haunts me. Compassion is a trait some people just lack.
Steph: I think the dream Laura had was a sign to Emma that everything will be okay. Maybe it was even a visitation by proxy.
Javatari, 1) It was all in your sneering tone.
2)I didn't say you couldn't have an opinion. Good for you.
3)Yep, because clearly we're both Mensa material.
4)You're not a fan, and that has been evident in your comments here. It's not your negative attitude that I have a problem with per-se, it was the way you seem to be looking down on the rest of us who enjoy the show and watch it a lot.This is something I encounter quite a bit. It seems all BB fans are complete and utter morons, and should be ridiculed for watching AND more so, LIKING the show.
4) Yup. Noted. Thanks. Goodbye.
Mellisa, how horrifying for you. I can't even begin to imagine what that must have been like. :(
Bkeela, It was very spooky indeed. They said Laura's mum is a psychic so who knows.
Hmmm. I think it was ok to show the bit where Laura talked about her dream (although it was definitely chilling!), but they shouldn't have shown the toilet footage. It wasn't necessary.
Out of curiosity, how would you feel about it if the producers had specifically asked Emma if she gave permission to show it, and Emma had agreed? I'm not saying that happened, it's all hypothetical...
maybe I'm a heartless bitch, but I didn't find it uncomfortable to watch, I found it terribly interesting.
I mean, people who watch BB religiously must all have a voyeuristic nature, and to be honest I like the concept of BB so much becuase of the possibility of seeing REAL emotion and real human drama. 98% of what we DO get is fabricated drama and emotion that wouldn't actually happen in real life, but rather is related to the intense 'pressure' of living in such confined arrangements...
So Emmas reaction on Monday was probably more geared towards stuff I'd really like to see, rather than Daniela and Laura drunkenly fighting over who bitched about who behind their backs...
*shrugs*
I know someone's death is the extreme end of things, but do you see where I'm coming from?
One last point I'll make about this exchange is that I wasn't sneering and don't recall ever saying a bad word about BB fans. I sometimes watch and enjoy shows that I consider complete crap, but that doesn't mean I'm putting myself down. Personally I wouldn't want to deal with someone who only watched scientific documentary type stuff by comparison.
I have no problem with saying that BB was tacky, etc with showing the grief footage and I would have been happy if they hadn't shown it too, but I did expect it, and it is what reality shows like this thrive on. Unless it has legal ramifications reality shows will televise, whatever they can get away with. This was the crux of my point.
From the tone of your whole post, you seemed shocked and disappointed that BB would show the footage and that is what I was mocking (with tongue in cheek).
If you don't want me to post again then I won't, or if you don't want to post this comment that's fine, but please don't put words in my mouth and say I'm 'looking down' at BB uber fans or even regular watchers, cause I'm not. I don't sneer or leer at you either. Would one of these have helped? --> ;)
Amy, when a person goes on a reality tv show, they sign away all rights, that includes the rights to their own image and everything they say. I highly doubt she was consulted, but if she was and she agreed, then my whole argument goes to shit.
Jac, I agree to a point. I just found it unneccesary to show her in the toilet.
Javatari, No it wouldn't have made a difference. Also further to your accusation that I'm the "negative comment police", you'll notice two of my regular commenters here Lucky luke and Dissapearing boy, always dissagree with me and I love that. I just sensed something a little off in your tone.
You're free to comment here and say whatever you want. The only reason comment moderation is on is to dissuade the spammers.
As I said in a comment on my own post regarding Emma & Rebecca's double eviction (which was published on my TV blog on Monday morning), I purposely didn't mention the death of Emma's father because I believe that it's none of our business.
End of story.
Lucky luke and Dissapearing boy, always dissagree with me
I don't ALWAYS disagree with you Steph...I agree with you that Javatari is a moron! :P
a rock and a hard place really... and I'm pretty sure she was consulted - but still - it's such a grey area I don't know what would of been the best outcome...
Bevis, I've stated my opinion time and again on this blog, so I'm not getting into it again, but I think you're wrong. That's just my opinion.
LuckyLuke, javatari is actually a really nice guy. I don't know why he's got his knickers in a twist over this issue. Anyway, for what it's worth I love a good debate and like that you and DP bring that to me.
N, Very true. I just think there was some footage we didn't need to see. It was purely tittilation.
Wrong about what? That her father's death is none of our business? I can't see how that could be wrong. Her Dad didn't sign up to be part of a reality TV show and have his life dissected by the public. We can pick at Emma all we like, but her family's out of bounds. I'm sure you'd agree if someone in your family went on the show and you suddenly found YOUR life being splashed all over the TV and Internet (including revealing your full name, pictures of your face and the suburb you live in). If he didn't ask for it, why should his death (the most private and personal of all things to happen to you, surely) be fodder for the masses? That's all I'm saying.
Not sure why there's any aggression here, anyway. I was saying it to keep the peace in what was an otherwise volatile 'discussion'.
Post a Comment