The Process of Reality

[jlh]

So with American Idol finished, Top Chef still going, So You Think You Can Dance about to start and another Project Runway waiting for us later this summer, I found myself wondering why professional competitive reality shows—or really, these four particular professional competitive reality shows—became my comfort since my oft-referred-to-but-not-yet-explained freak out over narrative scripted television last spring. Particularly, I was reading astolat's entry about Tuesday's Idol in which she said:

I have to say, a fictional fandom has never hurt anywhere near this much, largely because I'm always satisfied to fix it for myself. Not quite so easy to fix the real world.

and I wondered, why don't I feel the same? Why was it healing, rather than more hurtful?

And I realized, it's because I watch reality shows for the process, rather than the end result. In a way, I care about who wins because I want the winner to make some sense.¹ But I don't really care if my own personal favorite wins; I don't think of it as, pick the person to win and back them until the end. I never have an actual horse in the race. My adoration of, say, CJ in Top Chef 3 or Robert in Project Runway 3 or Blake in American Idol 6 had little to do with thinking they would win or even wanting them to win. I was interested in how they did, and having them on my screen for as long as possible, but I didn't take their winning or not winning personally. I didn't, say, put money on them to win, or have my status as a fan of theirs lowered by their not winning. It's actually rather rare that my personal fave wins—Jay in PR1 and Harold in TC1 are the only ones that come to mind.

ali_wildgoose said today that she thinks this is not unlike my complete avoidance of canon prediction in narrative/fictional fandoms. I always say: If you're right, do you win a car? A new dinette set? I honestly don't understand the rush if you're right or the gloom if you're wrong. This is different, of course, from a story suddenly going pear-shaped—when narratives suck, they suck. But the fondness for canon prediction (and the way shipping, or at least het shipping, gets wrapped up in it) means that it's difficult to say, "This canon has gone pear-shaped for me" without at least one person accusing one of sour grapes, particularly over shipping.²

Instead, I watch reality shows because I'm interested in the process. I like the challenges, and how they fit into the whole of what the show is looking for in a winner. I like the judging, and on what criteria they, or the voters, put people off the show. I like how the criteria and the challenges relate to the realities of the profession in question. I like watching people who are passionate about a creative endeavor talk about that endeavor. Heck, I like watching people be creative. If my personal "favorite" is kicked off, I don't stop watching; I just miss that person. I'm a fan of the show as a whole, not any of the individual contestants.

I'm not sure if this is, once again, a cockeyed, or at least unusual, way to watch reality shows. So much of the conversation on my flist about this or that show is either angry/disappointed, ready to be angry/disappointed, or jubilant in a way that doesn't seem to have much to do with what actually happened on the show, or what the show itself is about. This is the first season that I had quite so many Idol fandomers on my flist while the show was on air, so I think I was surprised by the, er, passion in the commentary, and how divisive that passion was. It baffles me. I was sad when Jason Castro was voted off Idol, but the chatter about it was such that I felt the need to go back through my Idol entries to prove that I had, in fact, voted for him nearly every week and was not one of the "haters" that so many were bitching about.

In addition, it leads to the whole conspiracy theory bandwagon that, as most of you know, I have less than no time for. The machines that run these shows literally do not care who wins the show. They care about you caring about who wins the show so that you will keep watching the show so their ratings stay up so the advertisers are happy so the network will be happy, and that's pretty much it. Often the head judges care—Simon Cowell and Tom Colicchio clearly care very deeply about who wins their respective shows because they want to maintain credibility within their industries, not just for themselves but also for the shows and the winners. And maintaining that credibility keeps good potential contestants coming in the door, which leads to a better show. But Andy at Bravo? He wants everyone to buzz about the PR winner, but he doesn't care that much who the winner is.

