ABSTRACT
Welcome to Reality TV. It's Friday night and I'm watching the finale of Teen Big Brother. It's an emotional experience. The remaining housemates sit around a table, choosing who will win the first Teen Big Brother. Commissioned by 4 Learning, the educational wing of Channel 4 in the UK, Teen Big Brother is an experiment in the reality genre. Part observational documentary, life experiment, educational programme, gameshow and soap opera, this reality programme has hit the headlines for being the first UK Big Brother to feature sex. ‘Bonk on Big Bruv’, says the Sun. ‘Horny Teens Show Big Bruv Way to Go’, adds the Daily Star. Love it or hate it, the programme is a popular topic for public debate. I'm watching Teen Big Brother to see what all the fuss is about. I missed the tears and tantrums, the backbiting and bedroom antics, only to tune in to the last ten minutes of the final programme. I'm gripped. The housemates explain why they should win. They go around the group, each one speaking with tightness in their throat. Everyone says the same thing: ‘I should win because I've been myself — what you see is what you get.’ Everyone cries. Everyone votes. The winner bursts into tears of gratitude, excitement and something else known only to them. And I watch with mixed feelings — fascination, anticipation, and scepticism. As I watch I'm enjoying the drama of the moment, and judging the reality of what I see on my television screen. This is my viewing experience of Teen Big Brother.
