Emotional Pornography

Emotional Pornography

The current crop of reality television shows demonstrates a new low in modern society. Most people, in western societies at least, circumscribe boundaries around what they will expose of themselves. For this reason anyone who undresses in public, or exposes what are generally considered to be "private parts" of themselves, tends to be viewed as odd at best, and pathological at worst. The recent tragic breakdown of the director of Kony 2012 is a case in point: his very public nude exposure was seen by most to perhaps be driven by drug misuse, or serious mental illness. Many people smirked at his antics, partly because they were so unusual.

Most people maintain personal boundaries that are well defined. We see the spectrum from those who wouldn't be seen dead" in anything but full covering. Many Islamic women are, if you like, one end of the spectrum. In public they are covered head to toe, including their face. At the other end of the spectrum others may simply be clothed in very short dresses or shorts and singlet tops covering the minimum body area deemed to be "decent". The recent case of Lara Bingle being photographed nude through her window as she closed the curtains, and resultant furore and debate about personal privacy, is an example of someone who often makes her living by wearing the least amount deemed decent, yet was scandalized by the invasion of her privacy.

Physical exposure is not the only area where society establishes boundaries. Emotions too are generally circumscribed, and again there is a spectrum of exposure deemed appropriate. Think about the term "wears his heart on his sleeve". This is an example of someone whose personal emotional disclosure is at the end of the acceptable spectrum. Anyone who is indiscriminate about their emotional disclosures can make others around them squirm with embarrassment or pity. They are seen as socially awkward or simply weird. Of course at the other end of this spectrum are those we would describe as stoic or emotionally inhibited.

Shows such as Biggest Loser and Big Brother take television to a new low of emotional disclosure that I can only describe as emotional pornography. The directors of these shows and their ilk spend a great deal of creativity and money contriving situations where individuals are broken down to a point where their personal boundaries become trashed and they lose sight of what is normal. They are quarantined away from the rest of the world, their family, support networks and the world. Twenty four hours a day they are spied upon with secret cameras, bullied, and emotionally manipulated for the capricious delight of audiences who don't give a damn about the self worth of the individual, so long as there is some new titillation to talk about with their friends, and that to make them feel supercilious because they aren't that “stupid". The irony is that while they spend their time bolstering their own ego, they don't realize that they have just participated in the humiliation of another human being who has been (often willingly) manipulated into trashing their personal boundaries.

This is a sad low to which modern humanity has descended. I can only hope it is a fad with a short life-span.