So in that light—that 19E/Magical Elves/Bravo/Fox aren't selling us a contest, but making a television show about a contest that can then sell us to advertisers—I cannot imagine why they would want to fix the show, or a reason that would trump the fact that fixing the show is a felony, or that they can actually pay Michael Kors, Simon Cowell, Dan Karaty and Tom Colicchio enough money to front a show that they know is an enormous fake—especially since one of the reasons reality shows are so loved by the networks is that they are relatively cheap to make.³

Now, if you're the sort of person who thinks that "TPTB" run all things, that faith that regular people have any say in anything is naive, and that large scale conspiracies are where it's at, I will have another entry for you at a later date. But I'll say here that I really don't agree, and I would rather not have to defend every show I watch against some kind of shadowy cabal.

You could say that this is all easy for me to say as I'm a Rymon fan, and perhaps that's true for Idol that I can get my ship on without the show really affecting me—but then again, that's true for narrative scripted shows, at least for me, because I never canon ship. Ryan and Simon, oddly, are as close to canon shipping as I have ever gotten, or ever want to. I don't think I realized that dipping my toes into singerslashing would result in all this, but now you know why Cake—or more likely, singershipping in any form—is my Fandom Ex.

So after all that: anyone else with me? Anyone watching reality shows for the unfolding of the process rather than the backing of a particular contestant or set of contestants? Or am I just a cold-fish weirdo?

¹This is one reason among many that I despise Top Chef Season Two, because Ilan was not who should have won, which he has proven by doing fuck all since the show was on and is now opening a taco cart or something in LA, but the machine broke down that season—note the appearance of Sam last week.
² I've said it once and I'll say it again: I don't dislike the end of Harry Potter because of the ships. My ships have nothing to do with canon; I always thought canon would be OBHWF. I just trusted JKR to make me care about OBHWF, which she failed to do.
³ Relative to narrative scripted shows, that is, especially dramas.

Comments

[rawles.livejournal.com]

Well, the only reality show that I really watch is America's Next Top Model and, in addition to that, I will occasionally watch The Amazing Race and Project Runway.

While I have rooted for particular contestants on numerous occasions and scoffed at some results, the bulk of my enjoyment is the general absurdity of the process. Which is something that translates, I feel, to the fact that about 1000 times more than I have ever enjoyed American reality television, I am obsessed with Japanese obstacle course competitions wherein it is forced to be about the process by virtue of the fact that almost no one ever wins.

(Of course, this also puts me in mind of how my favourite sport too is more about the process than most, since it's one wherein, while who wins is important, for a lot of people knowing results ahead of time doesn't affect their enjoyment at all. Indeed, it's pretty common to prefer it that way.)

[annearchy.livejournal.com]

I think this will be my first and last time getting involved in Idol or any reality show. I can't stand the frenzy of getting invested in anyone the way I'm invested in David Cook. The good news is that he's made me a fan for life. And frankly, he's broken the show for me. He's touched me in a way that I doubt anyone else could. I'm the type of person who gets fannish about a musician maybe once every 8-10 years, and I don't think lightning will strike again for me next year.

[jlh.livejournal.com]

But my reply to that would be, do you have to be that invested in a single contestant in order to be interested enough in a show to watch it? Because what I'm really saying is that I see a lot of folks who are that invested, and I'm really not, yet I am interested in watching and talking about the show itself.

[jlh.livejournal.com]

I often like watching the episodes once unspoiled and then two or three times after that to see how everything went so right for one and so wrong for another. And I just enjoy watching people cook/sew/sing/dance, watching them make their choices.

How can no one win? Is this because no one finishes?

[annearchy.livejournal.com]

Ah yeah, okay I get your point. TBH I wasn't invested in the show at all when I started watching in January. I had just seen so many people on my flist talking about it and I wanted to see if there might be any interesting contestants. I never really expected to get totally invested in anyone, so it was a big surprise that one person did that to me. But after a season of this, I suspect I'm the sort of person who just naturally gets too invested in this stuff, especially if I think someone is mad talented. If I thought I could avoid getting that invested again, I might consider watching again next year - except I've got about 600 other better uses of my time.

[rawles.livejournal.com]

Yes! For instance, in my favourite one, there's been a combined total of 27 tournaments from the two different versions. Each with 100 competitors, but only three people have ever completed all the stages of the course(s). And almost doesn't count at all. So, yeah, process!

