Well, I finally saw Series 7: The Contenders on DVD this evening. Wow - what a disturbing film...
What I didn't quite realize is that the entire film is formatted as a reality show "marathon" encompassing the four episodes of series 7 of "The Contenders." I thought it was a fake documentary based on the filming of the TV show itself with its own backstory, a la The Running Man with Arnold Schwarzenegger. The way this was done was very true to the genre itself -- mostly in Real World style.
I explained the movie a few posts back, but I don't think I did it justice. Imagine a government-sanctioned reality show where a town is chosen, and six strangers are drawn at random to be in a survivor-type reality show. There's one objective: kill the other contestants in order to remain the last one alive. You're not allowed to refuse the game. And if you leave town, you pretty much get beaten until you can't move, thus making you a more vulnerable target.
And the winner gets to return to play in the next season. After you win three seasons, you get your freedom back.
Dawn is the main character, having won the past two seasons. She's also 8 months pregnant. Also playing this season are: Connie, a devout Catholic emergency room nurse; Lindsay, an 18 year-old virgin with overbearing parents; Franklin, a 72 year-old paranoid who lives in a trailer; Tony, an abusive husband and dad who dabbles in cocaine use; and Jeffrey, a sensitive artist who is suffering from third stage testicular cancer.
I watched the movie with the director's commentary immediately after, and he mentioned that he was trying to create a world where this extreme form of entertainment was so above the law that it allowed those "playing" the license to murder without repercussion. I definitely saw it in the movie. And I couldn't help but think of all that "The Real World" and "Fear Factor" have gotten away with throughout the years...
Anyhow, very disturbing movie, and I highly recommend it if you don't get squeamish easily.
Aside from that -- I'm still suffering from the same cold my wife and son have; decongestants are becoming my new best friends.
And since I've been seeing this more and more on the Mindsay blogs, I decided I might as well use this forum to post the same kind of announcement...
November 22nd
saxophire
November 21st
dismh8
Andreux
myspacebarbroke
November 20th
athleticsafrica
November 19th
ravager
November 18th
lyinginthemist
imloved
myspacebarbroke
1985 - 2005
Shiny's Takeout
Year 01: 1985
Year 02a: 1986
Year 02b: 1986
Year 03: 1987
Year 04: 1988
Year 05: 1989
Year 06: 1990
Year 07: 1991
Year 08: 1992
Year 09: 1993
Year 10: 1994
Year 11: 1995
Year 12: 1996
Year 13: 1997
Year 14: 1998
Year 15: 1999
Year 16: 2000
Year 17: 2001
Year 18: 2002
Year 19: 2003
Year 20: 2004
Year 21 and Beyond
