F06 :: Feminist Film Studies

I recently watched one of my friends old recordings of an episode of the Real World: Key West, which I haven't seen. I have watched bits and pieces of the show from time to time, but not in a steady manner because I never really got into reality tv. While watching the show, I took notice in the way that all of the characters represent stereotypes that typically clash with the other personalities on the show. In this season of the Real World, there is a group of four guys and three girls. One girl has an eating disorder and is very emotional (she also has an abusive boyfriend), another girl is high maintenance, and the third girl seems extremely independant and opinionated. Amongst the guys, there is a guy that seems opinionated and rebellious, an openly gay guy, a succuessful hispanic student, and another strong willed guy. In the reading by Tara Kachgal, it is stated that almost every season has woven in a gay character. She states "The inclusion of gay and lesbian characters "within the tribe" is politically significant, given the mobilization of neoconservative and neoliberal discourses to construct
sexual minorities as anti-family and anti-child (Lee Edelman 1998)." This is important to look at because it seems that the producers of the show are attempting to appeal to most every group and the inclusion of gay characters is supposed to further come off as being 'real' within the stratosphere of the show. I think some of these personalities were chosen because they would characteristically clash with one another during the show. One of the central themes of this season revolved around Paula, who is the girl that seems to have an eating disorder. She has problems with it throughout the show, and that seems to be prevelant in regards to the gaze. The girl seems to fear the way other people see her, which forces her to harm her body by refusing to eat at times. She is a very emotional character in the show, and she often clashed with John (one of the guys in the house).

The episode I watched was one in which the crew goes out for a night on the town and hits up a local club in Key West. During the night, John is hooking up with a girl at the club when Paula seems to pop up and basically steal the girl away from John. John, being a very opinionated individual himself, takes a great deal offense to this and they clash once they return to their place. The ensuing argument leads to further specualtion about Paula and her problems in her life with her abusive boyfriend. Once she sobers up she basically tells John that she was shielding the girl from him because a part of her wants to protect her. John then declares that he is not her abusive boyfriend and all kind of seems to get well for a while. This is just one example of the many problems that pop up during the course of the show. I think one other idea of feminist theory regarding the gaze deals with the women of the show. This goes for all seasons, but they usually tend to put girls on the show that could be regarded as eye candy for the viewer. This basically ensures that viewers will continue to watch the show and develop a loyal following. All of the girls are different looking, all have different problems and personalities, and they usually have distinctive features that make them stand out to a viewer. This typically goes for guys on the show too, but I think it is more noticable in the females on the show.