Acting The Part

We live in strange times. Authenticity is a key aspect of the current Zeitgeist. I have only watched about ten minutes of "Big Brother" and this was enough. It bored me to pieces. I didn't get it. Why? The thing that struck me immediately was that these supposed "real people" were clearly acting. Now I have never been a great theatrical fan. I have seen some wonderful productions but I have also seen things in west end theatres that have made me want to cringe in my seat. I do however love cinema and in this context the performance of the actors is critical to the emotional experience. But there is something curious going on here too. The bigger the name of the actor (with some exceptions) the less I am impressed by their performances. I think this is partly because we see these "actors" in the media to such an extent that it becomes difficult to separate their persona from the part they are playing. Another thing is the obsession the media seems to have with, already well known personalities, taking part in TV shows where they are doing something other than what they are essentially known for. Whether this be dancing, cooking, surviving, or whatever, they are are playing another role for our supposed entertainment. It could be said that one reason why this obsession with "reality TV" has emerged is because it is cheap television but another factor is that personalities have become more important than expertise. We want to see the people that we know as personalities undertaking almost anything so long as they are there. I must say that for my taste this is unsavoury. I think I could finally say that it would be the end of the world as we know it if David Attenborough was seen on some reality TV programme learning how to cook or garden or something.