TV Review: The Real World
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What Parents Should Know
Parents need to know that this landmark MTV series first
aired in 1992 (making it one of the first reality shows) and
has remained popular among teens and young adults over the
years. Each season follows seven new roommates who bring a wide
range of social, behavioral, physical, and sexual issues and
experiences to the table, including (but not limited to)
alcoholism, smoking, bar brawls, girls kissing for shock value,
hot tubbing, drunken parties, lewd sex talk, one-night
hook-ups, eating disorders, stereotypes, group showers,
concerns about body image and self worth, excessive drinking,
homosexuality, and racism. The housemates' ages range from
18-24, so it's no surprise that the show's topics are really
for a mature audience.
Families can discuss the housemates. Which ones do you relate to? Why? What appeals to teens about the show and its stars? Is this something they might aspire to be part of? Why? What are the redeeming qualities (if any) of this fishbowl environment? Which issues in a particular season made a specific housemate stand out? Are there any positive role models here, or is everyone a stereotype? Do you think the housemates are chosen to fit a particular "type"? Why would producers want to do that? Why do you think they edit the show's content to emphasize sex, partying, and conflict?
Common Sense Media Review
No matter which city is home to each new season of MTV's
iconic reality series THE REAL WORLD -- be it San Francisco,
New York, Austin, London, Seattle, Key West, or Denver -- the
set up is always the same. Seven strangers are picked to live
in a lavish house for six months and be filmed for viewers'
enjoyment. As they adapt to the zoo-like setting, they
typically face some unexpected twists. Without fail, their
close quarters create the kind of drama that reality TV thrives
on -- and it's all part of the show's deliberate formula.
It seems like every housemate is expected to conform to one of the following broad personality traits/backgrounds: naïve, small town/small minded, homosexual, bisexual, sexually confused, angry/bitter, drunken frat boy/sorority girl, loose, heavy drinker, or racist. In fact, so carefully are these boxes checked off every season that if you don't fit the bill, you probably won't make it to The Real World.
For the most part, conversations among the roommates are sexual in nature or center on their self doubt. Occasionally, someone declares their sexual preference or their need to get some action. The cast is typically left to entertain themselves. This means that housemates can often be found in the indoor Jacuzzi (a staple of every season) and drinking runs rampant. There are no televisions in the houses, but the Internet and phone are readily available. (Drunken phone calls back home to a loved one have become commonplace in the series.)
Each season's cast is assigned to a specific job and works with a local organization. Though considering how hard they party in the evenings, they often treat the responsibility of a job like a nuisance. In early seasons, jobs were community driven -- like helping build a playground for at-risk youths or serving as mentors. But commercialism inevitably prevailed, and later seasons have featured the cast doing things like building, running, and marketing a MysticTan salon.
Ulitmately, it's the show's carefully cultivated drama and the cast's "car crash" antics that have helped The Real World withstand the test of time. Fortunately for teens (and their parents), there's some competition in the form of MADE and True Life -- both reality series focused on the life of the typical teen, but set in a much more realistic "real world."
Common Sense Media is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing information to help parents make media and entertainment choices for their families.
