This
construction of hope begins in the opening scene of every episode where Nev and
his sidekick Max read the email from their soon to be “guest” on the show and
call or Skype with them to get the first part of their story. There are usually
small hints as to why the person might not be real, but these are skimmed over
for the most part and the topic of conversation is based on their connection,
how they started talking, and how much they desperately want to finally meet
the love of their life. This gives us viewers a sort of mini love story which
we as a society tend to support, encourage, and hope for. We connect to this
guest as if they were a friend in need. Nev and Max then pack up and travel to
their guest’s house to meet up and discuss the situation further. This is when
the logical side starts pulling us in.
On
their way to their guest’s house, Max and Nev share their thoughts, most being
skeptical and some being hopeful. When Max and Nev meet their guest they start
digging in right away and asking questions to get leads and try to find gaps in
their story or clues to who they might really be. Most of this first in person conversation with
their guest is still usually hopeful that the person is real and suggests that
maybe some of their stories have been lies but that the person is still who
they say they are. Max is generally more skeptical than Nev, maybe because Nev
knows exactly how the guest feels and quite possibly hopes their catfish is the
real person just as much as they do. Nev said in an interview “I want to
connect people with each other in the same way I tried to find connection in my
film” (Zeitchik, 2010). Nev keeps our emotional connection in the back of our
minds by being sympathetic and hopeful. He genuinely wants this to work out for
the guest which in turn makes us want it to work out. Max, however, thinks
logically and critically and so his skepticism makes us think critically as
well. We are being pulled in both directions simultaneously.
After getting
more background information, Nev and Max leave to start their research and
investigation, AKA Facebook creeping. They continue to be mostly optimistic
even as they uncover more and more about the catfish. They maintain the
innocent (real) until proven guilty (fake) mentality rather than assuming the
catfish is a fake and attempting to find the proof that they are real. This
keeps us hopeful even though most of what they are finding out screams to us
that the catfish is not being truthful at all. This goes back to fact that Nev
has been in this position and really wants it to work out. One of the “Catfish”
documentary producers, Henry Joost, said in an interview "What Nev's story
does is speak to the idea that if you want something to be true badly enough,
you'll overlook a lot of red flags," (Zeitchik, 2010). Nev and the guest
are looking past a lot of the red flags, and a part of us wants to look past
them too because we want it to work out also.
When Nev and Max
return to the guest to reveal the information they have found, they break the
hard stuff to them gently and present the good stuff optimistically. In most cases
we connect with the guest over their vulnerability and anxiety and hope for
their sake that the parts that make us skeptical are just weird circumstances
and that their story will have a happy ending. In some cases however, the guest’s
reaction to the bad news is too shallow and we find ourselves against them in a
way. In both situations, we have been guided to a point where we think we know
that the catfish is fake, but we want to know who they are and why they have
lied about the things they have lied about. Nev and Max then continue to search
for answers and eventually make contact with the catfish to try and set up a
way for them to meet.
The meeting is
almost always what we expect, that the person is not who they say they are. We
feel like we knew the entire time because all of the things Nev and Max uncovered
pointed to the catfish being someone other than who they said they were. At the
same time however the optimism up to this point, the connection we felt with
the guest, and our societal support of love stories has made us hopeful that they
might, by some small miracle, be who they said they were.
The show always ends
with some sort of closure. Nev and Max and usually the guest go back after the
initial shock wears off and talk to the catfish to really understand the
motives behind the fake profile. Even though the happy ending is not what we
initially had hoped for, the show generally ends on a good note. This is one
thing the show is aiming for, they want us to see the catfish’s side too. In an
interview with the LA Times the chief executive of the TV unit of the
entertainment company said that they are interested “in the fallout, in who’s
on the other end of the computer screen. They’re usually not bad people, just
looking for a connection too” (Zeitchik, 2012). Max said in an interview, “The
catfish wants to come clean; it’s therapeutic…..we’re not pointing fingers, we’re
not judging them” (Vilensky, 2013) The show is not being made to make us hate
the catfish and hope for failure, they want us to be hopeful even when the odds
are against the catfish being a real person the way the story is presented
helps facilitate this.
Works Cited
Vilensky, M.
(2013, May 13). Heard & scene: 'catfish' host on internet love and new online
film. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1350142292?accountid=14663
Zeitchik, S.
