Philosopher Karl Marx urged his supporters to understand that someone is always benefitting from every bad situation. This ideal is applicable to the Manti Te’o hoax. Te’o, the college football star, allegedly deceived the nation by making up a girlfriend who succumbed to leukemia in order to bolster his image. As it turned out, Te’o was just supremely naïve and did not intentionally deceive the public. The entire situation became a waste of time for everyone involved, but as Marx taught, there were a few who benefitted. As a result of Te’o’s scandal, MTV’s controversial show, “Catfish,” which deals with many of the same themes found in Te’o’s case, has become increasingly popular among young viewers. In addition, like the Te’o scandal, “Catfish” proved to be a waste of time for the public, as it is unethical and amoral.
“Catfish” is a reality-based docudrama series about the truth and lies of online dating. The show’s creator, Nev Schulman, became famous after releasing a documentary at the Sundance Film Festival (under the same name as the show) about his own experience of being duped by an online acquaintance that mislead him about her true identity. In the TV version, people who have heard of Nev’s story enlist his help to uncover the truth of the people whom they have developed an online relationship with.
The show always features a person who has fallen in love with someone online, but is suspicious of his or her true identity. That individual calls on Nev to come save the day and help the two people connect in reality. Then, Nev sets up a Jerry Springer-style forced meeting between the two parties. Eventually, the two people meet and almost always, you guessed it, the other person was faking their identity. Nev then awkwardly makes them tell the heartbroken person who was “catfished” why they chose to hide their identity. This often ends up becoming an uncomfortable televised admission of the person’s lifelong self-esteem and confidence issues.
After watching several episodes of “Catfish” a few things become clear. First, the show is all about Nev and Nev’s catfish sized ego. Nev believes that because of his experience of being deceived and having a camera there to document it, that he has somehow become the expert of Internet love hoaxes. Just five minutes in, it is clear that Nev is more interested in using these people who are about to be crushed by the fact that they have been deceived for his own fame rather than their own peace of mind. This factor takes the focus away from any educational value the show might have.
Next, the show is only truly benefitting a few people while harming the majority of viewers. MTV has achieved high ratings from airing “Catfish” and many people find it entertaining as well as a way to gain insight into the current issue of online relationship hoaxes. However, while the show has been tagged as a way for the public to understand the trials and tribulations that people involved in anonymous online relationships experience, the way the episodes are directed makes it into more of a mockery of the people it features, rather than having any educational value. The main reason people tune in is to look down upon certain individuals having a tough time finding love.
As viewers of TV in this country, it is our responsibility to censor ourselves from watching content that not only lacks value, but exists solely to single out and humiliate fragile people. There is nothing to be gained from shows like “Catfish” if we strive to treat everyone equally. “Catfish” exploits people to make them look foolish, weak and crushed in their most vulnerable moments, allowing the audience to look down upon them and feel better about themselves. As Marx taught us, it is crucial to look for who benefits from every situation. In this case, the show benefits only a few people while negatively affecting everyone else.
Has your experience with online relationships been similar to the stories told on “Catfish?” What do you think about the exploitation through reality television? Tell us your thoughts! Please send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
