The+Real+World


 * The Real World **

**//The Real World://** **A Summary** For 25 seasons now, MTV’s smash hit reality televisions show, //The Real World//, has been changing the face of television. With it’s non-scripted content, the show attempts to give America a taste of what it is like when “ eight strangers... picked to live in a house...work together and have their lives taped... to find out what happens... when people stop being polite... and start getting real...” (//The Real World// opening credits). The show certainly has had an enormous impact on the television world, being one of the first successful reality shows ever and paving the way for successful shows like American Idol and Big Brother to come after it. While that impact it has had on the media is certainly important, it is also important to take a look at the effects the show has had on our youth. Viewers are constantly given images of the cast mates drinking, smoking, partying, and hooking up, and it has certainly had an impact on American teenagers who are watching the show. With its blatant sex appeal tactics and interesting cast members, it is certainly a hard show to pass up. **// The Real World //**** and Unsafe sex ** One of the most notorious seasons, 13 held in Las Vegas, will forever go down in history as one of the most graphic seasons to ever air. Cast mates Trishelle and Steven were attracted to each other from the start, and it led to a great plot line for the show. Both were young and in no hurry to have kids or catch a STI, yet Trishelle never popped a birth control pill and Steven never used a condom (Mahoney, 2003). Towards the middle of the season, their actions finally hit them in the face when Trishelle’s period was 2 weeks late. Finally, after many discussions of kids and the future, Steven bought Trishelle a pregnancy test and she found out that she was luckily, not pregnant. Then they went back to their old ways of hooking up and having fun, as if nothing ever happened. Another controversial season was season 2 in Los Angeles, when cast mate Tami found out she was pregnant after having unsafe sex with an unspecified man she met while taping the show (Mahoney, 2003). Tami allowed MTV to follow her through the abortion process, giving viewers an up close view of the trials you go through when having an abortion. MTV does provide condoms for the cast mates, but it is of course the individual’s decision as to whether or not they want to use them. **//The Real World//** **and Homosexual relationships** Just about every season, MTV makes sure to have a gay cast member. Whether it is to start up conflicts or educate people about their lifestyles, there is almost always a good story line surrounding those members. One example of when a gay relationship as used as a means to increase ratings and create controversy was in season 13, Las Vegas. Wallace-Wells writes that “ the girl-on-girl action gave the moment a certain edgy salaciousness that had eluded dramatic high points of previous editions of the show, most of which involved too-drunk cast members stumbling about” (Wallace-Wells, 2003). This was not a major plot line in the season because the two cast members who participated were not gay, but the act certainly caught people’s attention and made headlines. While many of the gay relationships are for fun, some of the gay or bisexual cast members have worked hard to make a difference while they are filming. Real World 23 (D.C.) cast member, Mike Manning, was a bisexual 22 year old who got involved with the Human Rights Campaign while filming the show (O’Bryan, 2010). He helped to educate both the cast members that season, and the youth of America, about being a gay or bisexual person and fought to help people respect those individuals. **//The Real World//** **and Sexually Transmitted Diseases** While many of the messages sent through //The Real World// regarding sex are not ones you want to emulate, there are some people who really make a difference through the impact of the show. The most memorable member of all the seasons, Pedro Zamora, was a HIV positive cast memberon the 1994 San Francisco season. An openly gay man, Pedro “ brought a scrapbook of his education work to show his cast mates, immediately lectured them on HIV transmission and took them along on his speaking gigs” (Sicha, 2009). The show became a great platform for Pedro to help open peoples minds about gay people and people infected with the disease. Zamora passed away on November 11, 1994 at the age of 22, the day after the last episode of his season aired on MTV. MTV later developed a movie entitled //Pedro// that shared his story.

**//The Real World//****: Message** When watching the show, it can sometimes be difficult to understand the messages that MTV is trying to promote regarding sex. In 1992 when the show premeired, it was “ an odd experiment in exhibitionism and voyeurism. It seemed as if co-creators Mary-Ellis Bunim and Jon Murray were really interested in revealing the fears, hopes and lives of people between the ages of 18 and 25” (Graham, 2004). With storylines covering racism, HIV and AIDS, and abortion, the show had the potential to really open the eyes of the youth to what were seen as taboo topics. In current seasons, those important topics are much less the focus and instead MTV seems to be promoting a show about getting drunk and hooking up. Graham puts it perfectly when she closes her article writing that “if "The Real World" was once a fascinating window into the lives of young adults, now it's little more than a Peeping Tom snatching glimpses of what happens when people stop being polite and start getting drunk and naked.” (Graham, 2004). But whether it is sending a message to be responsible or irresponsible, the show has a stopping power unlike many others and will be around for years to come.

Graham, Renee. [|"MTV's 'Real World' turns into 'The Carnal Camera Show'"], [|//The Boston Globe//]; September 26, 2004
 * References**

Juicefairy. "Real World Reunion- Bring Back the Old Favorites! — A Girl Living on a Budget … Fashion, Beauty, Entertainment & Lifestyle Tips." //A Girl Living on a Budget… Fashion, Beauty, Entertainment & Lifestyle Tips.//

Mahoney, Jerry. "Mixed Signals, Lost Morals, and Unsafe Sex in Sin City: Steven & Trishelle from 'Real World Las Vegas'" //Reality TV Hall of Shame//. 30 Apr. 2003.

O'Bryan, Will. "Coming Out Mike-sexual: Real World's Mike Manning Talks about God, Government and Going Both Ways: Feature Story Section: Metro Weekly Magazine, Washington, DC Newspaper." //Metro Weekly: Gay DC News Magazine//. 7 Jan. 2010.

Sicha, Choire. "Pedro Zamora: from 'Real World' to Real Legend - Latimes.com." //Los Angeles Times - California, National and World News - Latimes.com//. 31 Mar. 2009.

Wallace-Wells, Benjamin (November 18, 2003). [|"Reality Killed the Video Star"]. [|//The Washington Monthly//]. Archived from [|the original] on March 24, 2006.