[friendsofjunius.livejournal.com]

for Idol, count me also as an overall show fan. i didn't have a horse in this year's Top 12 at all... i think the last time i was invested in outcome was Daughtry, and even there, i didn't buy more than a couple of songs. i have never even cast a vote, for me that's not the point. thinking about it now, i'm not sure what the point really is (i love the way you are always inspiring me to think critically about what the point really is). as a recovering management consultant i can admit freely that the intersection of process, serendipity, and randomness is just fascinating, maybe that's it. for sure, though, Bo Bice sucked me in a few years ago, and now i watch, and i am just that unchanging/conservative in my pop culture tastes that i will probably watch until they go off the air.

PS, this spring is another big anniversary, the 20-yr anniversary of Liz Muther's expos class. :)

[wordplay.livejournal.com]

Well, as you know, I don't do AI but am all about PR and TC. I think you and I are similar in the way we enjoy these shows - it's the process of what they're doing, the sheer awesomeness of watching people exercise their talent, like sports for design/food nerds. And referring to a comment upthread - one of my favorite things Bravo does is run new episodes twice in a row, so you can do exactly that thing. We watched last night's episode the second time thinking of how different it might have been if Dale had won the quick fire instead of coming in second....

(Also, last night's episode should be required viewing for future contestants. Antonia and Stephanie and Richard are all GOOD, but more than that they're not enormous divas, and it was a night and day kind of thing they had going on last night. Lisa has issues, yes, but watching Dale trip over his ego last night was just painful.)

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

I don't think it's possible I could be *more* with you on this! If I'm going to get into one of these shows it's because I like watching the contestants do their challenges, and how they come out, and how they deal with that. It's almost better than fiction in a way for me because it is almost never wrong. I mean, if it's wrong there's going to be a lot more wrong with the show (as it seems you're describing in S2). But I don't feel the same kind of narrative needs I do in fiction. It's just watching life. I like certain contestants and sort of would like to see them win because it would be nice for them and I think they're good (on Hell's Kitchen that season I was always happy to see the Waffle House Cook triumph because that's a little human drama within the competition drama). But I have never felt like not watching any more if somebody got voted out. I have favorites, but I'm not invested in the sense that I need them to win.

Btw, I just found out my mom is apparently a big fan of Hell's Kitchen. How did that happen?

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

Oh, and also so much word on the dumb conspiracy theories. Whatever happens is part of the conspiracy and since you're working backwards and the conspiracy is made up by you, you just write the story to suit yourself. Which would be fun in a sort of Foucault's Pendulum kind of way, but not if you're going to get passionate about it on behalf of your favorite.

I remember somebody saying to somebody on the SYTYCD forum saying to somebody, "Hey, Travis is in the top four now. Could you stop telling us how the huge conspiracy has been about to kick him out every single week?"

[adjudicated.livejournal.com]

(Also, last night's episode should be required viewing for future contestants. Antonia and Stephanie and Richard are all GOOD, but more than that they're not enormous divas, and it was a night and day kind of thing they had going on last night. Lisa has issues, yes, but watching Dale trip over his ego last night was just painful.)

I totally agree. I was saying to Clio that I had thought, sort of, that it should have been Lisa that went home, rather than Dale. Then I considered it further. You can correct mistakes with ingredients and preparation if one has the basic skill sets necessary to be a fantastic chef. But, if you're an asshole, you're an asshole. People may just choose the too-smokey soup over continued drama and bad behavior.

[jlh.livejournal.com]

I might consider watching again next year - except I've got about 600 other better uses of my time.

Wow, okay, that was a little harsh. I think you can say that about almost any recreation, or certainly media consumption, but I'm not here to defend what I choose to watch; I was just asking a question.

[jlh.livejournal.com]

It's funny because Dale made the same mistake that Nikki did but in the other direction—he put himself in as exec chef but refused to take responsibility for what went on. But yeah, if he'd won the quickfire then Lisa probably would have been out, as Antonia surely would have taken a back seat or insisted on being FoH on that team.

There's a great interview with Dale on the NYMag blog.

[jlh.livejournal.com]

Well, and then Waffle House Cook was the one that Gordon sent to chef's school when he eliminated her, wasn't she? I love Gordon as a person but I could do without the screaming, so I prefer Kitchen Nightmares.

