CBS's Big Brother 2 is now over
September 21, 2001 12:26 AM   Subscribe

CBS's Big Brother 2 is now over and it looks like a Snake v. Rat redux a la Survivor 1. This finale depressed me for its bleak depiction of humanity...
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posted by hincandenza (9 comments total)
 
It's just one of those coincidences that earlier this evening I read this article on Dr. Hare, a pioneer in the field of diagnosing clinical psychopaths- who claims that 1 in a 100 people would qualify as a psychopath or sub-clinical psychopath. The fact that Will won even though he a) lied his ass off the whole way through, betraying people left and right, and b) called them all stupid in his final speech, but said they were so stupid they'd still vote for him- well, it sickens me that he was right. Call it "just a game", but those people acted like themselves, their protestations to the contrary. It showed me once again that if you're willing to do anything to anyone, if you're willing to discard your humanity, you will win at whatever you want because people are, depressingly, quite stupid.

I think these people willingly reward this psychopath- yes, I am calling Will a psychopath- perhaps precisely so they don't have to face their own backstabbing, lying natures, or their own stupidity (Monica, monica, monica- Will said on camera that you and Krista were the two dumbest people he'd ever met, and he was right. Yet both of you still vote for him... idiots). No wonder Hitlers and Stalins can work their magic... Hmph. This other realitynewsonline article puts it well. Most of those people were just such losers.

Sometimes, it just makes me wish I was a psychopath; perhaps I'd be richer, more successful. Certainly this type of behavior is rewarded, it seems, in all walks of life. Honesty is for chumps, compassion for losers- that's the lesson to learn, folks. How bleak...
posted by hincandenza at 12:37 AM on September 21, 2001



You mean you watched Big Brother and weren't already accustomed to seeing a bleak depiction of humanity?
posted by frenetic at 12:41 AM on September 21, 2001


I watched the show... but it was only that.. A SHOW!

It's funny seeing all the people say "how can you watch that, those people are acting fake...."

Bahhh.. it's just a TV show. Whatever happens during the show doesn't bother me one bit.
posted by BlitzK at 3:28 AM on September 21, 2001


Whatever happens during the show doesn't bother me one bit.

I agree. What did bother me is how dreadfully awful the show was. Please let bb2 be bblast.
posted by justgary at 6:47 AM on September 21, 2001


I watched about half and episode of Big Brother and I found it depressing and entirely unentertaining. I know it's the type of show you have to watch for a while to get into. And I know that if I'd tried a bit harder, I likely would have. I'm not trying to seize any moral high ground as there are plenty of trash-tv shows that I like and watch. But watching this one, I kept thinking to myself, "what the f*ck am I doing with my life? surely there's some book I've never read that I could be reading right now." So I turned it off in disgust and read a few Julian Barnes short stories instead and felt better about myself for a while (of course, I'm sure I caught some Jerry Springer the very next day). Sad, but true.
posted by wheat at 6:50 AM on September 21, 2001


I watched BB2 pretty much all summer and I thought it was one of the most interesting things I have ever seen on television. The question of whether it was 'real' or not seems to me irrelevant--of course people who are placed in an artificial situation of confinement, who are asked to engage in ridiculous competitions, and who have cameras focused on them all the time, do not act the way they would under different circumstances. Nonetheless, I think there was a wider range of personalities and attitudes than one normally gets to see on TV. And I found the drama of the characters' shifting alliances and betrayals consistently fascinating.
I pretty much agree with hincandenza's analysis of Will's victory--it didn't make me happy either. If honesty and deceny were rewarded, Kent and Bunky would have been the final two. But I liked the fact that for once I saw a TV series that didn't have a feel-good moral to it.
posted by Rebis at 12:30 PM on September 21, 2001


My girlfriend forced me to watch the last show and, considering the push for charity right now, the winner's comments that he would 'waste all the winnings' and give zero percent to charity proves he is an ass-master.
posted by hellinskira at 12:42 PM on September 21, 2001


Basically Will did all of his lying and what-not to prove this show is, atleast in America, is lame, and that generally people who want to be in these shows are after fame, quick money, and/or are totally in love with themselves but their self esteem doesn't allow them to be. Will was the antithesis of this. I hope he does blow the money, it would be a slap in everyone's faces who complained about being voted off because they deserved to be there as well as CBS's as they were stupid for casting him. From what I see though, many people still do not get what why Will was playing and what he meant by his final remarks. Sure they were a bit harsh, but so is truth and reality. He might off killed BB in America, and I will buy him a drink for that.
posted by jasonspaceman at 12:51 PM on September 21, 2001


I really find it hard to believe that ANYONE would expect lowest common denominator entertainment to be uplifting. Enjoy laughing at the idiots if you want, but if you want to be uplifted, you'll have to pick something besides garbage. Go see a play, go to a museum, if you want reality, watch some little kids playing at a park.
posted by jonnyp at 6:35 PM on September 21, 2001


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