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The Real World is a reality television program on MTV originally produced by Mary-Ellis Bunim and Jonathan Murray. First broadcast in 1992, the show is the longest-running program in MTV history.[1] Following Bunim’s death from breast cancer in 2004, Bunim/Murray Productions continues to produce the program. The twenty-second season, set in Cancun, Mexico, premiered on June 24, 2009, and ended its first run on September 9, 2009. The twenty-third season is set in Washington, D.C. and premiered on December 30, 2009.[2][3][4] MTV has also picked up the show for four more seasons, taking it through its 26th season.[5]
History
The show focuses on the lives of a group of strangers[6] who audition to live together in a house for several months, as cameras record their interpersonal relationships. The show moves to a different city each season. The footage shot during the housemates’ time together was edited into 22-minute episodes for the first 19 seasons, and into 44-minute episodes beginning with the The Real World: Hollywood, the series' 20th season. The narration given over the opening title sequence by the seven housemates states some variation of the following:
Before the finished version of the show debuted, the idea of a "scripted" version was toyed with. Rather than being themselves, a set of strangers (not the first-season New York cast) were given story and character arcs to attempt to recreate (a la soap opera). Bunim and Murray decided against this, and, at the last minute, pulled the concept (and the cast) before it became the first season of the show, believing seven diverse people would have enough of a basis upon which to interact without scripts. Tracy Grandstaff, one of the original seven picked for what has come to be known as "Season 0," went on to minor fame as the voice of the animated Beavis and Butt-head character Daria Morgendorffer, who eventually got her own spinoff, Daria. One early sign of the show’s popularity occurred on the October 2, 1993 episode of the sketch comedy show, Saturday Night Live, which parodied the second-season Los Angeles cast, whose members were depicted as contentious and bigoted, a parody of the numerous discussions of racism, bigotry, and political differences that served as a recurring theme that season.[7] The show also gained widespread attention with its third season, The Real World: San Francisco, which aired in 1994, and depicted the conflict between David "Puck" Rainey, a bicycle messenger criticized for his poor personal hygiene, and his roommates, most notably AIDS activist Pedro Zamora. As the show increased in popularity, Zamora’s life as someone living with AIDS gained considerable notice, garnering widespread media attention. Zamora was one of the first openly gay men with AIDS to be portrayed in popular media, and after his death on November 11, 1994 (mere hours after the final episode of his season aired), he was lauded by then-President Bill Clinton. Zamora’s roommate and best friend during the show, Judd Winick, went on to become a successful comic book writer, and wrote the Eisner Award-nominated graphic novel Pedro and Me, about his friendship with Zamora, as well as high-profile[8] and controversial[9] storylines in mainstream superhero comics that featured gay and AIDS-related themes. As the San Francisco season continued to gain popularity, it was clear that the infant "reality" television format was one that could bring considerable ratings to a network. Cast member successesAppearing on the program has often served as a springboard to further success, especially in the entertainment industry.[10] Eric Nies of the New York cast went on to become a successful model, actor, and television host, and was inducted into the Television and Broadcasters' Hall of Fame for his pioneering work in reality television. His housemate, Kevin Powell, became a successful author, poet, journalist, and 2006 candidate for United States House of Representatives for New York's 10th district. Their housemate Heather B. enjoyed a career as a hip-hop music artist. Los Angeles cast member Beth Stolarczyk has produced men's and women's calendars and television programs featuring reality TV personalities, including herself, Las Vegas' Trishelle Cannatella, Chicago's Tonya Cooley, and Back to New York's Coral Smith.[11] Stolarczyk and Cannatella have also appeared in Playboy magazine, as have Las Vegas' Arissa Hill and Miami's Flora Alekseyeun. Cooley appeared on playboy.com. London cast member Jacinda Barrett has become a successful film actress, appearing in roles opposite John Travolta, Joaquin Phoenix, Anthony Hopkins and Renée Zellweger. San Diego castmate Jamie Chung has appeared in various television and film roles, including Dragonball Evolution, Sorority Row. Lindsay Brien of the Seattle cast became a radio and CNN personality. Chicago cast member Kyle Brandt’s acting career includes starring in the soap opera Days of our Lives. His castmate Tonya Cooley also appeared on an MTV special of True Life: I'm a Reality TV Star. Las Vegas castmembers Trishelle Cannatella and Steven Hill appeared in the horror film Scorned. Cannatella herself has also appeared on other reality shows, such as The Surreal Life, Battle of the Network Reality Stars, and Kill Reality, the latter of which also featured Hill and Cooley. Hill, along with housemate Alton Williams, hosts a radio show. Mike Mizanin has also found fame as a WWE wrestler wrestling under the name "The Miz", a character he first debuted during his season on The Real World. Dozens of former cast members from The Real World and its sister production Road Rules have appeared on the spin-off series Real World/Road Rules Challenge, which pays up to $100,000 to its winners. Various cast members have also earned livings as public speakers, as Bunim-Murray Productions has funded their training in motivational speaking by the Points of Light Foundation since 2002, allowing them to earn between $1,500 and $2,000 for an appearance on the college lecture circuit.