Big
Brother 2001 - over 4 million votes for Brian
Under
the influence
Tension,
high drama and entertainment created addictive television, huge
TV ratings for Channel 4 and front page newspaper headlines. The
house had a face lift from the Year 2000 game show; new furniture,
a restyled garden with Jacuzzi. Same ideas and the same themes -
reject the competitors one by one to create a winner. The story
is one of fights, wanting to leave, lots of childlike behavior,
shouting, swearing and generally feeling the pressure in the house,
although all were volunteers and free to leave at any time.
Accidents
are common when people feel under pressure or tired. In the house
some accidents did occur. The up side was that some relief from
the task was then allowed "officially" and some sympathy,
while recovering, was obtained.
Alcohol
was drunk in fairly large amounts and some inhibitions were released.
Sometimes people get violent and others may feel depressed following
alcohol binges. Tension increased as eviction night loomed each
week. Eviction can create a strong response of wanting revenge or
feelings of rejection.
First
out was Penny who showed a shining example of a mothering, caring
adult cum teacher, very keen to do things around the house and keen
to tell the others what to do as well; bossy some might say. This
behavior can be difficult to switch off, so, being bossy can become
a habit and experienced by other adults as controlling. Some people
felt a sense of smothering with no chance to make decisions of their
own. Stuart gave reassurances to Penny that appeared to be two faced.
He had a habit of winking with one eye to certain other house mates.
Under
the influence.
Josh joined the group and this seemed to stress Brian. Some
sparring between the women took place while
cider and wine seemed
to play a prominent part in the house. The group,
except Bubbles, were drinking lots of alcohol on Brian's birthday
celebrations, which got out of hand and arguments erupted. Under
the influence of alcohol the competitor's released their inhibitions,
unwound and said things they regretted afterwards. Brian confessed
he felt like that while knowing he had too much to drink.
Rivalry and aggression. Stuart appeared to be playing a devious
game. He seemed to enjoy challenging the women in the house and
would not let an argument go without wanting to discuss the issue
again and again. He was evicted following the public vote. During
his interview he talked about the tension and feeling stressed in
the house, how competitive he was and agreed he was playing a game.
In hindsight he said he had learnt about himself, was a poser and
would have handled the arguments differently by walking away. He
said he learned to say sorry, but did he mean it? Stuart's facial
expressions generally appeared a cross between smiling and aggression;
even when interviewed following his exit from Big Brother.
The
pressure started to tell with boredom
creating as much tension as being too busy. Some house mates voiced
their boredom, others seem to be coping. Uncertainty crept into
the new group task with random calls to complete a dance routine
between 8.00am and 2.00am. Bubble was asleep or dozing when he rushed
to the garden to do the group task. He fell headlong over a chair.
An outside Doctor was needed to check the injury to his leg. Bubble
also had a chance to sleep more. Competitors
are talking about missing sex, booze, chocolate, family and friends.
Stress
survival responses and emotional outbursts.
Feisty Narinda was voted out. She physically fought others especially
Brian and was forthright in her opinions of the other competitors.
She described herself as honest and named others she wanted to see
evicted. This was strictly against the rules. However Narinda did
not seem to care as she was leaving anyway. She also voiced feelings
of unfairness about the cooking duties; that some others were lazy.
Narinda also said some of the house mates were boring.
What is normal? Worldwide destructive
anger, rage and envy are reported as news items and the house had
a fair share of these emotions. Narinda's husband joined the battle
with an article in the papers - appealing to keep her in the house.
Helen shouted and screamed a lot, using the phrase- Oh my God, with
a bubbly, outgoing manner. Elizabeth wanted others to be normal.
Bubble
burst into tears.
Competition intensified up with some bizarre behavior and tom foolery
in the house. Paul or Bubbles awaited eviction after nominations.
The newspapers hotted up the debate; one for, one against. Then
Bubbles lost the fight and showed distress by crying - a natural
reaction not generally accepted as a male attribute. In his interview
he said that he caused much of his struggles in the outside world
himself and part of his excessive sleeping was a way of catching
up - as people do when on holiday. The house was an escape from
everyday life. Bubbles talked about a roller coaster ride and was
quite some joker with sensitive, poetic tendencies.
Anxiety
and Rage at Work Brian threw a wobbly. The
group discussed the unpredictable nature
of tasks and not being in control. Stress responses showed as Brian
smashed plates and threw bottles to vent his anger and frustration.
