It's just a game...
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Archive through September 20, 2003 25   09/20 06:39pm

Angelsluv

Saturday, September 20, 2003 - 10:54 am EditMoveDeleteIP
I'm with you Mom on all you've said (nothing new). Pass the Boozed Iced Tea *LOL*

Watching2

Saturday, September 20, 2003 - 11:27 am EditMoveDeleteIP
While that have had different ethnicity in the house this year, they are lacking in representing African Americans and those of different sexual orientation. I bet if there were a gay person in the house, you wouldn't be hearing all the nasty words. People tend to bend their way of talking in different situations with different people. Last year we had two African Americans, one who was gay, which would stop a lot of the gay bashing words.

I think BB made a big mistake this past season with not casting more "minority" folks in place of this vanilla cast, even though we did have Koreans and Cubans. Even with that, Jun, especially, is much more "Americanized" and Robert wouldn't have been that noticable as Cuban had he not stated it; meaning he "blends" in easily with the rest of the cast if going by looks.

What I also find interesting is, I was often turned off by Marcellus' behavior last year. He could be down right nasty and I didn't find his and Amy's humor making it any easier to swallow. I'm one of the few who thought Amy wasn't a darling and was just downright spoiled and nasty. However, I was THRILLED to see both of them show up on this year's show.

Right now I'd swear I could care less if I ever saw any of these people again, but that's right now. :) Time seems to change memories and feelings about people. Heck, I even like Danielle now. She turned me off the most because of her constant claims of being a Christian and a mother and then kept trash talking. I was really happy to see her on the "where are they now" segment, and thought she looked great.

What totally puzzles me about myself this year is, why I have been rooting for Ali when her type of behavior is what I couldn't stand in past houseguests! I guess I'm impressed with her being able to pull off what she says she's going to do with her athletic ability, etc. Plus, she's young and having kids just a bit younger than she is (who don't act like her by any means!) I've seen many girls who were obnoxious when younger, but learned and grew up to be nice people. Heck, I've seen that in my own peer group. You meet for reunions and are talking to people who would never have anything to do with you when you were classmates. Odd, how life can be. I guess I just want to hold on to hope that people can and do change. I hate being a glass is half-empty person instead of a half-full person. FWIW :)

Prisonerno6

Saturday, September 20, 2003 - 11:49 am EditMoveDeleteIP
For what it's worth at this point in the "game," that reason I don't like the "It's just a game" philosophy is it seems to imply that the end justifies the means. Putting aside the distinct possibility that these people are not "playing the game" 24/7, what part of it being a game makes it OK to tell personal lies about others? What part of the game makes it OK to threaten violence, even in jest? What part of the game makes it OK to complain about a fellow houseguests actions while exhibiting the same yourself? What part of "it's just a game" makes it OK to put aside common human decency?

"It's just a game" ranks just above "everybody acts like that" in the BB behavior excuse book for me.

Onlyhuman

Saturday, September 20, 2003 - 12:06 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Prisoner, that's always been my take on this "game".

After all, the rules in the Big Brother house are essentially the rules for society. You can do anything you choose as long as you don't physically harm or threaten someone else. Lying, cheating, manipulating and name calling are all fair game in BB as well as in the game of life but no one says you HAVE to do those things to get ahead, some people just choose to do so, either because they feel they have no other option or because it's just easier. Saying "it's just a game" doesn't mean you aren't responsible for those choices and actions, both in BB and in life.

And, yes, I find the "everybody does it" defense just as irksome in this game as I do in real life.

Boberg

Saturday, September 20, 2003 - 12:16 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I know there is someone out there who can make this point better than me/I, but will give it a try.
We BB fanatics tend to act/post the same way the HG tend to play the game.
In the beginning it is calmest, getting to know the HG with politer comments and chat threads.
(inside the house they are getting to know each other and there is very little vile talk)

Towards the middle we are more focused with our favorites picked out and we chat and root for them telling others here why our favorites are the best and reveal our opinions of why the other houseguests should be evicted the sooner the better.
(inside the house they have made alliances and work as small groups to evict those they have alligned themselves against, the backstabbing has begun but definitely has room to fall lower at this point)
By the last 3 weeks we here are bickering about who of the HG left are the least evil. Some forget the rules and go for the jugular against another poster. The moderators are kept busy cleaning up the threads because the posting has become so vicious. We are focused and intent in our posting to proof our viewpoints are the right viewpoints and many threads started are all about the same subject.
(inside the house..the 2-3 remaining HG are vicious and vile in their talk..it is constant badmouthing even when there is no game reason for it. No one can see their own misdeeds only those of others and they are vicious in repeating their hatred of those that have been evicted. With their talk they convince themselves they deserve to be the winner)

I see alot of similarity in the two "houses", anyone else?

Monalisahi

Saturday, September 20, 2003 - 12:17 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I'm fine with the lying, manipulating, trash talking, plotting, etc. when it is game related. There are many things done by each of the hg's which show us they type of people they truly are.

There were only a couple things done in the house that really bothered me, and IMO, crossed the line:
1) Verbal attacks on Elena. That had nothing to do with the game. Elena was not a hg. I think attacking any family member is awful, but to be so brutal about a little girl.....definitely crossing the line <my line, of course>.

