A couple of nights ago, while flipping through the channels on TV, I caught a great show. It’s called Bully Beatdown. Apparently, it’s been on MTV for 3 seasons.
Viewers, who have been bullied, submit requests to the show for help. As an inducement to do something incredibly stupid, the show’s producers apparently offer the bully $10k to fight an MMA fighter in the ring. To win the money, though, the bully has to score tapouts against the MMA fighter. They keep whatever money they win via score. The person bullied gets the money scored by the MMA fighter. In the first round, there can be no striking, only grappling. In the second round, they can strike. Some of it is very funny and the smackdown well-deserved.
The following is the link to one of the complete shows:
http://www.mtv.com/videos/bully-beatdown-ep-307-bring-out-the-boar/1654770/playlist.jhtml#series=2211&seriesId=26843&channelId=1
Unfortunately the entire show is completely scripted except the matches. The victims and bullies are paid actors. Even Miller posted that on his blog over a year ago. It is pure capitalization by MTV and nothing to do with real bullies or real victims. I also feel that it only demonstrates the violent aspect of learning how to deal with bullies which should only happen when one has no choice. In the end the victims have not gained any true personal growth nor have the bullies. Sorry but I think this show is just plain ignorance. Thanks for a nice post though Hanshi :)
ReplyDeleteI know that most supposed "reality" shows are scripted. In one of the shows I caught, the bully said at the end that he now realized how it felt to be on the other end and vowed he wouldn't pick on anyone again. So, there was growth on his part. As an ex-SAG actor and screenwriter, the shows I saw - which were only 3 - looked real. The interview was obviously edited down. But that's standard. What you see on any news show is only a fraction of what was said and slanted by the writer/interviewer to elicit the best (most dramatic) answers from the person interviewed. Writers/producers/directors have known since early Greek times that the best stories start with the person who will be brought down bragging about how great they are. Oedipus does it in Oedipus Rex. It's clearly not morally up to the highest standards but enjoyable seeing "If you live by the sword, you die by the sword" applied to some deserving of such a lesson.
ReplyDelete(It cut me off) Plus it was done in a manner that did little damage except to their egos. They damaged both ego and body.
ReplyDeleteSorry, I'm rambling on - trying to do too many things at once.
ReplyDeleteI realized after I'd said the above that I sounded like I was saying you were wrong about the show. That wasn't my intend. I appreciate your input about what they had to say about their own show. But having worked some on the inside, I know that much of what we think is spontaneious and real on TV has been touched heavily by a writer's or director's hand... or pen.