(2010, September 19). ‘Catfish’ blurs line between documentary and feature
film. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved
from http://articles.latimes.com/2010/sep/19/entertainment/la-ca-catfish-20100919
Zeitchik, S. (2012,
November 09). ‘Catfish: The TV Show’ on MTV looks into online relationships. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from http://articles.latimes.com/2012/nov/09/entertainment/la-et-st-catfish-tv-20121110
I think this show is very interesting to watch because like you said when they meet you normally expect the other person to not be who they say they are. But when, during the few times, they actually end up being who they say they are it's a huge relief for both parties which is kind of nice! It's a very intriguing to get to watch online dating incorporated with what happens in the "everyday" persons life.
ReplyDeleteI really liked your blog post and the various directions you chose to take it. I think it is extremely important that we, as viewers of reality television programming, realize that we are conditioned through society to be skeptical of scenarios like this, but also to remain hopeful that true love will prevail, just like in the fairytales. I found it to be extremely helpful that you almost played devils advocate in your blog post, highlighting the various emotions we as audience viewers at home go through while watching this show. As you stated, on one hand we almost want this to be another situation in which the person they've been talking to is a catfish, but we always remain optimistic that maybe this time it will be different. I think this is particularly interesting because I feel that we are the same way in our relationships in real life. There are times where things aren't good, and they keep up the same bad, monotonous pattern; yet we always keep that glimmer of hope that maybe this time it will be different. I really enjoyed reading about the different emotions the audience viewers go through, because not only have I watched the show and enjoyed it, I can relate to the emotions you're describing. I think the producers of this show are brilliant for the way they go about editing and producing this show in particular. They are able to produce just the right about of skepticism and optimism, all while tugging at your heartstrings to feel genuinely bad or happy for this person--depending on how the situation plays out. All in all, I love the premise of this show, because I think we can all learn something from it. I really enjoyed the quotes you used and they helped me to better understand where the producers are coming from while going across the country to help people either find the person they love, or to find the person they've truly been talking to all along. I think your analysis of the show describing it, as a tug of war with our emotions was a brilliant analogy that couldn't be any more close to the truth. It's so interesting how you emphasize that we trust the producers even more so because one has gone through the experience many of the people on the show will be facing, depending on their specific outcome. Great blog post and really interesting points made, well done!
ReplyDeleteI think this show is so interesting and hilarious at the same time, especially how some of the catfish profiles are so ridiculous. There was an episode once where the girl thought she was dating "Lil BowWow"...first of all, if she pays attention to any celebrity news it's been years since he has gone by that. So at that point, like why even get yourself set up for failure? Besides the fact that like you mentioned we enjoy watching people fail (which is terrible of us).
ReplyDeleteI think it was definitely important for your blog that you mentioned Nev had been in the situation before (for those who had never watched it before) and it really set your tone that it isn't just another 'reality' show, but more of like a documentary type of show.
Great blog overall!
I think this show is so interesting and hilarious at the same time, especially how some of the catfish profiles are so ridiculous. There was an episode once where the girl thought she was dating "Lil BowWow"...first of all, if she pays attention to any celebrity news it's been years since he has gone by that. So at that point, like why even get yourself set up for failure? Besides the fact that like you mentioned we enjoy watching people fail (which is terrible of us).
ReplyDeleteI think it was definitely important for your blog that you mentioned Nev had been in the situation before (for those who had never watched it before) and it really set your tone that it isn't just another 'reality' show, but more of like a documentary type of show.
Great blog overall!
I totally agree that people are more fascinated with failure then success with shows like this. I like how you talked about the side of the catfisher to. I always wondered why the person who was lying about themselves the whole time would ever want to go on television and be paraded as a crazy person. Your blog got me thinking if the producers actually want the person to find if their being lied to or if they are who they say they are. I just don't know if people would watch the show if there wasn't the great possibility that the person would go through the whole process of finding their soul-mate, and the person actually being who they said they were. I also agree with what you said about Nev, he brings an emotional level to it, because he has been in the same boat as every person on the show, and it shows that it can happen to anyone, because he seems like a pretty normal dude.
ReplyDeleteI really like how you touched on the fact that society deep down wants these "fairytale" love stories to work out, while at the same time toying with cynicism. We don't know which to believe. I personally find myself hoping the couple will work out because there is nothing more awkward than watching the first face-to-face meeting when the girl finds out she's been screwed with for the last 5 years of her life. I think you made some great points in this post and agree with a lot of them. I also agree with what Stephanie mentioned about Nev's past with online relationships and how that ties into the show. It allows the audience to trust his instincts and his genuine desire to help these people out.
ReplyDelete