“Get ready for a blast from the past as a beloved early 00s reality show gets a fresh spin! Faking It, the outrageously entertaining program that had us all guessing, is back with a revamped edition that promises to bring the laughs and drama in equal measure. For those who missed the original, Faking It was the ultimate social experiment – take a group of misfits, pluck them from their comfort zones, and challenge them to convincingly assume new identities. The results were often cringe-worthy, and always addictive. Tonight, a new crop of contestants will attempt to fake their way to the top, and we can’t wait to see what ensues. So grab the popcorn, get comfy, and settle in for a night of hilarious deception – it’s time to fake it till you make it, all over again!”
Rethinking Reality TV
As someone who was part of the Castaway 2000 project, I have a unique perspective on the reality TV landscape. Ten years ago, I was one of 36 men, women, and children recruited to live on the remote Hebridean island of Taransay as part of the BBC project. It was ambitiously billed as a “bold new experiment for the new millennium,” and we were the guinea pigs who’d build a sustainable, self-sufficient community from scratch and fend for ourselves in the Scottish wilderness.
From Castaway to Faking It: A Personal Perspective
I was 44 years old, a gay man living in Twickenham, in pretty good shape – happy and content. I’d just retired from an acting career and begun a degree in counseling, supporting myself as a writer. I had a clear focus and direction, but curiosity got the better of me. A friend alerted me to the advert for Castaway, saying I’d be the only person they knew mad enough to give it a go. The concept intrigued me. What a fantastic opportunity to experiment with a different way of life; to learn about human nature and group dynamics.
Nobody was more surprised than me when I was selected. I was one of the first Castaways to be offered a place, and the last to sign the contract. I felt like a groom walking up the aisle on his wedding day, not really convinced that he’s doing the right thing. It didn’t take long to discover my gut instinct was right. On 27 December 1999, we left our homes and families, and on our arrival in Scotland, were told the island was not ready for habitation.
The Rise of Niche Reality Shows
MasterChef is old hat. The Apprentice has been rendered unpalatable thanks to its tendency to validate genuine monsters. Quite frankly, you have room for a new knockout reality television show in your life. So let me introduce you to Blown Away, the Great British Bake Off of artisanal glass-blowing tournaments.
A Canadian series that arrived on Netflix, Blown Away has been rammed to jiggery with every reality show cliche imaginable. There are two dispassionate judges. There are rounds where the glass-blowers have to create something that emotionally translates to a photograph. There is incidental music that ranges from plinky-plonk whimsy to end-of-the-world cluster migraine. There is a host who walks the line between “everyman” and “legitimately concussed” (one of the very first questions he asks is: “What exactly is glass?”).
A Generic Reality Show with a Twist
In one sense, Blown Away is such a generic reality show that it could have been designed by algorithm. And yet I am fascinated by it. I can’t stop watching it. I am only writing this to make you watch it, so I can have someone to talk to about it.
My fascination in part stems from the fact that glass-blowing is an intricate, high-level skill that combines artistic vision with physical heft. This isn’t MasterChef, where you can wander into the kitchen after an episode and replicate some of the techniques in your own home. This is just about as niche as it gets. The equipment is vast and expensive. The processes can only be achieved after years of intensive training. Everything about glass-blowing, at every step, screams: “This is not for you!”
Pretension and Personality in Reality TV
The Self-Consciously “Creative” Cast of Blown Away
The Pretentiousness of Glass-Blowing as a Medium
My fascination in part stems from the fact that glass-blowing is an intricate, high-level skill that combines artistic vision with physical heft. This isn’t MasterChef, where you can wander into the kitchen after an episode and replicate some of the techniques in your own home. This is just about as niche as it gets. The equipment is vast and expensive. The processes can only be achieved after years of intensive training. Everything about glass-blowing, at every step, screams: “This is not for you!”
So on this level, it’s incredible to watch talented people do something that you could never do. However, my fascination has another strand, and here it is. I think all glass-blowers might be jerks. Obviously this is a judgment that I have made from watching a television programme, which is a bit like watching DuckTales and coming to the conclusion that all waterfowl are embittered millionaires. I am sure plenty of glass-blowers exist in the world who aren’t jerks. However, that said, Blown Away does seem to have exclusively recruited from the jerkier end of the spectrum.
The Contestants
You got to hand it to them: the judges ponder one of the contestant’s creations. Photograph: David Leyes/Marble Media
What I love about the contestants is that they all appear to have been plucked from different but very specific eras in time. Edgar is a mid-90s skater boy; Janusz is a Peaky Blinder; Kevin has been dragged by the goatee from 1967 San Francisco. Leah looks like the presenter of a late-night 2002 Channel 4 awards show about architecture. Benjamin is a farmer from the 1860s. They are all, without exception, so self-consciously “creative” that it makes you worry about a potential deficit of drama teachers in Canada.
The Glass-Blowing Process
Glass, it turns out, is a very silly material to work with. If you move the wrong way, if you grab the wrong thing, if the temperature is just a couple of degrees out, then everything smashes into smithereens and you have lost hours of intricate toil. This is bad enough if you are only making a basic vase, but if you are pouring your heart into creating an abstract series of tubes that represents the idealism of the young artist while dealing with the horror and struggle of the Aids crisis, then any sort of error has to be unbelievably frustrating.
That example is real, by the way. One of the contestants really did try to filter the totality of the decades-long Aids crisis into a lump of curly glass. And this brings me to my absolute favourite thing about Blown Away; the utter, nonstop, turbocharged, million-percent, face-melting pretension of it all.
- A huge part of glass-blowing, which I didn’t even realise until now, is the ability to make it look like you’re trying to make something.
- The processes can only be achieved after years of intensive training.
- Everything about glass-blowing, at every step, screams: “This is not for you!”
Conclusion
In conclusion, the revamped reality show Faking It has made a triumphant return to TV tonight, breathing new life into the early 2000s phenomenon. The article has highlighted the show’s ability to cleverly balance humor and heart, making it an instant guilty pleasure for audiences. By re-examining the concept of identity and belonging, the show raises important questions about the human experience, encouraging viewers to reflect on their own relationships and aspirations.
The revamped Faking It holds significant implications for modern understanding of identity, community, and the human condition. As we continue to navigate the complexities of social media, the show’s exploration of what it means to fit in and find one’s tribe resonates deeply. Looking ahead, it will be fascinating to see how the show’s themes and characters evolve, and how audiences respond to its thought-provoking commentary. Ultimately, Faking It serves as a poignant reminder that, despite our differences, we are all searching for the same thing – authenticity, connection, and a sense of belonging.
As we settle in to watch the revamped Faking It, we are reminded that, in the end, it’s not about faking it, but about being brave enough to be ourselves. In a society where social media often presents a curated version of reality, this show’s message is a powerful antidote, encouraging us to embrace our imperfections and celebrate our individuality. As the show’s catchy tagline goes, “fake it till you make it” – but what if, in the process, we discover that our true selves are far more fascinating than we ever imagined?