reality

Lecture in my media criticism class had all, or mostly, to do with the topic of 9/11 and the media. One topic that came up was whether or not it's ethical for cameras to keep rolling in the wake of tragedy. One of the students whom I have noticed is particularly articulate chimed in with her experience with being on TV and how there most definitely is a time for the camera people to stop rolling and lend a hand. So I had to ask... on TV in what capacity? Turns out the articulate curly haired woman in two of my seminars is none other than Irene from Real World Seattle, the woman who was slapped as she took off in a car with another cast member (yes the event that made the reality TV top 40 memorable moments). She was so disgusted with the manipulation of "reality" on that show that she left the show early. The Seattle season took place back in 1998 when I think reality TV was still relatively new and people were not aware that it's not as real as people think e.g. the re-enacting of scenes from Survivor and the Restaurant so that the cameras can get a better angle, resequencing of events to tell a more dramatic story etc. In any case, being nosey as I am I found her site and read her bio and I gotta say she's done a lot for herself since then - delivering lectures and speeches on media manipulation across the country, winning Clio awards for other work and now doing her master's. I think I need a good kick in the ass to strive to achieve some of the things she already has.