In the first ever Advertiser Blog reporter Sam Pinnington takes a look at the effect Big Brother is having on society.
Oxford English Dictionary definition; Big Brother: noun, a person or organisation exercising total control over people’s lives.
For many of us these two little words now have an extended definition in our dictionary.
Originally the fictitious head of state in George Orwell’s 1949 best seller, Nineteen Eighty Four, it is now famous as the Channel 4 reality TV show.
And don’t forget the first ever winner was Newportovan Craig Phillips.
But now in it’s tenth season I wonder how much control this voyeuristic popularity contest is having on the world outside the house. And it was the recent local elections which got me thinking . . .
Surely it’s not possible that the public know more about the people in the Big Brother house than those actually running the country?
If that is the case, I suppose it’s an indication of the general apathy for politics, but also a terrifying observation of the power of TV.
Take Bob Ainsworth for instance, know who he is? He’s your defence secretary. How about Yvette Cooper? She’s in charge of your pensions.
Alright, slightly easier one, Andy Burnham. Still struggling? He’s in charge of health in this country.
And then there’s good old Lord Adonis, the Secretary of State for Transport, for those of you who like raising debate on rail delays.
But I bet Kris Donnelly and Freddie Fisher might ring some bells. And then there’s the ones from years gone by - Brian Dowling, Kate Lawler, Pete Bennett, Jade Goody, Nadia Almada.
‘Put it on the box and they’ll watch it’ one of my elder family members used to say, ‘they’ being the public, but the power of the box is undeniable.
Since the first Big Brother broadcast in the Netherlands in 1999 it has been a prime time hit-show in 70 countries.It is shown from the Balkans to the Arab States and this country’s third series alone received over 22 million votes.
The voting figures have fluctuated and since dwindled and the show is no doubt losing popularity.
The premium-rate phone-line scandals affecting the TV industry in 2007 had an effect and votes dropped down to three million last year.
But after all that, there is no hiding the cathartic pleasure for many people engrossed by each fresh breed of attention seekers, obliterating their self-esteem, questioning their existence and going through the familiar rollercoaster of self-exploration.
The power battles and promiscuous flings are now common place in the big brother palace and the behaviour at times has been so outrageous that now pretty much anything goes. So much for role-models.
And what about the morbid fascination to root out the cursed individuals for whom it becomes nationally acceptable to vilify and despise.
There is then of course the pretty boys, loose cannons, page three models, toffs, guttersnipes, mutes and physcos to tick off - just to make it a rounded experiment.
And the constant analysis down to the way each contestant cuts their toenails is extreme and leaves little for those with an insecure disposition to not feel insecure about.
Ever had a thought about which bracket you would fall into if you entered the house, how may affect your life, career and future? It’s not really worth it, is it?
It would be nice to adored by millions- but there’s no guarantee- and they’ll forget you in a year’s time anyway.
It’s just a game I am reminded, but it has become more than that. And it is often a sad indictment on our society and the way we treat each other, and the satisfaction in watching the way other people treat each other.
The fear in the eye’s of every contestant before the eviction doors open says it all.
It’s back to base human instinct- am I in the minority or majority? Am I more liked or more hated?
Intense would be an understatement and over the years the show has pushed most inmates to the limit.
But what of George Orwell. He was a wise man wasn’t he? What would he have thought?
He certainly like to place great emphasis on the power of words: ‘Doublethink means the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one’s mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them.’
And while I think Big Brother is that harmless bit of fun lodged in each year’s TV calendar I also believe there is something more sinister at work.
Sam Pinnington will be writing a weekly blog published every Tuesday on www.newportadvertiser.com.
