The reality show The Biggest Loser has been around for more than 10 seasons. It has been one of the most successful and longest running reality shows in history. The show has extended beyond just television, as it has extended its territory to diet books, Biggest Loser brand exercise equipment and even lunch boxes. The show has been able to find great financial success though several different mediums. But the questions still remain: Why is the show so popular? Why do people watch it? What type of imagined community does this show create? What makes The Biggest Loser so successful through the eyes of those that matter: the fans?
In this blog, I will discuss the information I have gathered on how fans approach the show The Biggest Loser. I will examine the perspectives of three different people who watch the show through three very different agendas.
The Biggest Loser as an emotional rollercoaster
The first perspective I will discuss is that of my mother who records the show on her DVR and does not watch all of them until they have all been recorded for the season. She does this so that she does not have to wait a week to watch each episode. She stated, “I just get so worked up in it that I cannot even wait a click of my remote to get to the next episode. I have to know what happens next.” Thus she operates under a kind of delayed gratification where she goes months without watching the show and then she sits and immerses herself into for days.
My mom watches the show for the connection that she creates with the characters. On the show, they spend a great deal of time introducing the people and the struggles that they have gone through. They often show the families in the beginning and later on in the show when the contestants have begun to lose wait. My mother talked about the emotional reunions when their loved ones see them for the first time after they had been on the show for weeks or months. I saw a glimmer of a tear in her eye when she stated, “Sometimes they do not even recognize them at first. But when they do, you can feel it. You can feel how proud they are.” The show often sets up this reunion as they dress the contestants up and spend hours glamorizing them up for the occasions. The sentimental music is playing in the background as the two people come face to face.
The show goes inside the struggles that these contestants go through to lose weight on a daily basis. The viewers are able to see each set back and success. They are able to see the contestants cry in front of the cameras. While these moments are largely constructed, my mother said, “It’s like they are just talking to you. You are able to share their most intimate moments with them. It’s really very special.” The show banks on these intimate moments, as it goes into slow motion when the contestants collapse from working out or it plays inspirational music when they are in the zone. It works to build that personal relationship, and with my mother it works.
Because the show is so personal for her, she stated that she rarely discusses the show with anyone else. Sometimes she will call her husband in to see a certain scene, but she does not participate in any fan clubs or social networks. Especially because that would demand that she finds out about the spoilers before she actually watches it. She watches each episode alone, engaging in that personal, what she sees as an one-on-one relationship.
The Biggest Loser and the Competition
The next person that I interviewed has been watching the show since the second season. He seemed to be just as addicted to the television show as my mother. Yet, he is able to wait the week in order to see the next episode. However, his reasoning for watching the show was very different. When I asked him about the emotional connection that he made with the contestants, he said, “I’m not really sure. Do you mean am I sad when they get kicked off? I guess, yeah, I have my favorites.” While he did have his favorites, Sam did not feel as though he knew these characters. He told me that he watched the show because he enjoyed the competition. He liked to see who one the rewards and the competitions each week. He exclaimed, “There was one year where there was this chick who just schooled them in every competition. It was great. I would watch it and get so angry if she ever lost. I liked the domination.”
Almost half of each episode is dedicated to the dramatic weigh-in, where they will have each of the contestants weigh in to see how much weight they have lost and if they will fall below the yellow line, which means that they are in danger of going home. Each weigh-in takes several minutes, with a discussion with the contestant, the scale going back and forth, and usually a commercial break in between. The tension is high and Sam feels it. He said, "Yeah. They always have everyone watch the weigh-ins. All the eyes are on the contestant and you also just think 'hurry up and do it already' It's like watching football, your hearts kinda pumping, you know?"
Sam would decide who he thought was going to win in the first few weeks and he would watch to make sure that they did. He said that he would often watch the show with his wife or his friends. A few times he has made bets on who was going to win. But it was all in fun and games. He never bet anything too serious. He remarked about one time when he had to do the dishes for two weeks because the contestant he picked had gained 5 pounds that week. For Sam, The Biggest Loser is no different than another competitive reality show. He watches other shows like Big Brother and Survivor for the pure thrill that comes from seeing who is going to win and who is going to lose.
The Biggest Loser as Inspiration
The final person that I interviewed watched The Biggest Loser for a completely different reasons. For her, the show was inspiration. She was the only person who had purchased all of The Biggest Loser products. She said that she had been using the trainer’s diet book and exercise programs for a few years now. She watches the show in order to get tips on how to lose weight and to see others struggle though the same problems that she has gone though. She says, “I see them doing and I tell myself that I can do it. The shows make me want to do it.”
She says that she is part of a local female gym in her neighborhood and all of the women there watch the show, too. Every Tuesday they have it playing and she often goes there to watch it with them. While it is on, they will work out a bit as well. She says that it helps motivate them to get to work and to believe in themselves. It also becomes something that they can use with each other to motivate them. Often times, when she is about to slip she will tell herself that so and so from Biggest Loser almost ate that cookie, but she didn’t. This keeps her going. The women at the gym use this dialogue as well, using characters in the show to keep them motivated. They will remark to each other about how much weight one of the contestants has lost and how they want to get to that weight as well.
She discussed the role of the trainers on the show as inspiration as well. She stated, "I often pretend that they are talking to me. Jillian gets so mad and fired up. She really gets me pumping to want to keep going. And Bob, well he shows that he really cares. I like that." The show becomes an extension of her support team. Even during the show, they will often include segments where they will talk to the audience directly and give advice on what to eat and how to keep an exercise program effective and fresh. The show becomes a friend and a trainer all wrapped in one.
No comments:
Post a Comment