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wrm5 Since: Mar, 2014
2015-02-22 23:20:40

Also seems to have a knack for creating walls of text.

EDIT: Courtesy link: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/el.php?findfor=merlinxchick

Edited by wrm5
SeptimusHeap MOD (Edited uphill both ways)
2015-02-23 00:03:25

They are a ban evading sockpuppet and were rebanned months ago.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
bwburke94 (Y2: Electric Boogaloo)
2015-02-24 10:20:27

As a sidenote, should the Big Brother character pages be renamed to avoid having the US series take precedence over the UK series naming-wise? In other words, Characters.Big Brother US 1, Characters.Big Brother UK 1, Characters.Big Brother Canada 1, et cetera.

2025: the year it all ends?
Fighteer MOD (Time Abyss)
2015-02-24 13:18:17

I am going to suggest, somewhat radically, that the Big Brother character pages (and, indeed, characterization tropes in general) be savagely curtailed or even removed entirely, under the grounds that reality shows are, at least technically, about real people.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Darksilverhawk Since: Oct, 2014
2015-02-24 13:59:15

I think most media-savvy people know that reality shows of that nature are about "real people" to the same extent most movies that are "based on a true story" are about real people. They may be real people but they're still real people playing a character.

Rocks fall, everyone miraculously survives.
Fighteer MOD (Time Abyss)
2015-02-24 14:05:00

The character, in this case, is how they are edited and presented to the audience by the show's producers. Whether participants in reality shows are "acting" is debatable. The point is that we are troping the pretense that is given to us by the show, and that is a very flimsy basis for many of the tropes that I've seen used.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
GnomeTitan Since: Aug, 2013
2015-02-24 15:43:06

Also, the audience tends to regard that pretense as reality. If one participant, Bob, is really a good guy, but the producers present him as a villain, people will perceive that as the real Bob. So troping him with a villain trope woul be a bad thing to do...

Fighteer MOD (Time Abyss)
2015-02-24 20:50:30

If anything, pro wrestling proved that audiences, even after kayfabe was "official", have a hard time separating the performer from their character.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
SeptimusHeap MOD (Edited uphill both ways)
2015-02-25 02:20:41

Imma oppose here. Acting is not Real Life.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
GnomeTitan Since: Aug, 2013
2015-02-25 03:54:50

But reality show participants aren't usually acting or following a script - or at least the conceit is that they aren't. They put on a persona on the show, which may not be their normal personality, and they are edited and presented in a certain way , but the point is that the way they are perceived by the audience tends to stick to their real persons, not to a fictitions character.

So troping a reality show is, I think, troping real people.

SeptimusHeap MOD (Edited uphill both ways)
2015-02-25 04:17:48

Still. A Reality Show is a work. The format and presentation matter.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
Candi Since: Aug, 2012
2015-02-25 04:28:35

Some reality shows cast real people, but have them play a specific part that may or may not be compatible with their normal personality.

Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving. -Terry Pratchett
GnomeTitan Since: Aug, 2013
2015-02-25 05:00:43

...and you could always argue that when people sign up for a reality show, they agree to become public, semi-fictional characters and rescind their right to be treated as real people. I'm only partly joking here.

Madrugada MOD Since: Jan, 2001
2015-02-25 07:03:20

I tend to agree with Gnome Titan. Reality show participants have said repeatedly, starting from way back when Survivor and The Amazing Race were still new, that what you see on the show may have little to no resemblance to the real person. I see no reason that we shouldn't trope the characters as the producers and editors create them.

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