[12] Related projectsSince the introduction of The Real World, Bunim/Murray has introduced a number of other reality shows, most notably Road Rules, in which five strangers (six in later seasons) are sent off in a Winnebago RV and asked to travel to various locales and complete certain tasks to eventually gain a "handsome reward." Other Bunim/Murray productions include the Real World/Road Rules Challenge, which pits teams of alumni from both shows against each other in physical competitions. Bunim-Murray also produced Pedro, a 2008 film by director Nick Oceano, which dramatized the life of Pedro Zamora, including his stay in the Real World house. The film, Bunim/Murray's first scripted project since the original unaired "Real World" concept, was an Official Selection at the 2008 Toronto Film Festival.[13][14] Format and structureEach season consists of seven to eight people, aged 18–25 (a reflection of the network's target demographic), usually selected from thousands of applicants from across the country, with the group chosen typically representing different races, genders, sexual orientations, levels of sexual experiences, and religious and political beliefs. Should a cast member decide to move out, or be asked to do so by his or her roommates, the roommates will usually cast a replacement, dependent on how much filming time is left. Cast members are paid a small stipend for their participation in the show.[12] Each season begins with the individual members of the house shown leaving home, often for the first time, and/or meeting their fellow housemates while in transit to their new home, or at the house itself. The exception was the Los Angeles season, which premiered with two housemates picking up a third at his Kentucky home and driving in a Winnebago RV to their new home in Los Angeles. Upon arriving at the house, the housemates choose their bedrooms, which is typically the first source of tension, as some roommates fail to acquire a room they might prefer, with many choosing their rooms on a first-come first-served basis before the rest of the cast arrives. The residence is typically elaborate in its décor, and is usually furnished by IKEA.[15] The residence usually includes a pool table, a Jacuzzi, and an aquarium, which serves as a metaphor for the show, in that the roommates, who are being taped at all times in their home, are seen metaphorically as fish in a fishbowl.[16] This point is punctuated not only by the fact that the MTV logo title card seen after the closing credits of each episode is designed as an aquarium, but also by a poem that Judd Winick wrote during his stay in San Francisco called "Fishbowl".[17] In some seasons, the group is provided with a shared car to use during their stay.[18] The housemates are taped around the clock. The house is outfitted with video cameras mounted on walls to capture more intimate moments, and numerous camera crews consisting of three to six people follow the cast around the house and out in public. Each member of the cast is instructed to ignore the cameras and the crew, but are required to wear a battery pack and microphone in order to record their dialogue, though some castmembers have been known to turn off or hide them at times. The only area of the house in which camera access is restricted is the bathroom.[19] Despite the initial awkwardness of being surrounded by cameramen, castmembers have insisted that they eventually adjust to it, and that their behavior is purely natural, and not influenced by the fact that they are being taped.[20] Winick, an alumnus of the show's third season, adds that castmembers eventually stop thinking about the cameras because it is too exhausting not to, and that the fact that their lives were being documented made it seem "more real."[21] Other cast members have related different accounts. Lars Schlichting of the London cast related an anecdote in which roommate Mike Johnson asked a question when cameras were not present, and then asked the same question five minutes later when cameras were present, an incident that Schlichting adds was not typical of Johnson. Johnson himself has remarked that roommate Jacinda Barrett "hammed it up a lot," and that roommate Sharon Gitau withheld details of her life out of fear that her grandmother would react negatively.[22] Movement of the roommates outside of the residence is restricted to places that are cleared by producers[23] through contractual arrangements with locations to allow filming.[24] The producers made an exception to the taping protocol during the third season, when Pedro Zamora requested that he be allowed to go out on a date without the cameras, because the normal anxieties associated with first dates would be exacerbated by the presence of cameras.