I’m aware of the bad reputation of the first spanish reality show. However, you have to admit the success of this program around the world. Spain is the first country with more editions of Big Brother in the whole world with 11 seasons. But if we include the special ones (like Big Brother VIP among others) UK is the clear winner with 20 seasons (10 regular ones) and Spain would be in second position with 14 seasons.
‘Gran Hermano’ the spanish translation of ‘Big Brother’
I assume that the bad reputation is global, but it seems that it doesn’t affect to the steady high audience. And I have to confess that I’m part of that amazed audience. People use to say that ‘Big Brother’ is a stupid program because the competitors don’t do anything, just shout each other and show to the country incorrect moral behavior, instead of ‘Operación Triunfo’ (similar to X-Factor) where participants work very hard to sing well, and they teach how important is the sacrifice value.
Ok. I doubt a lot that a crazy fan of ‘Operación Triunfo’ who buys the whole collection of the program cd’s learns that he must study more. On the other hand I can assure that Big Brother has done more for this country than any other program.
Big Brother was the very first program where transexual people participated and talked openly about transexuality. Gays and lesbians competed as well (including a lesbian marriage who showed their love without reserves). Same-sex-marriage is legal in our country, but we are far from total tolerance, and a few years ago TV didn’t run a risk showing those kind of things. Therefore, showing how ‘normal’ is the life of a transexual man, how he laughs, or cries, or criticize his partners, or skives off weekly heat, made a huge difference in spanish television history.
Unfortunately, there’s also ignorance about muslim people, due to the fact that Spain opened his frontiers to immigration few years ago, and people weren’t use to new cultures, races and religions. So Big Brother included a black conservative muslim from Senegal, and we all had the opportunity of learn about him and get used to watching him praying and talking about his religion without any censorship. Additionally he was put in an awkward position because he had to live with a controversial transexual woman (this is what the host calls ‘sociologic experiment’). To our surprise, the muslim changed his mind and now they are best friends! Isn’t that amazing?
The muslim and the transexual woman having a chat
They also gave visibility to disabled people, showing how is life of a person who uses a wheelchair, for example: We could watch him playing hide-and-seek dragging his paralyzed legs across the house. Another competitor was a person of short stature, who showed us her daily difficulties like the incapacity to ride a normal bike, and we also learnt to get used to her body (Let’s admit it, we don’t use to see short stature women with bikini) Finally she appeared naked on the cover of a famous spanish magazine. Why her body can’t also be hot?
After all, I have learnt so much from this program, about positive values, about how to live together, about show business, and above all, about goodness.
Are you the kind of people who laughs at people who see BB? What do you think about the reality?
tranquilo ya???????????????????????????
prefiero modos de entretenimiento que combinen diversión y aprendizaje y ya de paso que se fomente el derecho a la intimidad tan bellamente protegido en nuestra Constitución
ahora, venga, los vestidos que me has prometido…
O, speak again, bright angel! for thou art
As glorious to this night, being o’er my head
As is a winged messenger of heaven
Unto the white-upturned wondering eyes
Of mortals that fall back to gaze on him
When he bestrides the lazy-pacing clouds
And sails upon the bosom of the air.
Uy, ese poema me lo quitaste de la punta de la lengua
a moral lesson you would like to receive of your chinesse teacher, isn´t that truth?
And other kind of lessons as well, you know that.
You’re just feeling stupid because you don’t have blog. Don’t you? That’s why you’re exposing all my personal matters…
certainly, i have discovered a new hobby: don´t read your posts but write comment as weel…
I don’t like your hobby. I could do the same when you open your blog about your deep thoughts like ‘My blue electric shoes doesn’t go together with my orange Valentino dress, OMG What can I do?’
Hi Mr. Won!
I guess you were kind of expecting my comment on this post as you know my opinion and you’re such a controversy-lover… But I agree with you in one of your sentences, though:
“Big Brother has done more for this country than any other program”
Although, from my point of view, the sense of this phrase is totally the opposite one: no program has caused such a harm to this country as Big Brother. A moral lesson?? Lack of moral I would say. Perhaps the message that YOU extract from the program is that a muslim and a transexual woman can be friends, but that’s just because of who you are: an open minded, educated person. For the majority of people, these two characters (and so the short-statured woman or the lesbians) are part of the freak show they laugh at each day as another way of entertaining.
Don’t forget that the participants of this awful program are selected based on the probability that they argue and make scenes out of nothing… The only thing it sells is vulgarity, a tacky behaviour… I’ve found a perfect sentence when looking up in the dictionary the spanish word “carnaza”:
The creators of this show just pander to the public’s appetite for gore.
An appetite, by the way, that they have created because they can consider themselves pioneers on starting a new era of completely junk television. Many of the show’s participants now make their livings out of talking in gossip programmes about their private lives or criticizing their mates. And that’s the lesson the audience learns.
Of course I don’t think either that “Operación Triunfo” teaches any good lesson or makes its fans study more, but at least it is not based on seeing the deepest moments or the sex scenes of a bunch of conflictive people.
I think that tolerance is something that should be taught in this country but I believe there are better ways to do it, ways that won’t mislead the public. Because showing the daily life of a transexual person in this program, in my view, is not done with the intention of normalizing their situation but with the aim of creating polemic and increasing audiences.
The media are a powerful tool and power entails responsibility. Responsibility for encouraging people to think, to have their own grown-up opinion about economy, politics, environment, etc, and not just creating a fake feeling of peace because other people are in a worse situation: their dirty linen is being washed in public…