Reality TV – the new RPG?
Now I never really played role-playing games myself. Those were more the exclusive realm of boys than football was. The games themselves seem to be interesting enough. You build a character in an imaginary world where incredible things are possible. Then you devise ways to make your character interact with other players’ characters within the rules of the game. But if you are reading closely, you are already seeing the resemblance to reality television (which I never really watched much, either).
See, reality television takes people out of their elements (even the original MTV’s Real World) and places them in imaginary situations, though for extended periods of time. And while in these imaginary situations, people must create characters. They do this sometimes to win a game and sometimes to protect their emotions from the cruelty of characters created by the other participants. Am I making any sense? The participants behave within the bounds of their characters’ identities and within the boundaries of the rules of the show/game.
I think I have made my comparison well, but there are definitely areas that I am forgetting so please bring them to my attention. Ugh. I wish My brain was working better to put this together more clearly.
