scripted reality is basically towie. it’s something under the guise of ‘reality’ that is actually fake, something that is made to appear as its authentic and natural but is all a big phoney show. i think it started on tv, but i can’t really be sure - as it’s sort of creeping its way into a lot of things. most notably, the pseudo-celebrities i follow on instagram.
there’s a musician called dodie clark who i’m sure a lot of people will vaguely know about, who i generally find quite charming and sweet (and still do, like, as a person. this is more about how she presents herself online) she admits openly how she fake-candid-laughs/presents an idealised version of her life in the plethora of photos with her and her friends on their various adventures, so she’s being genuine about it being fake. which is weird to me, because then why even fake it. i find it really hard to sustain an emotional connection with any of this scripted reality stuff, because it seems like none of the things that are being shown to me are legitimate or genuine. it’s not really possible to gauge empathy from fake laughter friendship poses.
i don’t want to seem too damning on it, because as far as all that, it’s not really hurting anyone. but it seems to be toeing that middle line between ‘well that’s obviously staged to the cameras’ vs ‘a normal human life’. it’s what adults preach when they say about social media being ‘unhealthy’ by making unrealistic standards of life look commonplace: something that pisses me off because obviously i’m able to discern between what’s fake and what’s real - but now the grey area of the in between is becoming all the more common. it’s becoming something we are aspiring for that’s actually within reach, it’s not disproportionate wealth or perfect interior design: it’s cute tutus and group outings to disneyland. it’s carefully making your life look shades of pastels.
i get why people do it: because they can show the best possible version of themselves within ‘normal’ aesthetic reason - none of us can be kim k, but we can be dodie and friends in pigtails candid laughing in matching outfits.
i’m just hesitant to be accepting its normalcy. i don’t know if i like it yet, or if its just an virtual version of small talk. how older people keep their gardens tidy so people walking past will think well of them, and tidy the house like mad before guests come over. our generation have a different kind of etiquette. i don’t vacuum my room for my friends viewing pleasure, but i’ll theme my instagram.
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