2) Calling Jack a child molester. That is such a serious and sick crime that the name should be reserved for only those actually committing the crime. Let's not dilute the meaning of the word. In addition, that is a label that just can't been easily shrugged off. I knew a man once who was wrongly accused and he couldn't get a job and his life was completely changed.....all because some adults didn't like him (it was involving politics).

Additionally, while this didn't involve the hg's, I think BB should have been fair about a few things....I think we all know what I mean, it's been discussed so much.

Yes, it is just a game...but it's a game involving real people. I think there are plenty of times we have opportunity to judge the type of people they are. After all, that's what makes reality shows far more interesting than game shows.

Sweetpea1994

Saturday, September 20, 2003 - 12:32 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I agree with you Monalisahi, I expect lying, manipulation and trash talking in this game, but the character assassination and name calling is not necessary.

Coffee

Saturday, September 20, 2003 - 12:46 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I also agree with Monalisahi. Jun and Ali were the two hgs to go over in this game. To be that vindictive is not part of the game and only shows them for who they really are.

Mush

Saturday, September 20, 2003 - 12:50 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Just my opinion, but I thing that the character assasination and name calling IS part of the game. They seem to have a need to feel that the best way to make sure that someone gets voted off is to convince everyone that the person DESERVES to be voted off. I may be naive, but I doubt that any of the houseguests would do this outside of a competitive, someone-has-to-go-and-it-better-not-be-me, situation.

Danielle was the queen of this approach. She picked her victim, then spent the week convincing the others that the person was horrible and needed to go. It just drove me crazy last year because it seems like she went way overboard, but I imagine when their whole life is revolving around the evictions it would be easy to lose perspective.

Azriel

Saturday, September 20, 2003 - 06:39 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Boberg, great observation! I agree with you about the board and the house.

Mush, I agree with you about the HGs, too. I don't think people wouldn't be nearly as upset with them, though, if they just said things like,' I don't trust So&So, I think she is sneaky and lying to us' instead of 'So&so is an f'ing b$*!ch.'

Prisonerno6

Sunday, September 21, 2003 - 05:29 am EditMoveDeleteIP
"the best way to make sure that someone gets voted off is to convince everyone that the person DESERVES to be voted off."

I can understand that point of view, although I don't agree it's necessary. However, when the trash talking continues well after a houseguest has been evicted, then I really don't see the reason.

For me, the difference between this season and last talk is the sheer volume of trash being generated. Yes, in past year's there was a great deal of trash talk, but it was tempered with other more entertaining behavior as well. Heck, if I were pressed, I'd have to admit some of the trash talk showed some creativity ("he's the devil" combined with the horns...). At least to me, it seems like that the vast majority of what we get is just plain trash. I don't find that entertaining.

Steveh

Monday, September 22, 2003 - 09:02 am EditMoveDeleteIP
(Apologizing in advance for long-windedness)

I disagree that it's "just a game." First of all it is by title, not just a game. It's a game SHOW, a television show, something that people watch and then indulge in the natural, human impulse to comment about what they've watched whether it be at the proverbial water cooler at work, in the privacy of their homes, on boards like this, etc. Part of the commentary involves speculation about the guests outside the house b/c we've all heard--while watching the show--plenty of outside the house commentary and we've read more of it on the various mainstream publications, message boards, etc. that comment about the show. The guests are real people. Whether we are getting an undistorted view of this realness is open for debate (how can we know?) though I'd agree with the majority here and say probably (but not definitely) not.

Tons of qualitative and quantitative studies w/ every focus (producer, audience, text of show, commercials, industry, etc.) demonstrate that we are affected by what we watch on TV (even fictional shows). Not in the sense that we watch a violent show and get violent ourselves or in the sense that we allow TV to dominate us and inject us w/ its mores and values. But watching televison does affect how we perceive race, class, gender and many other social demographics. And various core American values: rugged individualism, America is a special nation, pro-intelligence/anti-intellectual . . .etc.

(When I say "we" I don't mean you personally or anyone here or all of us, just the overwhelming number of tv viewers.)

BB, as we all know, is NOT "reality" even though it claims to be a reality show. Posters at this board are even more savvy about how the show gets shaped by its producers: guests are encouraged to say certain things, indulge in certain behaviors, etc. In a sense, the show is scripted, contestants often behave in the house in ways they would never behave anywhere else.

However there are several intersects between the game and reality, where there's no other way to perceive something but in a real world context. These are real people in an unreal situation, yes, but does that mean there is a complete disconnect between who they are in the house and who they are outside? I don't think so.

Also, elements of all of the contestants outside lives have been on the show, sometimes been part of the house (Elena). So the game show is not just about the game.

When you say it's just a game are you saying that, for example, Robert does not have misogynistic tendencies (to put it mildly) outside the house? Or, on a positive spin, that he doesn't love his daughter?

The way people talk about race, class and gender in the house is often real, it's not just a game. As such, or so a popular theory holds, BB4, as silly and trivial as it often is, is a reflection of us as a nation, who we are, what values we esteem etc. Television informs us and is informed by us with "-form" being the important part of the word. BB4 does affect how poeple look at the world to some degree. Television is a powerful, complex medium and anything being shown on it is NEVER "just a game."

