*Trigger Warning: Violence*
After calling in sick for work and skipping two of my classes, I decided to watch the new season of “Real World Seattle: Bad Blood” last night since I was stuck in bed all day. I never really tuned in for these “fake” reality TV shows that are designed to mimic “real-life” scenarios, when in actuality the plot feels like a social experiment of sorts… a nod to the previous year: Season 31's "Real World" when MTV “purposely” placed a proud, gun-toting racist white woman (Jenna) in a household of more liberal folks and fueled microaggressions against the only Black man (Dean) and Black woman (Ceejai) there. In order to get on the show in the first place, the individual has to submit a casting video detailing why they would be the perfect candidate (to stir up drama) by showcasing certain aspects of their personality.
Unfortunately for Ceejai, she would have to not only face her own emotional turmoil regarding her parents’ death from gun violence but also go toe-to-toe with Jenna who is beaming with pride that she’s a Southern Belle. The “sneak peek” on MTV, however, does not necessarily portray the many microaggressions or the emotional “build-up” that Ceejai faces and instead continues to depict the stereotype of an “angry Black woman” who fights the “helpless or seemingly innocent white girl” over something as “petty” as Jenna not leaving a tip. What happens next? Ah but of course, a heated argument ensues between the two foes after MTV let this disaster-in-the-making stew over time.
Real World: Go Big or Go Home | 'Ceejai & Jenna's Fight' Official Sneak Peek (Episode 7) | MTV
The not-so-hidden “twist” acknowledged in the making of these shows? Acts of physical violence will send you home. If you wanted to stay in the apartment rent-free (“GO BIG OR GO HOME”), not only did the roommates have to individually face their fears by participating in several “adventure” themed challenges, but also acknowledge that the only thing standing in their way is that you can’t physically put anyone in harm’s way (i.e. you can’t beat anyone up!!! a.k.a. what MTV doesn’t “want” despite it still happening and putting the fight scene on TV for the audience to see). Even if the said person has been an insufferable bigot and challenges every value you stand for? Apparently so, because the only way to “teach” someone how to not be a racist is to keep educating your oppressors while they continue to test your patience.
Thanks MTV! It was sooooooooo great of you to *use* these people to instigate a hostile environment as a teaching moment for your predominantly White audience as to why racism sucks. Radical~
Real World: Go Big or Go Home | 'Ceejai Educates Jenna' Official Sneak Peek (Episode 4) | MTV
Wish I could say that it was the violence that drew me into finally giving this so-called “reality” show a chance, but unfortunately for MTV producers it was actually the solidarity between Ceejai and Dean that struck a chord with me. The intimate pep-talk that Ceejai gave Dean circulated around Tumblr (interesting to note that you can’t find this video on YouTube -- wondering if that has a lot to do with YouTube being more “corporate” and not wanting to take a stance on social justice issues re: the demonetization of YouTube creators’ content being viewed as a “threat” to sponsorships) when Dean was “all of a sudden” viewed as a threat to the household and broke down crying after trying very hard to portray himself in a positive light as a young Black man.
(MUST WATCH) | context: “there were two white female roommates who approached him about his actions on separate occasions. One girl (Jenna) said she felt he was being threatening by getting in her face about something and getting loud. She asked him to please not do it again and she’d rather him just pull her aside and talk. (You’d have to see the clip to make your own judgement about that.) MIND YOU, THIS IS A WHITE GIRL WHO PREACHES “SOUTHERN PRIDE” and says the most offensive things and has offended almost everyone in the house on MORE than one occasion...Dean’s issue is that he’s done so much to act and live how he wants and doesn’t like that he’s being pressed on anything. (He’s not a bad or negative person.) So his whole thing is he’s on the show to live, learn, have fun and indulge in whatever he can and he shouldn’t be judged for it. He’s been judged his whole life and his father was hard on him, AND THE GUY JUST GOT DIVORCED after a rough, short marriage...Ceejai, after hearing the things being said about him, goes off because she’s upset for him.”
Note that Ceejai is very self-aware with regards to how they are viewed in terms of representation, especially when mainstream media continues to perpetuate negative stereotypes about Black men and Black women without showing the full picture. I can’t help but wonder how come MTV didn’t choose this video instead as a “Sneak Peek” to demonstrate solidarity instead? Why wasn’t it being taken as something far more educational that captivated a “heat-of-the-moment” response to how we should stand up for each other… especially if MTV wanted to “show” their predominantly White audience how to be “allies” of some sort. In the end, what makes for great entertainment on TV? Supporting each other or fighting? (A mixture of both, but also focusing on “token” candidates as the main motivator of selecting “diverse” programming for a wider audience.)
Instead, the YouTube videos stated above serve to elucidate the kind of “mental programming” that MTV wants to dole out. “Education” that is open to interpretation without providing the necessary context. To white viewers, these sneak peeks only reinforced their judgment against Black men and Black women in general. Whereas Ceejai was considered a hero for many, seeing how she was placed in an environment where she had initially intended to “educate” Jenna and even saving her in the competition to continue educating her but was ultimately faced with a roommate who insisted on hailing her Southern pride amongst marginalized groups. While MTV did provide additional resources during the commercial breaks for people to find out more information on how to be more open-minded and aware of saying racist things, I doubt it did any good in the long run (you can’t find these educational resources anywhere anymore, I’ve tried… either they were put up as part of their social movement turned marketing campaign or racism has somehow “resolved” itself now that the show is over…) when it only brought a divisive response on social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook.
