The "Real" World

Last night I got home in time to catch the last 30 minutes of MTV's "The Real World: New Orleans" finale. I watched the "cast" (a word you might not expect to find about a show that operates under the pretense of "reality TV") say their teary good-byes, recount memorable moments of their stay as the camera in-syncly flashed back to remind us the viewers, and tell each other how much they would all be missed and how different life would now be...

I guess I can say that I've avidly watched the last 4 or 5 seasons of the Real World, promptly tuning in every week to see what the new group of seemingly social psychopaths and outcasts interact with each other, and in a few rare glimpses, interact with the actual real world. Which raises my real point. If a TV series categorized and operating under the guise of reality TV actually just translates into accumulating a group of "normal" American 20-something society members into an extravagant house in an unbeknownst-to-them location and allowing the general public to watch CAREFULLY SELECTED & CONSTRUCTED moments of their stay, just how real is it?
I mean the characters themselves are all weirdos. There was that crazy chick from Real World: Denver who kept having emotional break downs, this homosexual dude on Real World: New Orleans who managed to piss off every roommate at least once, that mulatto coke-doin' chick from Real World: Hollywood and the 3-stooges from Real World: Sydney who ganged up on Parisa in the finest example of "Mean Girls" ideology that I've seen since high school. I think the only character I may have even marginally related to was that dude Greg, the viewer's pick on the Hollywood season. And for a dude who called his love interests his "associates", attempted to steal a roomate's girl from right under his nose, and refused to participate in any roommate-bonding activities, thats pretty sad...

The point is though, unlike my Jerry Springer experience (in which I absolutely and whole-heartedly dissolved any endorsement I had for the show upon realizing its all an act), I'm still gonna watch the Real World. I find it entertaining and  funny, at rare, fleeting moments even uplifting. I like comparing my initial impressions of the characters to who they reveal themselves to be, I like watching who will fight over the next prank that was taken too far, and I especially enjoy the sick psychoanalysis I force each character to go undergo when I first "meet" them...

(one of the infamous Real World fights)

hmm, maybe I would be a good addition to the cast after all...