[25] Filming of The Real World: Chicago was also suspended during the onset of the September 11 attacks. At the end of each week, each housemate is required to sit down and be interviewed about the past week's events. Unlike the normal day-to-day taping, these interviews, which are referred to as "confessionals", involve the subject looking directly into the camera while providing opinions and reflective accounts of the week's activities, which are used in the final, edited episodes. The producers instruct the cast to talk about whatever they wish, and to speak in complete sentences, to reinforce the perception on the part of the home viewer that the cast is speaking to them. Winick described this practice as "like therapy without the help".[21] The confessionals were originally conducted by Mary-Ellis Bunim and Jon Murray, but were eventually delegated to production staff members like George Verschoor and Thomas Klein. Beginning with the second season (Los Angeles), a small soundproof room was incorporated into each house for this purpose, which itself has also become known as "The Confessional". The various casts were often creative in their use of the confessional, which Bunim and Murray referred to as "inspired lunacy", such as a group confessional conducted by all the Los Angeles housemates on their last day, an appearance by San Francisco housemate Judd Winick in a nun's habit, and Miami roommates Melissa Padrón and Flora Alekseyeun dressing up as prostitutes for a shared confessional in which they discuss why their roommates did not get along with them. During Mardi Gras, New Orleans cast member Danny Roberts used the confessional to engage in a sex act.[26] Initially, the show documented the housemates as they struggled to find and maintain jobs and careers in their new locales, with minimal group activities aside from their day-to-day lives in the house and their socializing in the city. The only group activity engineered by the producers during the first season was a trip for the three females to Jamaica. By the second season, sending the entire cast on a vacation would become the norm, and the second season cast was also sent on a day trip to Joshua Tree, California. By the fifth season, the cast would be given an ongoing, season-long activity, with the Miami cast given startup money and a business advisor to begin their own business. This aspect of the show remained in most subsequent seasons,[27] and would be obligatory, with casts assigned to work at an after-school daycare program, a radio station, public-access television station, etc. Beginning with the tenth season, a roommate fired from the group job would be evicted from the house and dropped from the cast. Footage taped throughout each season is then edited into episodes (half-hour episodes for the first 19 seasons, one-hour episodes beginning with the twentieth).[28] Physical violence of any kind was not tolerated by the producers. After an incident during the Seattle season in which Stephen Williams slapped Irene McGee as she moved out, a response to the event was debated by the housemates, who were not present but were shown a videotape of the incident. The producers, not wanting to be seen condoning violence, gave the housemates the choice of having him leave, but instead the housemates chose to let him stay, and Williams was ordered to attend an anger management class. Sydney housemate Trisha Cummings was ordered out of the house after she shoved Parisa Montazaran to the floor. Hollywood castmates William Gilbert and David Malinosky were ordered into anger management for incidents that occurred during their season. Recurring themesPrejudiceAs their experiences on The Real World were often the first time that cast members encountered people of different races or sexual orientations,[29] many episodes documented conflict over these issues. First season housemate Kevin Powell had such arguments with Eric Nies, Julie Gentry, and Becky Blasband. The premiere episode of the Los Angeles season depicted regional epithets exchanged between Jon Brennan, Dominic Griffin, and Tami Roman. San Francisco housemate David "Puck" Rainey's treatment of Pedro Zamora's homosexuality was an issue for Zamora. Flora Alekseyeun, during an argument with Miami roommate Cynthia Roberts, dismissed what she referred to as Roberts' "black attitude", and their roommate Melissa Padrón, during a heated exchange with homosexual Dan Renzi, called him a "flamer". Racism began a point of contention between New Orleans housemates Julie Stoffer and Melissa Howard on more than one occasion. The stereotypical views about blacks imparted to Back to New York's Mike Mizanin by his uncle offended Coral Smith and Nicole Jackson when he related them, and they tried to educate him on black culture. They were also offended by the fact that biracial roommate Malik Cooper wore a T-shirt with the image of Marcus Garvey, who was against miscegenation, despite the fact that Cooper was of mixed heritage and by his own admission had never dated a black woman. Philadelphia's Karamo Brown expressed being "borderline racist" towards Caucasians, though had softened in these feelings by the end of the season. In the Denver season, Stephen Nichols had confronted Davis Mallory over his homosexuality, and Mallory later used a racial epithet during a drunken argument with black housemate Tyrie Ballard. During the Sydney season, Persian housemate Parisa Montazaran was offended at an anecdote related by housemate Trisha Cummings in which Cummings described an Asian McDonald's employee whose command of English was not perfect, though Cummings later insisted that she mis-worded her anecdote.