"Kitten" From Big Brother - should we drown her?

[Lanesra]

Originally posted by bjorn: [img]smile.gif[/img] don't worry, i won't. but some seriotypes are just plain funny, i always enjoy being asked about the polar bears walking on the streets in sweden

Wow! really, aren't they dangerous though ?

[Lanesra]

Originally posted by Cloudbringer: I don't know whether to be more surprised at the historical/political discourse in a thread of this title, or that Donut actually seems to have watched the show!

Well, it's not as if he has to go to work is it ? [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Donut]

Originally posted by Epona: Am I the only one who thinks that, while Kitten was quite plainly a bit bonkers, she at least made BB worth watching if just to see what would happen next. I'm really not interested in watching it just to see if I can catch a glimpse of Stuart and Michelle going at it [img]graemlins/1puke.gif[/img]

Kitten did remind me somewhat of someone I know - can't quite put my finger on it though!

I'm not interested in those two - I'm more keen on a Jason, Daniel, Vanessa threesome!!

[Donut]

Originally posted by Cloudbringer: I don't know whether to be more surprised at the historical/political discourse in a thread of this title, or that Donut actually seems to have watched the show!

As this is the fifth BB I have finally outed myself to my family and friends. Yes - I watch BB. There, I've said, Say it loud and say it proud. No more clandestine meetings with other BB fans, no more whispering, no more worrying that the pseudo intelectuals will look down on me.

Going on my first BB Pride March next week - anyone got a whistle?!!

[Davros]

To think I once respected you....

Hold on - no I didn't .

[bjorn]

Originally posted by Lanesra: quote: Originally posted by bjorn: [img]smile.gif[/img] don't worry, i won't. but some seriotypes are just plain funny, i always enjoy being asked about the polar bears walking on the streets in sweden

Wow! really, aren't they dangerous though ? [/QUOTE]

well, there are no polar bears in sweden, what i find funny is that some people seem to think that [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Cloudbringer]

Originally posted by Lanesra: quote: Originally posted by Cloudbringer: I don't know whether to be more surprised at the historical/political discourse in a thread of this title, or that Donut actually seems to have watched the show!

Well, it's not as if he has to go to work is it ? [img]smile.gif[/img] [/QUOTE]Lordy...that's even scarier!

LOL Donut, you did it again...I'm picturing you all decked out in nothing but sandwich boards, declaring your undying devotion to and love of Big Brother, parading in the street....dang...that image of your panties in CE was less traumatic! My poor brain will explode!

[Barry the Sprout]

Sorry to resurrect this but Kitten did an interview in our lefty paper ("Solidarity") this week explaining herself and her views and thought it might be relevant. Here it is:


Kat Pinder, aka 'Kitten" from Big Brother, spoke to Sacha Ismail.

What made you decide to apply for Big Brother? It seems like an odd thing for a lefty to do...
Partly I thought it would be funny - I was bored with life and wanted a laugh. And partly I thought it could provide a platform - not a brilliant one, but a way of getting socialist and feminist views across and making people think.
The two aren't unconnected: the idea of causing some trouble on TV certainly appealed to me. Something like 20,000 people applied and there was a very intensive, multi-stage interview process; I was amazed I got through, because I was very upfront about my views. I kept telling the interviewers that I was going to argue politics, break the rules and try to get thrown out, but either they thought it was funny or they didn't care.

So do you think it was a useful platform?
I think perhaps I was a bit naive about it. Most people watch the edited highlights of Big Brother, and they were very careful to edit out any serious discussions. They showed stuff which backed up the public image they wanted - raving, ranting Kitten - and cut out the big politics. At one point, for instance, I got pretty much the whole house into a long discussion which touched on all sorts of issues - asylum-seekers, LGB liberation, the government, all sorts. All they showed on Channel 4 was the bit at the start when I had a rant at Marco. Possibly I came across as a bit of a dickhead, and I'm sorry I let them do that.

