Big Brother – The Bashers Within

The Guru has already sounded off against those Big Brother Bashers who wish to banish the show from our screens. But Big Brother also suffers at the hands of some of its own viewers.

The typical profile goes something like this: dips into the show, mainly when it’s made the news or there’s the prospect of a juicy noms/eviction ep; feels (or claims to feel) eminently superior to all of the HMs; talks almost exclusively of HMs’ negative, rather than positive, traits; typically backs the media when they vilify a HM or defame the show; pigeonholes their viewing as a guilty pleasure — something they hate themselves for doing; pronounces each season that the format has run its course... and proceeds to get right into the following season!

In Australia, this attitude has actually been greatly fuelled by the show’s producers, who are greedy for ratings, and have therefore been more than willing to cater to The Bashers Within. Last year it was sex — the producers working as diligently as the zookeepers at a Giant Panda enclosure to encourage some action. (This was another reason for John & Ash’s treatment being unfair. And inconsistent — BB05’s Michael faced no serious consequences for putting his penis up to Gianna’s face, despite her not consenting, and not liking it.)

This year it’s mind-games, physical pain and surprise twists. And this leaves Big Brother walking a moral tightrope.


Sensory deprivation in The White Room
The line is crossed when a HM (or would-be HM) faces a form of potential harm they didn’t sign up for. The White Room ordeal crossed the line, because the HM hopefuls were exposed to a form of psychological trauma they probably wouldn’t have agreed to beforehand. “Can they take anything else away from us?” sobbed Harrison. And Hayley’s Temptation Island-type ordeal courtesy of ex, Billy, would also have been beyond the pale had it destroyed her long-term relationship with Andrew.

The Guru isn’t against shock surprises in the House — if rumours that Emma was born a man are on the money, some jaws may drop — but the BB producers need to maintain the moral high-ground, and let the dramas unfold naturally. In the long-term, that will win them ratings, and The Bashers Within will fall silent.

The Truth about Turkey-gate

OK, so you’ve read The Plight of John & Ashley, but you’re still left with questions aplenty. Well here are your answers:


What actually happened?

Camilla crawled between Ash and John on a bed and playfully said “You're not going to turkey-slap me, are you?” When they said they weren’t, Camilla giggled and replied “You are, you liars; let me in!” John held Camilla’s arms, while Ash nudged Camilla’s cheek with his penis. Afterwards, Camilla continued to cosy up with the boys, flirting and displaying mock indignation about the turkey-slap to other HMs.


Was there consent?

Clearly. But I’m reminded by Thursday’s Find Me a Family — where a man revealed he’d been married over 60 years and never saw his wife naked — that not everyone’s as broadminded as Camilla. So if you’re having problems seeing past the words ‘penis’ and ‘held’, picture it being about tickling instead. The dynamics are clear — there’s not merely consent; Camilla is instigating the turkey-slap, and the scene plays out exactly as she intends.


So why did the media vilify John & Ash?

Headlines like ‘BB gives sociological insight’ don’t sell newspapers. The papers love to hate BB, and most journos don’t watch it enough to ‘get it’, only enough to embellish their scandals. Networks 7 & 9 are in competition with Network 10, so they feel it is in their interests to run stories which could help get the show axed. And John Howard’s personal campaign to get BB off our screens, based on his out-there religious beliefs, I’ve already gone into.


And why didn’t Ash, John or Camilla speak out?

They were gagged by their contract with producers Endemol Southern Star / Network 10, who were running scared after already being forced to cancel BB Adults Only, and who, in their panic, didn’t handle the situation at all well. John & Ash were given an interview with Gretel, but this wasn’t enough to restore their good name — the media was out for blood. They ran unjust stories, and John & Ash’s contracts with the production company left them without a right to reply.


So does this story have a happy ending?

Well that depends on you! If enough people realise that John & Ash (Michael Bric & Michael Cox) have been shafted by Network 7’s Today Tonight and the media at large, then there could yet be a happy ending.

As for Camilla Severi, she was BB06 runner-up. She’s just announced she’s expecting a baby — who knows, perhaps a BB27 HM in the making!

The Plight of John & Ashley

You know what really grinds my gears? (What’s that? You love my Peter Griffin impression? Why, thank you!) The travesty of justice that was John & Ashley’s trial by media last year.

After they were ejected from the Big Brother House 10 months ago, the media took the view that what they’d done — turkey-slap fellow housemate Camilla — was tantamount to sexual assault and that they should count themselves lucky no Police charges had been brought. And they were hung out to dry.

Now you’d think that, given where it took place, working out what had actually happened would be as easy as rolling the tape. But Network 10 wouldn’t release the footage. This was very odd behaviour, because they had already streamed it live around the world on the internet. A few sites posted copies of the clip of the incident, but Network 10 worked quickly to use copyright laws to have them pulled.

This left fans speculating wildly on the whole incident, many taking the media view and vilifying John & Ashley. But views quickly started to change as people — mainly gens X & Y — tracked down and watched the clip. This seemed to leave the majority of older people in the ‘hate BB’ and ‘vilify J & A’ camps and most younger people in the ‘BB is OK’ and ‘it was just harmless fun’ camps. And a couple of weeks ago, the Chaser Team took a swing at Channel 7’s Today Tonight, which had put up pics of John & Ashley (real names Michael & Michael) side by side and used graphics to ‘stamp’ the word “LOSER” onto them.

But on Monday’s Difference of Opinion (a show The Guru normally steers clear of) BB05 Housemate Tim Brunero, a journalist who blogs for The Chaser Team, proved that you can be a well-informed, open-minded gen-Xer and still not have your ‘Turkey-gate’ facts straight. He brought up the incident, and described John & Ashley’s behaviour as “inappropriate”. The Guru is disappointed, Tim...


Links: The Guru sets the record straight in The Truth about Turkey-gate.