[30] A similar confrontation over immigrants occurred during the Brooklyn season between J.D. Ordoñez and Chet Cannon. Hollywood's Kimberly Alexander got into an argument with Brianna Taylor, who is African American, and said, "Let's not get ghetto". When roommate William Gilbert saw this as racist, Kimberly explained that Brianna had previously described herself has sometimes behaving "ghetto", and was merely referencing that. PoliticsJon Brennan disagreed with Tami Roman’s decision to have an abortion, and argued with Aaron Bailey's girlfriend, Erin, who was pro-choice. Rachel Campos, a conservative Republican member of the San Francisco cast, clashed with liberal roommates Mohammed Bilal and Judd Winick. Paris housemate Chris "CT" Tamburello became confrontational during a discussion of the Iraq War, even threatening Adam King. Nehemiah Clark, of the Austin cast, expressed disapproval of President George W. Bush and the Iraq War, sometimes coming into conflict with Rachel Moyal, who served in Iraq as a combat medic for the US Army. The 2008 United States Presidential election served to highlight the political differences among the Brooklyn cast.[31][32] RomanceMany cast members tried to maintain long-distance relationships that predated their time on the show, though remaining faithful was often a challenge. New Orleans’ Danny Roberts cheated on his boyfriend Paul, who was stationed in the military. Seattle’s Nathan Blackburn’s girlfriend worried about their relationship. Miami’s Flora Alekseyeun attempted to maintain relationships with two boyfriends simultaneously. Sydney's Shauvon Torres left the house to reconcile with her ex-fiance. Her housemates Trisha Cummings and Dunbar Flinn flirted or had sex with people other than their significant others back home. Some cast members developed romantic relationships with their castmates. San Francisco roommates Pam Ling and Judd Winick have since married, as have their roommate Rachel Campos and Sean Duffy of the Boston cast. Las Vegas roommates Trishelle Cannatella and Steven Hill consummated a romance during the show, while their roommates Irulan Wilson and Alton Williams began a relationship that continued after they moved out of the Las Vegas suite. The Austin cast spawned two relationships, between Danny Jamieson and Melinda Stolp, who married in August 2008,[33] and between Wes Bergmann and Johanna Botta. Relationships among cast members of the various seasons of The Real World and its spin-off, Road Rules, are frequent on Real World/Road Rules Challenge, a game show which assembles dozens of alumni from the various seasons together. SexualityThe level of sexual experience varies among a given season’s cast members. New York's Julie Gentry, Los Angeles’ Jon Brennan, San Francisco's Cory Murphy, Boston's Elka Walker, Seattle’s Rebecca Lord, New Orleans’ Matt Smith and Julie Stoffer, Paris' Mallory Snyder, Austin’s Lacey Buehler, and Brooklyn's Chet Cannon for example, were virgins during their respective seasons. On the other end of the spectrum was New Orleans’ David Broom[34] and Cancun's Joey Rozmus,[35] who took pride in their promiscuity with various sexual partners during their respective seasons.[36] Cancun's Ayiiia Elizarraras was sexually intimate with three of her castmates.[37] More than once, fellow housemates have been involved in pregnancy scares, notably Steven Hill and Trishelle Cannatella during the Las Vegas season, and Cohutta Grindstaff and KellyAnne Judd during the Sydney season. Some cast members expressed difficulty with relationships, such as London’s Sharon Gitau. Overt sexual behavior was minimal during the show's early seasons, relegated mostly to discussion. In subsequent seasons, the level of sexual activity greatly increased, beginning with the Miami season, which depicted or touched upon activities such as exhibitionism, frottage, voyeurism, and threesomes. Unrequited loveJon Brennan’s Los Angeles roommates speculated that he had developed a crush, or possibly had fallen in love, with Irene Berrera. New Orleans’ Melissa Howard was attracted to Jamie Murray, who did not reciprocate. Their roommate Julie Stoffer harbored similar feelings for Matt Smith, who also did not reciprocate. Back to New York's Lori Trespicio developed an attraction for Kevin Dunn, but he did not see her as anything other than a friend. Departed housematesMany times, housemates have left the Real World house (and the cast) before production was completed, due to conflicts with other roommates, personal issues, or violations of work assignment policies. Replacement roommates would sometimes move in as a result. Housemates who departed over personal conflicts with other housemates include Los Angeles' David Edwards, San Francisco's David "Puck" Rainey, Miami's Melissa Padrón, and Sydney's Trisha Cummings, though Rainey and Padrón continued to appear in subsequent episodes following their departures. Housemates who moved out due to personal issues back home include Hawaii's Justin Deabler and Sydney's Shauvon Torres. Housemates who were evicted after being fired from group work assignments include Hollywood's Greg Halstead and Cancun's Joey Rozmus, though Rozmus returned by that season's finale.