Could you say something about the relationship between the housemates, and between the housemates and 'the authorities'?
From watching the show, I knew on some level that it was all about control and obedience, but taking part in it is a real eye-opener about the mechanisms they use. Firstly, they use punishments to control individual behaviour, and secondly they rely on the group staying atomised and failing to work collectively. The punishments are hyper-effective, because you're in a sealed house with no means of communication and all the basics of life are provided at their whim. I got punished several times - for writing on the walls, climbing up on the roof of the house - but what they hated most was me trying to organise the housemates. On the first day, we were each supposed to visit the 'Diary room' to say who we wanted to have their suitcase confiscated. I refused and tried to persuade the others that if none of us did it there'd be nothing they could do. Unfortunately, everyone else did it, so they took my suitcase!
I think there's a pretty obvious parallel with trying to organise at work, or any collective struggle. The problem was that the other housemates were really eager to conform, not just because they might get thrown out and lose the money or whatever, but because speaking out's not the done thing. The producers and the media like it if you do 'crazy' things like eating weird food or shagging each other, but anything political is a no. So when other housemates wrote 'I am a chicken' on the walls, that was fine, but I wrote 'No war but class war' and got punished.
The whole thing was a very interesting, but also very unpleasant experience in the psychology of the prison guard - by the end, they were threatening to chuck out one housemate, picked at random, for every rule I broke. In the end I was thrown out by the producers, not by any sort of vote, but the housemates were probably relieved because I was making life difficult.

You've been all over the press. Any thoughts on that?
Just the obvious that the mainstream media are all about making money, and all about reinforcing right-wing ideas. They manipulated people who knew me to get as much out of them as possible, and when they couldn't do that just made things up. As big corporations, they also have the resources to get what they want out; I'm ashamed to admit it, but I did an interview with the News of the World, basically because I need the money. The other thing is how apolitical all the coverage was; 90% was lurid details of my personal life, and when they did include something political it was bent out of shape to fit tabloid stereotypes. The papers didn't give a ■■■■ that I'm a socialist feminist; it was all 'man-hating Kitten' and that kind of bollocks.

I don't know the exact figures, but millions of people are voting for Big Brother at a time when turn-out in elections is collapsing, particularly among young people. Why would you say that is?
In the past, there were obvious avenues for young people who wanted to change things - you could vote Labour, you could get involved in the left, there were strong trade unions. What's happening among young people is a more extreme version of what's happening generally; when there's no real political alternative, either in elections or in society, people switch off. But that desire to have a say in something is still there, and when people vote for reality TV it expresses itself in a horrible, alienated form. People are sitting at home and playing a totally passive role, thinking they have control over something, when in fact it has a sort of control over them.
I think the people in the Big Brother house were probably quite typical. When you talked to them, they did have opinions on things, but they had adopted this mindset where you can't be political. I had several arguments with people in the house where they said that they didn't feel exploited or oppressed, and I had to point out the rights they have only exist because people in the past have struggled for them. On that level, it was quite useful having Ahmed, who was an asylum-seeker from Somalia, in the house, because he obviously had a different perspective on things. Anyway, the people who vote for Big Brother aren't all stupid, far from it, but until we have a movement that gives people a real say, they'll continue to get excited about reality TV.
Part of the blame, I have to say, lies with the left. When I've been to socialist meetings, including AWL ones, they never seem designed to be accessible for new or young people who are just getting involved. I can't really talk because I haven't been as active as I should, but it's a point worth considering.

Finally, what would you say to someone who loves Big Brother?
If you can get excited about 10 random people in a house in Hertfordshire, why not get excited about what's going on the real world? Collective action can make a difference, and there's organisations and campaigns out there that you can join.

[Vaskez]

Originally posted by Barry the Sprout: You of all people should be able to recognise sarcasm. I know there are serious concerns but didn't want to de-rail the thread. I wanted to keep it jokey and lighthearted. More fool me.

Yeah I normally always recognise sarcasm, but your post wasn't written in a sarcastic style at all (which either tends to state the obvious or the obviously false, I bet you needed the explanation [img]tongue.gif[/img] ) and your post contained neither.

[Barry the Sprout]

I thought calling a legitimate idea a "foolish notion" would have tipped you off to it to be honest. I'm sorry you thought that was serious, I'm sorry if I'm normally unpleasant enough for that to be considered normal. I suppose I should have added a smilie but I tend to think thats cheating. Its like a comedian telling people when to laugh.

But thats just my opinion.