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The real reality behind the ‘Big Brothers’
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- Published on Monday, 27 October 2008 20:27
"Life imitates art" was a common mantra in the 20th Century used when someone’s true-life scenarios became stranger than fiction, as often happens. But that was before Simon Fuller started tinkering with traditional television — creating the reality Girl Band Spice Girls 11 years ago, and seven years ago, Pop Idols.
Sheila Kwamboka represented Kenya at BBA 3.
Like all metamorphoses, this tinkering spawned an endearing mutant TV show, Big Brother, all over the world — from Helsinki in the north to Jo’burg down south. To prove the global inter-connectivity of the ‘Big Brother’ shows, just this week, African brother Munya from Zimbabwe has been shipped (or ‘air-lifted’) to Finland, while a Finn named Johanes has been transplanted in the Big Brother Africa (BBA) House in South Africa.
So, what is the magical reality behind the worldwide success of the ‘Big Brother’ concept? After all, the show is premised around just sitting on a couch watching common, often uninspiring folk, sitting around on a couch and gossiping or being otherwise mundane.
And that is the secret of the success of the Big Brother shows. It is Reality TV! We, the dedicated watchers of BBA, are no different from the idlers at the khat kiosk who sit around all day, watching busy folk blowing by or the fellow in Omoringamu, Gusii, who sits on a tree that stands beside the road to the market place, for an eagle’s eye view of passers-by.
Watching other people, I guess, is just hard-wired into the Human DNA — and Big Brother shows have exploited this nonsense into hard shillings and rands. And euros, dollars and Indian rupees. Only in China, where the Internet is banned and there’s just State-TV (ironic, for a major electronic manufacturer) and the Middle East where voyeurism receives a hot and hostile reception, does Big Brother not thrive.
The other genius of these ‘Big Brother’ shows is that they give viewers the chance to play at God, or video-game, through the democratic process of voting to remove "your least favourite housemate" never mind that this power is delusional since a viewer is just one of millions watching and voting. To foster a sense of nationalism, even as the show promotes continentalism, Big Brother Africa has countries voting as singular states.
Daily routine
The title for the show itself "Big Brother" is derived from the 1948 classical, and as it turned out prophetic novel Big Brother by George Orwell where an omnipresent ‘Big Brother’ watches the characters’ every move.
It was a novel metaphorical of the Soviet Union, especially under Josef Stalin and prescient in two ways. First, the USSR did turn into a ‘Big Brother’ state. Second, Orwell’s genius was visionary, considering both television and the computer were 10 and five years away in 1948. Yet 60 years later, shows like ‘Big Brother’ are virtually omnipresent, broadcasting their real characters’ ‘everything’ to millions.
The Big Brother format is as simple as life’s daily routines really, with wakeup times, the usual bodily functions, tasks, exercises, parties and idle TV moments. But, on Monday evenings, the housemates nominate those they wish out of the House and the viewers choose which sacrificial lamb, or goat, to kick out until only one contestant remains. It is most interactive.
At 8.12am as I write this, the Housemates are still asleep. Yet so addictive is this show, Africa never sleeps. How do I know? From the SMSes coming in at the bottom of the screen in a steady flow. "Lucille, Namibia dearly misses you, gal. We luvd yu. Gloves." "Tawana shd leave before she physically eat up Johan." "Shame, Hazel really wants tha clearing votes. But Biggie, tell the shade detergent damage wooden floors."