MO

Andysmojo

Monday, September 22, 2003 - 09:07 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Totally agree with you Boberg!

Gina8642

Monday, September 22, 2003 - 09:38 am EditMoveDeleteIP
How come I am not surprised the "It's Just a Game" thread has been hijacked by b!tching, whining, complaining, and opinionating on what terrible, horrible, awful human beings Ali & Jun are??

LOL

Is there a thread left where we can talk about the game? Talk about the final questions? etc? Without it getting hijacked?....

Onlyhuman

Monday, September 22, 2003 - 09:48 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Gina, I was just thinking about starting a thread about the hijacking of threads but then I figured it would just get hijacked, so why bother... :)

Bob2112

Monday, September 22, 2003 - 10:07 am EditMoveDeleteIP
<...jumps in cockpit and flies the thread to Cuba...>

Cameramanbob

Monday, September 22, 2003 - 10:09 am EditMoveDeleteIP
That is because the thread was mistitled. It should have been called, "It's just a game which you are not even on and has no material effect on your already lovely life so can we please get a little distance, have some fun and good humour and retire from being a stuffy morals debate society?"

Or not.

Alinthehouse

Monday, September 22, 2003 - 10:35 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Thanks for the thread Scoopgrl.

It is true, BB, is only a game/television show. We are able to watch this group of individuals live their lives 24/7 for three months. I find it interesting to watch the contestants personalities come out over the time period. It reminds me of cabin fever (thought of the Shining comes to mind!!).

In my opinion, being shut off from reality does not alter one’s personality that much. I think the things they say or do have always been inside them. Outside of the house they have more control over their actions. They may think someone's a b***h, or think f**k, but not verbalize it. They have more self control. It reminds me of people that have been drinking and saying something inappropriate. People say, “Oh, they were drunk and did not mean it”. Bull, the thought was there. With their defenses down, it slipped out.

The comments, by any house guest, regarding a child are completely uncalled for. I don’t wish to discuss it. She will have to live with it herself. I do not! If a person is that shallow, so be it.

I have been lurking at this board since BB1, and started posting this year. I have noticed the board getting nasty at times. At the beginning it seemed everyone was excited the game was starting. Toward the middle of the show, people developed favorites (self included). Now at the end, I have not elected to post much. One person voices their opinion and another opposes. Which is great because isn’t that why were come here, to agree or not agree. To enjoy talking with other fans. Lately, all the threads seem to have a similar theme - bashing! If not about the house guest, it is about the other posters. Bashing is not discussing. I'll be back next year!

Thank you for letting get this off my chest. I hope it was ok to post this here.

<sneaking off to the survivor threads>

Emdanzma

Monday, September 22, 2003 - 10:37 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Cameramanbob...that's a good title. If only it would fit :)

Cameramanbob

Monday, September 22, 2003 - 11:16 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Thanks, Emdanzma. This thread is very useful to me in that it brings to mind my REAL reason for reality tv obsession: That is the wonderfully smug and superior warm fuzzys I get from affectionately ribbing my fame-hungry inferiors! (Kidding - mostly - of course!)

Earthmother

Monday, September 22, 2003 - 10:02 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
You don't see threads for "The Price Is Right" because that is a game. Real people, with real families in a situation where you have to choose whether you are going to defame another player or play to make yourself indispensable without malice will always create a morality debate.

Mkcantjump

Monday, September 22, 2003 - 10:08 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
You got it right Cameraman. I've been waiting a long while for someone to get the title straight.

Bogiesgal

Tuesday, September 23, 2003 - 12:04 am EditMoveDeleteIP
How can we say "It is just a Game"? When there is as much manipulating and interferring as CBS has pulled with this year's BB it is no longer a game but rather a bi-weekly soap opera. (I love soap operas) The competitions were a farce and the X-factor was unbelievably unfair to all concerned. Those having Xs were under more emotional stress than those who only needed to concentrate on the "game". Those who had Xs had an unfair advantage (secret alliances) or unfair disadvantage (past secrets being revealed, prejudiced "info" being spread). The "viewer-drawers" were coached, given more TV time and allowed to get away with vile behavior. All in all this show should continue but in the normal TV show arena - NOT as a reality "game show".

For the record I hated Ali & Jun, loved Erica and loved to hate Dana and Robert. Nathan and Michelle were nieve and had no business being on the show. Amanda and Dave would probably have been the most interesting contestants. Jee and Jack annoyed the heck out of me and Jason was fun and entertaining. What a cast -

Misslibra

Tuesday, September 23, 2003 - 01:52 am EditMoveDeleteIP
It's more then just a game. And I agree with a lot of the comments already made about it being more then a game.

Wendo

Tuesday, September 23, 2003 - 01:55 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Some viewers watch BB as just a game, while others view it much differently.

Neither is wrong, imo.

Sisalou

Tuesday, September 23, 2003 - 08:27 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Bob2112 - I said it yesterday and I'll say it again .... ROFLMAO