Big Brother is like Survivor's awkward yet surprisingly intelligent baby brother. On Survivor, people are literally starving, at the mercy of the elements, and competing every few days in intensely physical challenges to win prizes such as fishing line, or a tarp at the beginning of the season then for huge spa and financial rewards by the end. I'd also like to point out, they often arrive at their island destination after hiking 20 miles through uncharted jungle or desert or whatever random place they have been dumped. They are split into two warring tribes then condensed into one after enough players have been sent home via their own tribe-mates kicking them out. It's awesome. Actual articles, blogs, and I think even a book has been written about the psychology of Survivor and to me it is always fun and interesting to watch.
PROOF! Not just one but TWO psychology books about Survivor! That's how cool it is! (Yes, I realize I may have a problem...) Amazon never lets me down!
Customers buy this book with The Spoiler: Revealing the Secrets of Survivor $13.95
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- This item: The Psychology of Survivor: Leading Psychologists Take an Unauthorized Look
- at the Most Elaborate Psychological Experiment Ever Conducted . . . Survivor!
- (Psychology of Popular Culture)
Big Brother 14 houses its contestants in a large home with a yard and pool but they are completely cut off from the outside world. As far as I've seen, they have physical challenges but with the exception of this past week where they were strapped to a fake pirate ship then had cold water sprayed all over them followed by some sort of mystery goo that was supposed to be seagull poop they aren't that difficult. (That looked like it sucked really bad though.) The players are all very attractive and apparently, there is something called a "showmance", a totally made up for Big Brother term where players get all mushy for each other and hook up on national television. It's classier than it sounds. (No. No it isn't. But I'm still totally gonna watch it.)
I keep finding echoes of the Hunger Games come up with a lot of reality television. Ever since reading that series of books I can't help but think how odd it is that as a society, we like what we like. I've mentioned this feeling before about other shows. I lurve talent competitions such as The Voice, X Factor, and America's Got Talent. I love knowing and seeing that there are so many gifted, talented, thinking people in the world. The part of the show where players are eliminated, however, is often painful to watch. The network (or "The Capitol" as us super cool Katniss and Peeta fans would say) purposely makes the host wait for longer than anything even remotely realistic just so the audience can watch the contestants squirm. Maybe they think it's suspense building but in all reality, it's kind of morbid.
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| Actual contestant of BB14. He really likes Fruit Loops. And Rage. Props to http://wtfspaghetti.blogspot.com/2012/07/willie-from-big-brother-14-fruit-loop.html for creating this piece of art. |
I've decided Big Brother takes the cake for the category "Creepy but no one talks about it." Maybe I'm the only one who thinks living in a bubble with a bunch of strangers and having your every move, no matter how lame, awkward or plain unattractive, documented is intense. It makes me kind of itchy. I get freaked out if the curtain on the sliding glass door is open at night, convinced someone is watching me in my little living room fish bowl.
Jacob doesn't worry about that though. He's too busy making the sure the DVR is set and talking about who's going to win Head of Household next week. I love it that he watches this stuff with me. It's good to have a partner to run strategies by and to celebrate with when someone we hate gets kicked off the island.
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