[38] Housemates have also departed for other reasons. Irene Barrera moved out of the Los Angeles house when she got married. Irene McGee moved out of the Seattle house due to ethical objections to aspects of the show's production, though at the time she claimed it was due to illness. Frankie Abernathy moved out of the San Diego house due to a combination of homesickness and conflicts with her roommates. Joey Kovar moved out of the Hollywood house, fearing a drug & alcohol relapse after spending time in rehab, though he returned for that season's finale. Cancun's Bronne Bruzgo was evicted from the ME Cancun hotel that housed that season's cast after Bruzgo threw a fire extinguisher from the cast's balcony, though he moved into the staff housing responsible for that season's cast assignment, rather than return home.[39][40] On-screen marriageIrene Barrera-Kearns got married during the Los Angeles season. Pedro Zamora exchanged wedding vows with his boyfriend Sean Sasser during the San Francisco season. Life-threatening illnessPedro Zamora struggled with AIDS. He succumbed to the disease on November 11, 1994, hours after the San Francisco season finale aired. Ruthie Alcaide, Chris Beckman, and Joey Kovar of the Hawaii, Chicago, and Hollywood seasons, respectively, suffered from addictions to drugs and/or alcohol. Alcaide and Kovar entered treatment programs during those seasons.[41][42] San Diego housemate Frankie Abernathy suffered from cystic fibrosis. She died on June 9, 2007.[43][44] Sarah Burke from the Philadelphia season battled an eating disorder and has overcome it.[45] Key West's Paula Meronek battled anorexia and bulimia, and saw a therapist during filming. Ayiiia Elizarraras of the Cancun season had a history of drug abuse and self-mutilation,[46] the latter of which manifested during that season's fifth episode. She received treatment for it after filming ended, and recorded a public service announcement on the condition that aired at the end of that episode.[47][48] The Real World seasonsMain article: List of The Real World seasons
For more detailed information on seasons, cast lists, and DVDs, see: List of The Real World seasons. In 2002, MTV also produced a made-for-TV movie The Real World Movie: The Lost Season, ostensibly about a season of The Real World whose cast members are terrorized by a rejected would-be member.[50] In 2008, prior to the airing of the Hollywood season, the first-ever Real World Awards Bash aired on MTV. Viewers voted the Austin season as their favorite season.[51] CriticismAuthenticityAs with other reality shows, The Real World has received criticism for being staged.[22][52] During a reunion show featuring the first four Real World casts, Heather Gardner, of the original New York cast, asked some members of the San Francisco cast if their situations were real. She noted that situations from the original season seemed to repeat themselves in the other incarnations, stopping short of accusing them of acting. On an edition of the E! True Hollywood Story that spotlighted the series, cast member Jon Brennan revealed that he was asked by the producers to state on the air that he felt hatred towards housemate Tami Roman for her decision to have an abortion, and that he refused to do so, stating that although he disagreed with her decision, he did not feel hatred towards her. Another accusation is that producers selectively edit material to in order to give the false impression of certain emotional reactions or statements from the castmates.[53] Some critics see the very concept of being in "the real world" as a misnomer, asserting that in the real world, people do not live in luxurious dwellings for free, are not "given" jobs in the media without any effort, and are not taken to exotic locations for free.[54] EthicsThe show has been accused of disregarding ethics. On the final track of his Become the Media spoken word album, activist Jello Biafra discusses a conversation he had with Real World Seattle cast member Irene McGee[55]:
McGee has toured colleges to discuss media manipulation and the falsehoods of reality television. She later started a youth-oriented radio show/podcast, No One's Listening[56] covering a wide range of pop-culture and media-related issues. Sexuality and relevanceThe show has also been accused of being overly sexualized, most notably with its Las Vegas cast.[57] There is a larger conception that it has become increasingly unserious. As critic Benjamin Wallace-Wells put it:
A 2006 comment from LA Weekly's Nikki Finke reflects the same sentiments:
The Parents Television Council, which has frequently criticized MTV, has also frequently criticized The Real World for its overtly sexual content.[60] In addition, they claim that because MTV routinely reruns Real World episodes with a simple "TV-14" rating without the "L" (language) descriptor, parents cannot block out the show with a V-Chip,[61] although countering reports claim that the V-Chip does not totally rely on content descriptors added to the general ratings to work.[62] An episode of The Real World: San Diego that was broadcast in January 2004 came under intense criticism from both the PTC[63] and American Family Association[64] for its sexual content. DiversityIn December 2005, Aaron Gillego, a columnist for The Advocate, criticized the series for having never cast an Asian male in the then-13 years of its existence, opining that female Asians have been cast on the show because heterosexual men have been socialized by the media to think of them as exotic beauties or sex objects, but that Asian males have been largely invisible in popular media.[65] Parodies, derivatives, and references
See also
References
External links
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