He also enjoyed sparring verbally with Josh but sometimes more than
met his match. Brian used words such as demons and evil to describe
things. Dean was angry with Big Brother, when he found one task
involved a real live dog called Paddy, not a computerized dog. Dean
seemed distressed at having to wear pink trousers which he considered
to be linked with gay people. Paul talked in his sleep and was sure
he saw a UFO. He was voted to leave for four consecutive weeks which
could be very confusing. Amma's windy digestive system seemed out
of control and she was finally voted out of the house. Both Helen
and Brian shouted a lot. Brian described himself as gay while comparing
himself to Josh. Paul showed signs of nervousness by continually
checking his appearance and repeating the same words again and again
- cool, wicked. Elizabeth and Dean felt that intellectual stimulation
was necessary and conversation at a lower level was demeaning. Dean
played the guitar and taught others to sing.
Competition
and the effects of stress varied in each individual and how
they handled it. Sometimes one individual can create havoc and mayhem
in a group and the group may victimize or sympathize with the individual.
Helen described herself as loud which was echoed by the other members
who generally seemed to tolerate it. Helen was very creative being
both a hairdresser and a dancer. Her catch phrase was - Oh my God,
while Dean and Elizabeth used the phrase- Do you know what I mean?
So
conflict continued between the house mates
who wanted Paul to leave and the outside voters who phoned to keep
him in. Frustration in the group was handled by Elizabeth, Dean
and Josh, who learned to calm the mind and body using slow controlled
exercises. The house mates had been offered
a private session with a psychotherapist and three members accepted.
Dean said he found it helpful and would like some more after he
has left the house.
Hiding,
leaving, withdrawing. Josh was next to leave.
Brian was slightly less hysterical and felt his character was not
understood by Josh. Sex and sexuality appeared to be a strong issue.
Josh said that he hid the truth from some of his family; the fact
that he is gay. Brian said he only told his parents just before
he went into the show. Elizabeth and Dean think Paul does not communicate
with others. Paul appeared self centered by describing himself as
an international star and talked about trust. Helen was ready to
leave showing herself unwilling to get too sexually involved with
Paul. There was uncertainty gathering about the final outcome, yet
the possibility of winning played on everyone's minds. Leaving was,
in fact, one certainty in the house, the only question was when?
Brian pondered who next to pick upon.
Helen
and Paul seemed to hold back from commitment
as both communicated an uncertainty about Helen's relationship in
the outside world. Helen was very aware of National TV watching
her. Both talked about love. The lack of outside communication was
a huge barrier to overcome and their relationship to sex and each
other became headline news. Finally Paul was voted out - he seemed
relieved. Helen then had one week to reflect on her status as a
single person, sex, Paul and love.
Dean
was giving advice to Brian by suggesting that
he toned down his behavior, otherwise the public would always identify
Brian with his outbursts and strong
language. Swearing was common practice.
Finally
the house mates began to think about the outside and their families.
During the last nominations there were three, then two, then one
person left alone. Brian began to pace the floor and wander around
anxiously awaiting the result. The
funniest man, Brian, won the UK TV game show on Channel 4 and £70,000.
Other
competitors described him as very funny with laughter helping to
reduce the stress in the house. Brian, who said he was gay, seemed
to have a roller coaster ride from feeling low, lots of sleep, throwing
plates and fearing punishment, calling things evil or demons or
rude to a high of jokes, making funny remarks or being just plain
silly.
Venting frustration can make people feel better about themselves,
but often at the expense of other people. Brian
seems to be a natural performer, while his training as an airline
steward gains the advantage of him being able to defuse other people's
extreme reactions. However he seems unable to contain his own extreme
reactions. Brian portrayed a certain lack of knowledge and had some
concerns as to how to behave as a gay person. Brain said that he
was allowed to be himself and enjoyed sparring, making remarks and
picking on other people.
Sometimes
stress can bring out early childhood
upbringing and religious or spiritual beliefs. Oh my God was
a frequently used expression by Helen. People may resort to prayer
or seek guidance to find answers to their difficulties.
The
game show was funny, entertaining and enlightening as the strength
and creativity of each character evolved in the house. The effects
of stress on the mind and body was clearly shown.
More
in 2002.............................. copyright © 2001
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