El Gaffney

A Note About Transparency

Back at Fallon, I wrote a post about how my understanding of Pharrell’s authenticity was called into question.

I concluded with the point that though I’d started replacing “Authentic” with “Transparent” (when it came to how a company should behave), it was less of a choice and more of an imperative.

A few weeks ago I was reminded of this fact—that you can’t hide the truth—when I read this story about one of my favorite shows, Man Vs. Wild. Long story short, Bear Grylls, who had become a relative hero to me and my crew by surviving/making his way out of isolated/ treacherous environments/situations (lots of slash-ies like Fabio), was discovered to be staying at hotels, getting help and consultation, etc. Basically, he was not doing what the show claimed he was.

You can get a sense from this video which I stumbled upon this weekend (forgot where).
There’s no denying Bear’s still a badass, but I have not watched an episode since. He lost my trust and even though the show promises to be “completely 100% transparent” from now on (and to go back and edit past episodes based on the truth), I will be turning my attention to (or DVR to record) Survivorman or Iron Chef or some other show like The Hills, which hasn’t lost my trust. Strangely, this happening has not negatively affected my view(ership) of the Discovery Channel.

But either way, remember: In this transparent world, you may only get one shot at honesty.

Tags: authenticity, manvswild, realitytv, transparency

I Watched Age of Love So You Don’t Have To

You could really stop reading right there. But in case you want some answers, here’s what I am anticipating:

What is Age of Love anyway?
It has been dubbed “the ultimate social experiment.” One man, ex-tennis star Mark Philippoussis, looks to find one love within a group of 13 women – 7 of whom are in their 40s and 6 of whom are in their 20s. In the end, we will see not if, but how age matters. (Note: one woman is 39, so hopefully he picks her and the whole experiment loses its merit.)

Why did you watch in the first place?
I admit I’m usually quite entertained by reality TV and like keeping up on it for pop culture IQ purposes. NBC is at the top of my consideration set for new programming (though quickly losing ground to ABC after the recent Bachelor and my favorite show on TV, Brothers & Sisters). Plus, I’m a tennis fan.

What did you think of the women?
We’ve only met the older group, so of course I’ll probably watch next week to see the “cat fight” between cougars and kittens — NBC’s words not mine! But the older group did not look their age and some may say didn’t act it. I don’t know if I’d say the latter. They definitely seemed young at heart, and although there was still the “some of the women are hogging Mark” comments, that seems more about competition and overall the women acted classier than typical/younger show contestants.

What did you think of Mark P.?
He does not have a poker face. He was completely stunned (and not in a pleasantly surprised way) by the age of the women and it showed. He’s pretty uninteresting and bland so far. And not in a way that’s kind of fun to make fun of. However, in reading up on some press, I experienced shock to find out he’s actually 134th in the world of tennis. I had no idea he was still playing. I wonder if anyone will start to call him by his nickname, Scud (for his fast serve).

What’s your rating?
1 star of 5.

Why not zero?
Mark’s inability to hide his shock was mildly amusing as are the 48 year old assistant to the Lakers president’s confessionals. I think the interaction between the different aged women will seemed scripted even by reality standards. Regardless, that tension will just make me feel awkward. As said, I’ll most likely watch next week. That’s all.

Tags: ageoflove, realitytv, relationships, tennis

Word of the Week: Bevistated

(bev-i-stated)
Adj.
1. Overwhelmed; confounded; stunned; (more shocked, less awed).
2. Left unmarried and feeling unmarriable.

Sentence: I was genuinely bevistated, so I took my shirt off, ran, and recentered; then sat on a rock in the ‘thinking man’s’ pose.

Tags: realitytv, vocabulary