Question of the Day: Metaphors for Authoritarianism
What are all the connotations that spring to mind when you hear “Big Brother”? How about when you hear “Nanny State”? How do you think a newspaper cartoonist might represent these two different ideas as people? No need to edit out the sexist stuff – that’s what I’m trying to get at, how we’re programmed [...]
A national electronic health & social record
I’m officially creeped right the fuck out by Trevor Kerr’s article in Croakey, “Why the secrecy about data, when it could help everything from influenza to child protection“. I find any suggestion of national electronic medical records disturbing at the best of times, because the issue of abuse and data protection are overwhelmingly obvious. Or [...]
Big Brother Friday: Noirin sets her boundaries and is ignored, again
In case you’ve been wondering what’s been going on with Noirin in the Big Brother UK house, the good news is that Sree got booted out by the public, with a huge proportion of the eviction vote. Did he get pilloried in his eviction interview? No. Apart from a little gentle ribbing on his overestimation [...]
Whitewashed!
Anyone here notice anything about the USAn Big Brother 11 cast?
BBUK: Angel and Noirin: Fake-fat-shaming and the induction of self-hate as a motivational tool
I’ll be posting the odd BB clip to illustrate a common conversation that goes on every day, as a conversation trigger. You don’t have to watch the show to join in; the issues are standalone, and I’ll put in bits of background to show where people are coming from. Please don’t post to tell me [...]
“At least I’ve got my two legs” – BBUK
Big Brother UK is on again. I always enjoy BBUK the most, possibly because the casting is the most diverse of the Anglosphere Big Brother shows, possibly because the edit and setup is a bit less artificial than the others, so you get to see more of the real people – or at least, you [...]
Marry, shag, or throw off a cliff? Reality TV edition
I’ve been agonising over whether to post this M/S/C instalment, for the same reasons that I get a bit squicky over RPS. Are reality TV hosts fictionalised enough that we can have a bit of fun with their on-screen personae? I do ask that you confine yourself, in this post, to looking at them as [...]
Blokes calling out blokes: Tommy on Celebrity Big Brother UK
The sixth season of Celebrity Big Brother UK is underway.
Rapper, self-confessed “shit-stirrer”, and supremely annoying fuckknuckle Coolio, who has been engaged in a prolonged campaign of sexual harassment against Ben and Michelle, is the one getting on my wick the most.
Big Brother Friday: Are they doing it deliberately?
April and Ollie (the ‘clean-living’ Pentecostal preacher’s son) are having a showmance on Big Brother Ten USA. The whole shebang – unprotected PIV sex (he withdrew) and all. Go, abstinence-only education! Here’s host Julie Chen interviewing them about their showmance, in the presence of all the housemates.
Ben had a Bad Day: Schadenfreude and the Big Brother Australia “Big Sting” farce
So who caught Big Brother: The Big Sting last night? The show that went to air could have been edited to half the size, but it was still comedy gold for anyone keen on a bit of Ben-and-Rory schadenfreude. For background, Ben and Rory were two-thirds of the gang of thugs who tormented and assaulted [...]
Big Brother gets the boot
Channel Ten’s dropped the show. Endemol thinks they can sell it to someone else. Really?
BB Friday: Intruder Belinda joins the “but he’s BLIND!!!” game
Day 35 of Big Brother UK, and everyone is struggling with the Irish Dancing & Drumming task. Click To Play note: This is a five and a half minute video, which I’ve summarised but not transcribed yet – it’s school holidays and I’ve been a low-spoon-y. If anyone needs a transcription, please let me know. [...]
Racist talk and sexual harassment escalating in the Big Brother Australia house
After posting about racism, sexism, assault, and the differences in response between BB UK and BB Australia, I missed Big Brother on Friday night. And oh boy, did I miss something. Terri, avowed Pauline Hanson supporter, “joking” about Nobbi’s “slanted”, “slitty” eyes, including loud wondering about how on earth Nobbi can see out of them. [...]
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