The reality show Big Brother Brasil has been on Brazilian’s televisions screens for over two decades now and seems it is only getting better. The idea of keeping a group of people locked in a house and being filmed all the time for a couple of months never seems to get old. Still to this day, at the beginning of each year, people from every corner of the country gather around to watch who will be this year’s participants.
It is undeniable that BBB is a huge success, and, being the most watched reality show in the whole country, it is natural to question: Why do people like to watch it so much?
BBB as a reflection of our society
Although many people claim that BBB is only a form of entertainment, often being criticized by those who believe watching it is a waste of time, there is another way to look at it: as a mirror of our own society.
This year’s edition has reached significant audience numbers and several moments have gone viral on the internet, sparking debates that go beyond the confines of Brazil’s most watched house.
The first polemic of the season
Let´s go back to the beginning of this year’s edition. In the very first week of the show, one of the participants, Pedro, harassed another contestant, Jordana. Later that day, Pedro gave up and left the house on his own. However, the show’s host, Tadeu Schmidt, claimed that even if he hadn’t given up, he would’ve been expelled. Outside of the house, Pedro is now facing sexual harassment accusations
With the significant rise of cases of violence against women in Brazil, Pedro´s attitude highlighted a behavior that was normalized in our society, but when exposed in national television, shocked millions of viewers.The reality show got to showcase something that happens daily in Brazil and broke the barriers of entertainment, causing serious debates about consent and gender violence, especially on the internet.
Racism and power dynamics
Also in the first weeks of the show, another situation reflected a terrible aspect of our society. In a conflict with Ana Paula , participant Matheus said that he believed that her friendship with Milena was nothing more than a power dynamic, and that she would be Milena’s boss.
The problem with Matheus’ allegations is that he considered that Milena, because she is black, couldn’t have a genuine friendship with Ana Paula, a white woman.
His perspective reflects how racism is deeply rooted in Brazilian society, given the fact that, for him, there wouldn’t be another option for Milena other than being subordinated to someone else.
This episode went viral on the internet as Matheus was deeply criticized, which, among other actions of his, culminated in his elimination in the second week.
An unprecedented number of expulsions
Something shocking that happened this year is the number of expulsions. By the time the show reached its 5th week, three participants had been expelled. Never before has an edition of the reality show had that many expulsions. So, not only has this year’s edition broken audience records but it has also reached the highest number of participants getting expelled in the history of the reality show.
This number is especially alarming when we think about the reason why they all had to leave. Paulo Augusto, Sol Vega and Edilson were expelled due to physical aggression. This highlights how extremely polarized environments can lead people to resort to aggressive responses when facing different perspectives and opinions.
Recreative homophobia
Recently, another behavior drew attention on social media. Juliano Floss’ social media managers posted a note on Instagram claiming that another participant, Jonas Szulbach was practicing recreational homophobia with him.
Juliano is a dancer and throughout his career, he has faced hate comments on the way he acts, since he doesn’t correspond to society expectations of masculinity. The comments made by Jonas had repercussions quickly on the internet and generated a much bigger debate on how society often normalizes discriminatory actions when they are framed as jokes.
More than entertainment
After all the debates that this year´s edition has brought up, I think it is safe to say that Big Brother Brasil is more than just a form of entertainment. You can have fun while watching but it is important to remember that the people we watch on TV exist in real life, and their behavior in front of several screens simply reflects how we all are as a society.
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The article above was edited by Mariana De Oliver.