“She (Ceejai) was baited by MTV from the beginning. Jenna was clearly only casted because of her racist thoughts. In Jenna’s first video she talked about the confederate flag and how she basically loved it. When she came in that house the first thing out of her mouth to Ceejai and Dean were, “You are different from the colored people in my town. They’re always angry.” Or some sh*t like that. MTV never stopped or interfered when she was getting called racist names. Jenna’s friend even called Ceejai a “nappy headed ho” and told her to “go pick cotton.” They set her up. Real World producers are always setting Black women up to be humiliated. Ceejai is so sweet. She’s had a rough life and she didn’t deserve this. The first time that girl attacked Ceejai, MTV should’ve sent her home and they didn’t. That fight would’ve been avoided. F*ck MTV for setting her up like this and then sending her home. They didn’t even do a reunion.
I’m so tired of Black women getting attacked with “ratchet” and “ghetto” every time they stand up for themselves. While Jenna is getting defended??? That’s insane. It’s always the dirtiest, nastiest White people attacking Black girls too. It’s sickening. Black women are supposed to “ignore” everything. While they get attacked???
PLEASE, SHUT UP.
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All of which ties back into Puschmann and Bozdag’s essay on “Staking out the unclear ethical terrain of online social experiments” by translating what happens in “real-time” reality TV and how that’s viewed thru the lens of social media. What I got from this was the way that content is perceived asymmetrically depending on the kind of exposure and how it was intended to “manipulate” the emotions of its viewers. Strong reactions on Twitter were provoked by Ceejay seemingly “attacking” the “poor Southern girl” for “no apparent reason” (without any context whatsoever… "TUNE IN TO NEXT WEEK’S EPISODE FOR MORE BEATDOWNS! BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE CAPITALISTIC OPPORTUNISTS AT MTV…") which ultimately had to have been the “motivation” behind using the Ceejai vs. Jenna fight scene as a sneak peek into the show. And yet, there were also many Black women and marginalized communities standing up for Ceejai who also shared a negative reaction to the racist Jenna and calling out the MTV directors who placed Ceejai into a hostile social experiment.
When used in an "experimental" setting, the variables that stood out to be manipulated for the Real World’s most “controversial” season yet were the following:
“Users are rarely informed before or after an experiment is conducted”
“Vulnerable subjects are not protected”
“Alternatives to the experiments are not considered”
“Experiments are not subject to the control of participants in the sense that they are able to revoke or modify their participation after the experiment has started”
In which I must continue to stress the fact that Black Women face harassment at a constant rate--both ONLINE and OFFLINE--because their representations are actively being manipulated by the media to which best serves the corporate mindset instead. People “tune in” to watch stereotypes “activate” in real life, despite reality TV being a hugely “constructed” and far more pervasive reality, due to the manipulator’s intent (corporate greed anyone?). Even when Black women are just being themselves, they are automatically dismissed as portraying their “character” in a negative way. When Leslie Jones was selected for a role in the female Ghostbusters, she received endless threats and messages from trolls (many of them who were white supremacists) simply for playing her part as an actress.
Even though Puschmann and Bozdag argue that the “benefits” of these social experiments outweigh the bad (in a scientific sense), I won’t settle for the argument that this hellish reality chess game MTV pulled was an “effective” way of understanding the world thru mindless programming. The real-world effects are disastrous for Black Women and underrepresentened groups who have social media platforms to engage with others and speak up for themselves. When reality TV henchmen intend to maximize “entertainment value” for the masses, the matter seems trivial at best when the damage has already been done to the reputation and livelihood of one woman. Ceejai continues to face a barrage of negative reactions to how she conducted herself on Real World, but she only acted in a way that any one who has been marginalized enough to having her buttons pushed and physically shoved by the oppressor.
What is one to do when faced with unwanted criticism about how they “should have acted or behaved” for an entire community? One response: to deactivate your social media. To disengage. To ignore. To remove one’s Self from all the negativity. To eradicate any form of “erasure” to one’s identity. How tiring is it already to have to constantly defend yourself against those who weren’t there in the first place? And having to interact with a racist, or with a bunch of online strangers that keep telling you that it was your obligation to “be a role model” instead of “advocating” for violence?
Oh, the irony. I’m not sure what other “rational” responses one ultimately has when they’re faced with constant criticism, but I already see the trolls “attacking” one of the Black women on the new season of “Real World Seattle: Bad Blood” already. Tyara "Tya" Hooks has already been bullied IRL and now she’s going to be bullied again online??? While I sent her my praises on my pseudonymous Twitter account, I noticed that night when I followed Tyara and she had followed back shortly afterwards, that the “heat” from receiving so much unwanted attention simply by being on the new season and “existing” as a Black woman was getting to her when she expressed her disdain for MTV portraying her in this light and that she was going to deactivate her Twitter account soon. (The tweets have been deleted since then. Thank goodness she didn’t let the haters get to her.)
Ultimately, the best decision to make is to completely disavow anything MTV puts out but I am drawn to the new “twist” that MTV decided to put out this season. In an effort to confront one’s actual demons, the directors have placed exes, sibling rivalry, and friendship betrayals at the forefront to live in close proximity with the current cast. I am intrigued by the responses and how that will play out, considering how many bridges I’ve had to burn to ask myself whether or not that was the right call.
I’m sure it was, but then again… MTV has a way of twisting people’s perceptions into thinking otherwise.
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