Colonial House
In my opinion, the best reality show is on PBS: Colonial House. Participants spend four months in a simulated New England colony circa 1628, during which time they attempt to keep alive and generate revenue for the colonial company back home in England. I find the series fascinating not just for the historical stuff but as an exercise in group dynamics.
Although these people are constantly surrounded by cameras, they adapted to their new "primitive" circumstances readily enough. Several people were designated "indentured servants" (presumably by the program's producers) and assigned families to work for. One fellow (a Baptist minister from Waco) was appointed the governor for the colony. It is instructive to see how easily the people at both extremes in this mini-society assumed their roles. The servants soon called the families they worked for "masters", without even a self-conscious twinge. The governor began running things in no time at all. Of course, I am not sure if this is indicative of some larger sociological phenomena or simply a group of people getting into the spirit of the project and role-playing as best they can. But it is nonetheless very interesting to watch this dynamic in action.
There is one couple who just don't seem to get it. They work hard enough, to be sure (and it looks like very hard work). But they can't wrap their heads around the very different social expectations in a 17th century colony. The women have no political rights and are not involved in the men's discussions. The indentured servants have no rights at all. Everyone is expected to attend Sabbath services on Sunday. The couple are not religious and refuse to attend Sabbath, even though such an act would have had dire social consequences. The wife is constantly bickering about the fact that she has no rights (although it is interesting to see how the women influence events in other ways). They seem to be making things more difficult than it has to be because they are not getting into the spirit of the thing. Come to think of it, that is how a lot of teenagers behave!
2 Comments:
Ha! Teenagers indeed! "Frontier House" was another good show on PBS, with the same interesting social dynamics, and the same whining modern people who couldn't deal... And the teenagers on Frontier House were appalled at how much they were required (by circumstances!) to do to help the family. I believe it's evidence of how spoiled modern culture has become. Don't get me wrong - I love my Playstations and Big Macs as much as the next guy. But I also wonder if there was some Roman guy like me back before their empire fell wondering how long it was all going to last, or some British guy like me thinking that "the sun would never set" on British technological superiority. There was an interesting show on Animal Planet where scientists speculated on the evolutionary progression a few hundred centuries into the future. Humans were curiously absent... How much is the majority of mankind contributing to our survival as a species?... When it comes right down to it, how many would rather just sit in the mud and whine?...
Well, when it comes right down to it, all anyne has to do to contribute to the survival of the species is to procreate. And do the minimum work necessary to make sure their kids survive.
The rest is gravy.
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