big brother 15

If you’re wondering why it’s more important now than ever before that CBS air all of the houseguests’ hate speech from Big Brother 15, it’s as simple as regarding this year’s twist: Big Brother MVP. It’s a shallow reason, but a valid one all the same. This year, Big Brother is asking the audience to have an influence in the game incomparable to what they’ve ever had before. The audience is tasked with voting for whom they think is playing the best game in the house every week. That person is able to nominate a third houseguest for eviction, in secret if they choose. In short: we’re kind of like our own houseguest inside the Big Brother house. Also in short: we’re not getting the full view of life inside the house.

Perhaps you have acquainted yourself with what some people are calling the most racist, homophobic and misogynistic Big Brother cast to date. In case you aren’t, Reality Blurred has complied a list of some hateful things the houseguests have said. The highlights include: Aaryn and GinaMarie saying that Asian houseguest Helen needs to shut up and cook more rice. (This list doesn’t include GinaMarie also suggesting she’d punch Helen so hard that her eyes will go straight.) Both Spencer and Amanda have called openly gay houseguest Andy a f*g. Spencer has referred to women as c*nts; Jeremy has continuously referred to women as b*tches. The n-word has come up multiple times. And the list just goes on and on.

CBS stated, in defense of not airing the houseguests’ vile speech, they “do not condone” what has been said, they even find it “offensive” and that whatever houseguests say do not reflect the views of CBS.

Full statement:

Big Brother is a reality show about watching a group of people who have no privacy 24/7 — and seeing every moment of their lives.  At times, the Houseguests reveal prejudices and other beliefs that we do not condone. We certainly find the statements made by several of the Houseguests on the live Internet feed to be offensive.  Any views or opinions expressed in personal commentary by a Houseguest appearing on Big Brother, either on any live feed from the House or during the broadcast, are those of the individual(s) speaking and do not represent the views or opinions of CBS or the producers of the program.

The problem, then, becomes that their actions appear as though they do condone blatantly editing them. If CBS doesn’t condone, as an example, Aaryn’s use of racist speech but continues to give her the sweet southern belle edit*, then how is that not a direct misconception of her actual demeanor? It upsets the image they want the audience to perceive her as, which is akin to Jordyn 2.0. I suppose that’s fine and dandy in previous seasons when the audience was nothing but a spectator in the sport (although it still was not OK), but now the audience is somewhat of a promulgator.

Viewers directly affect the game.

We have the ability to give someone in the house one of the most influential powers this season, to grant someone the role of nominating another person for eviction.

You might say that we should be voting on who plays the best game, and racism or homophobia or misogyny doesn’t qualify. That’s totally nonsense. Big Brother is a social game, as well. It’s perhaps the most important factor of the entire game; most people win because they played a good social game, as the final tally is usually made with emotions in mind. And the houseguests knew shortly after entering the house that America was going to be voting for the BBMVP. They knew going in that there are cameras in every single room of the house. They knew that thousands of people will be watching them live 24/7 and every night at midnight on TVGN. More importantly, they knew CBS could air whatever they wanted in front of millions three times a week.

And still — still — they choose to behave and talk as they do.

By editing out their most vile selves, CBS is denying us the right to formulate a knowledgeable decision on who should be given the BBMVP power in the house. The houseguests are allowed uncensored access. As influencers of the game, why aren’t the millions watching allowed that same access? Sure, everyone is allowed to watch the live feeds — for a price. The people at Big Brother know the tiniest fraction of viewers actually ever buy access to the live feeds.

And that is only one of the more shallow reasons to air the houseguests in all their glory. There’s no denying that the Big Brother producers cast these people in hopes that they would ruffle some feathers inside the house. (It’s why the intros during premiere episodes always have one person saying the types of personalities they don’t mesh well with, and then it cuts to a person with that aforementioned personality.) We know what we hope for when we watch Big Brother: trash talking and alliances. That said, there’s potential for Big Brother to be a true social experiment.

Then again, with just four minority houseguests (Andy, Candice, Helen and Howard), what are the chances they ever considered that?

Perhaps the people at Big Brother think ratings will dwindle if they showcase the houseguests uncensored. But ratings this season have been an anomaly. Last year, Big Brother premiered to 7.09 million viewers and a 2.6/8 in the 18-49 demo, according to TVByTheNumbers. This year, the premiere rang in at 6.31 million viewers overall and 2.1/7 in the demo. And last night’s ratings hit new lows. (One could argue that premiering earlier than usual and on a different night could have affected the numbers.)

This summer, controversial topics on race, gay rights, and women’s rights are palpable. The George Zimmerman trial, carrying an undeniable race context, is forefront in Americans’ minds. Heck, Paula Deen’s admission of using the n-word has been a hot issue for the past couple of weeks. CNN aired analysis on both topics with The N Word, and saw a boost of 90% in ratings. Paula Deen’s interview on the Today Show beat rival Good Morning America in the ratings, too, according to Deadline. (Today has recently been struggling to regain its usual top spot against GMA.) They’re news programs, but the ratings prove that Americans are interested in these controversial issues, not the inverse.

LGBT rights and women’s rights thankfully have been centers of discussion with SCOTUS’ ruling on DOMA and Sen. Wendy Davis’ filibuster, respectively.

These issues are topical this summer (though they should always be), garnering an exceptional amount of media attention together. But Big Brother refuses to be a part of the conversation. This year’s paltry attitude by producers toward the houseguests’ hateful words has been receiving an inordinate amount of media attention unlike seasons prior. So much so, there have been real consequences; houseguest GinaMarie was fired by her employer, according to TMZ, for displaying “such acts of hate and racism.” Aaryn was also fired.

At worst, Big Brother is a void in a television slot three hours each week during the summer. At best, it’s pure guilty pleasure entertainment. You might argue that it’s not the producers’ jobs to be America’s moral compass. Sure, Big Brother could be a commentary on the social status of our nation and the people who comprise it. Or it could package the entertainment category they’re trying to fulfill and air that instead while simultaneously giving us an erroneous account of who these people are. Sadly, nothing suggests otherwise.

*UPDATE: During the first live broadcast, CBS clearly gave Aaryn a more antagonizer edit.