Category: Media
Posted by McKinzie Brantley on Wed, Nov 18, 2009 at 6:57 AMControversial 'Cast Offs' challenges assumptions about people with disabilities
As much as I hate to admit it, I watch more than my fair share of reality TV. I wish I had access to British TV so I could watch "Cast Offs." It's a new pseudo-reality show that's styled after programs like "Survivor" but featuring characters with disabilities.
According to a story from Time.com, "The show, scheduled to begin airing on Britain's Channel 4 on Nov. 24, is a mockumentary-style drama that apes the reality format it satirizes and seethes with sex, profanity and gloriously politically incorrect dialogue. But it stars actors who in real life share the same disabilities of the characters they portray."
The show's mission, according to creator Joel Wilson, was to create "something broadly satirical that would poke fun at the way disability is generally viewed ... We wanted to show the disabled were no more and no less...(screwed)... up than anyone else."
The show sounds like fun. I wonder if viewers, more conditioned to the lack of reality in reality TV, will get the joke?
What's your favorite reality TV show? Do you think "Cast Offs" is worthwhile or just another gimmick?
