RIYADH, 29 February 2004 — I was having lunch with some friends when the popular show Star Academy came up in conversation. Within a few minutes, the discussion had covered all the other reality TV shows on Arabic satellite channels and became very animated. Since I don’t watch these shows, I felt like I had been living on a desert island for the last six months. But the shows are huge successes, and a number of networks, inspired by this new wave, are featuring Arab versions of famous Western reality-based shows like Star Academy, Big Brother or The Bachelorette.
The idea of presenting to the audience a show without script or plot but based around a competition whose outcome is unpredictable has been a huge hit. Add to that the idea of watching someone else’s daily life with all the explicit details, and the formula cannot fail. Curiosity is the driving force behind this success. As one of my friends put it: “We all have this instinct of spying on other people. We also like to compare our lives with others. There is always the question of how other people spend their days. These shows provide answers to all those queries.”
Many people feel these shows are more authentic than movies or drama series. But is that true? How can someone act normally knowing that there is a camera focused on everything he says and does? A colleague feels nobody could pretend 24 hours a day. But if a lot of money is at stake, I’m sure they would try their damnedest.
Soon, the Arabic version of Survivor will show on an Arabic TV network. There, a camera crew follows contestants around at all times, even though they are supposed to be left to their own devices. It is also hard to imagine producers jeopardizing their career by throwing those participants into real danger.
Switching on Star Academy, I could not really understand the fun in watching a bunch of people eating, sleeping, talking, or wandering from one room to another. But a Saudi participated in the show; that was new. Over on the other channel, it was time for Alhawa Sawa, where a woman was shown combing her hair in a mirror. Minutes went by, and still she was combing her hair. Back on Star Academy, the group was engaged in an exercise class. I tried to watch the show for about 30 minutes, then I could not stand it any longer. Yet some people watch it for hours.
“Their lives are full of action,” a fan of the show had told me. “They sometimes make you feel how dull our own life is. When I have nothing to do or when I don’t find anything better to watch, I tune into the channel.” So perhaps it is emptiness that brings audiences to these shows. Perhaps it is time to examine our own lives instead of staying glued to the lives of others.