I have favorites, but I'm not invested in the sense that I need them to win.

Exactly. Even now that I vote for people on Idol, I don't need them to win. I'd just like them to stick around longer so I can continue to enjoy them.

It's almost better than fiction in a way for me because it is almost never wrong.

Exactly. If the show follows its own internal logic—and that's what separates the good ones from the bad ones—it can't be wrong. That might be yet another reason why I stopped watching dating shows, because of course there was no internal logic at all, either to the silly challenges, the eliminations, or even the show itself given that they keep coming back for another season—it would be as if all the Idols were always dropped by their labels every year.

[jlh.livejournal.com]

I'm sure that conspiracy theorist came fighting back when Travis was only runner-up—though he was all over the show last night! (Another thing I love about SYTYCD, that it's one big family.) Similarly to that, I think what really hit me up the side of the head was after the round of 3 performance show last week the Archie fans started screaming conspiracy, saying the producers had turned against him because of his father. I mean, the Archie fans screaming conspiracy? At that late date? It was then that I realized that staying well away from the boards is a good decision on my part, because I want no part of that kind of crazy. And, sadly, I think it also means that I need to stay away from single singer or singerslash comms, because they all attract that kind of thing.

Whatever happens is part of the conspiracy and since you're working backwards and the conspiracy is made up by you, you just write the story to suit yourself.

Great way to put the complete non-logic of that kind of thinking. If all the fans can't "see" what you "see" (as opposed to, have different musical tastes or what is more often true, hot guy tastes) then it's because of the manipulations of TPTB. Because of course any and all personal powerlessness can be laid at the feet of the shadowy PTB.

[jlh.livejournal.com]

Oh Liz Muther, responsible for so many things. ^_^

Sometimes the answer is that there is no point! I've found that many people refuse to accept that answer and keep digging, which I think is a crucial error.

the intersection of process, serendipity, and randomness is just fascinating

I love that!

[evil-erato.livejournal.com]

I approach them the same way you do, when I do take the time to sit down and watch. My tv viewing is rather haphazard these days, but I KNOW I'm going to make time to watch SYTYCD, because I find dance in particular to be fascinating. When I catch episodes of AI, PR, TC, or SYTYCD, I really do watch them for the process, to enjoy seeing people with incredible talent push one another and themselves to achieve ever greater things with their skills. It is more fun for me to watch the competition play out in and of itself than to back any one person.

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

Yup, she's the one who got sent to cooking school. But I agree about preferring Kitchen Nightmares--I also prefer Top Chef for more cooking and less screaming. On HK it's more like I have to peer past the screaming to find the skill part.

I watched a few episodes of the Bachelor and found it really creepy. Because the demands made on the girls involved were always that they had to be more open, like they were making a skill out of being vulnerable and wanting to be used. The girl who loved the guy more and was less guarded had more of a chance, but the situation demanded any intelligent person be guarded. Why would you be trying to make yourself more invested in the guy when he's choosing between you and the other contestents still?

[annearchy.livejournal.com]

Oh I didn't mean it harshly - I just mean I got so wrapped up in it I neglected a lot of other things. My apologies. I really did enjoy watching Idol this season, but I'm afraid of letting myself get involved again. It's totally MY problem, not anyone else's.

[jlh.livejournal.com]

Totally! I don't get the whole getting pissy because your favorite didn't win thing—the odds are so against you, I don't know why watching in that way makes it fun.

[jlh.livejournal.com]

I've only watched the Bachelor through The Soup, but I have watched Flavor of Love, I Love New York and Rock of Love, and for the contestants the arc always seems to be how the main object gets them to finally let their walls down and take a chance. In no way is it a situation for an intelligent person, particularly given that they're actually filmed over a three or four-week period, so how can any of these people really say that they're in love? How can any of them not be on there pretty much to get on television?

Though apparently this year when he asked the girl to marry him she was like, you spent all this time looking at a lot of girls, now you can never look at another girl. And last year the bachelor didn't choose any of them in the end—the girl who is the new Bachelorette is the one that made it to the end and he didn't choose her.