Real World: Brooklyn: Girls Who Are Boys Who Fight Boys Who Like Boys
This week's episode is a BATTLE OF THE SEXES. The boys and girls come head to head in HEATED CLASHES. Because of how they are from MARS and VENUS. At first this seemed like one of the worst episodes so far this season. If I wanted to watch children punch each other in the arm and scream about feelings they couldn't really express, I would join Teach for America. But it turns out that it's actually one of the more interesting episodes because once you start to unpack what the fighting is about, it deals with a particular strain of human behavior that is common and annoying but not really talked about very much, and which I at least find interesting. Plus, Devyn says some of the stupidest shit I've ever heard. True story.
Let me apologize in advance for how video heavy this post is. But there was too much going on for me to just explain it.
So, the whole house is going to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania to participate in Brake the Cycle, an AIDS awareness charity bike ride. Gettysburg happens to be Ryan's hometown, so he's very excited to introduce everyone to his family and also to take a double-decker bus tour of the Civil War monuments. OK, Ryan. We get it. You love war so much. But then the girls and the boys get separated and it turns into a boys day with no girls allowed, which is Chet's favorite kind of day. They regroup for dinner with Ryan's family, and then they go to a bar where Katelynn does a strip tease on a support beam, because she may have gotten a sex change operation but they didn't cut out any of her class.
The next day it's time to attend the AIDS benefit. This is where the trouble starts.
I'm not sure that Chet really has a case to rest with this one. You can't tell other people to grow up because they felt you were being disrespectful by tickling someone's ear with a commemorative AIDS flag. And somehow I feel like shouting "woo, spandex" isn't really joining in the respectful celebration of life and love and community. Also, I like that they aren't actually participating in the charity bike ride at all. They're just there to disrupt the speeches and then get back in the car and go home. It just feels good to help.
Home is where things REALLY start to explode.
Now, again, Chet (and Scott, and Ryan) are on the losing side of the maturity argument. Duh. It was not their place to "lighten the mood" at a fucking AIDS rally. The argument that someone else was also acting inappropriately isn't really a solid defense, and "that's why we were cheering" as a response to "those flags were because someone died" is also a poor choice of wordz. But on a larger scale, Chet actually has a pretty fair point. Telling people what you think their flaws are all the time is not really that cool. It's one thing to suggest that you disagree with their behavior at a particular moment, but to then extend that criticism into a larger judgment of the person's character is condescending, and arrogant, and rude, and, yes, immature.
But here is where it gets the most interesting to me: so what? What I mean is, so you were condescending, and arrogant, and rude, and immature. You acknowledge the point, you apologize, and you move on. But for people like Sarah, who are aggressively "good," and intrusively "thoughtful," to be called mean, or to be accused of doing something that isn't completely magnanimous, selfless generosity, contradicts their entire identity. We all act selfishly, even when we're trying to be nice. There's a selfishness to kindness, even if it's the simple benign selfishness of wanting other people to think that we are kind. But there is self-interest involved. Fine. No problem. But, so, then Sarah's whole world basically collapses because God forbid anyone ever think anything of her other than that she is pure good.
Whoa! With friends like Devyn, who needs Devyn? She is always throwing around this "educated at the collegiate level" nonsense. She should be a Professor of Being the Most Impressive Genius. Also, she does this for a living? I thought she did wishing she was an actress for a living. Also, what does "this" even mean? She yells at people about Google searches about child development in reality show kitchens for a living? This fight is ridiculous. I'm not even sure that it's related to the previous fight, but it still brings the LOLZ.
Whatever, everyone is kind of the worst in this house it turns out. But we're not surprised, right? It's not like this isn't The Real World.
There is a nice moment late in the episode, reminding us that this season IS different (did you know there are 8 roommates instead of 7?) when Ryan confronts Katelynn about being transgendered.
Congratulations, you've basically watched the whole episode. You're welcome.
Ryan has the best response you could really hope for from a guy with his background. He's curious and open-minded and respectful, even if he does pretend to be about to barf and seems overly-fascinated with the specifics of the "weiner" cutting off part. It was the first time so far this season where I actually felt like having Katelynn on the cast was probably a good thing and not just a desperate attempt to keep this show relevant.
Besides, she's going to be clutch in the upcoming Inferno Challenges. Talk about opening minds!
Posted by Gabe at 1:30 PM in Reality TV
Tags: The Real World: Brooklyn
"If you don't believe me, go get on the internet and look it up." Devyn should be Professor of Being the Most Impressive Genius at the University of Wikipedia. Tenured, obviously.
Score = 11
These AIDS rallies are such downers. I wish somebody would make fart noises with their armpit.
I managed to think very mean thoughts towards 7 of the 8 castmembers in 1 short hour. Congrats to Baya for not saying anything offensive, ignorant, or self indulgent enough to warrant being featured!
Next week: Devyn's engaged? Huh?... But what about...aw fuck it.
Score = 0
Thanks for all the vids. I missed the episode last night, so now I'm all set.
Devyn and JD's drama is not entertaining :-( What's coming up on the next episode?
Score = 0
I loooove that she keeps using the whole "studied ___ at a collegiate level," as though that's not the dumbest pile of shit ever. She used that to explain why she is a good actress, and now she's using it to make some argument that she clearly made up on the spot. And THEN she gets mad when JD points out that she dropped out of college, which is a fairly hilarious and relevant point to make when somebody keeps rubbing their college edumacation in your face. She suuuuuuuuuuuuucks
Score = 10
"I'm not immature"
-Ryan, while wearing a foam cowboy hat. LAWL!
Score = 15
Yeah, that was the best.
Score = 2
Even better was his shirt that was wearing at the time that had SARCASM in big letters on it
Score = 1
So wait, is that crazy college dropout yelling about psychology at a guy who double majored in psychology? That's really retarded. REALLY RETARDED.
Also, nice Blur reference in the post title.
Score = 4
Why do they keep playing the tired trans-gender roommate angle when they have the series first certifiably insane (at a collegiate level) roommate. Seriously Devyn, the only thing your qualified (at a collegiate level) to yell about is egomania. I should know, I also took AP Psychology (at a collegiate level) in high school.
Score = 3
Where can I get a hat like CHET's?
Score = 2
When Ryan goes "You were born a guy, right?", I almost fell out of my chair!
Good on him for trying to understand though, I mean really, he even admits he doesn't get it.
I like his Pinnochio analogy though, it was cute, and kind of his best way of understanding it; it was quite apt.
"I'm not immature"
-Ryan, while wearing a foam cowboy hat.
That was a nice little joke by him.
As for Devyn flaunt her "collegiate level" credentials to JD, who has a Masters, STFU!
Score = 3
As someone who has studied introductory sociology AT THE COLLEGIATE LEVEL, I don't really have anything to say because I stopped before we got to the Sociology of the Real World class. But I do agree with Devyn that just because someone stopped going to college, they're not necessarily a college dropout.
I, for instance, failed out of college. Drop nothing, JD!
Score = 6
Chet just gets more annoying every episode (based on the clips on this post).... and did my eyes make it up or was he wearing bright purple UGZ(liest boots on the planet) over his tiny-girl-stripper-pants, at the AIDS rally? Nevermind....the answer to that would be negligible for the guy who embroiders his name on his hats (obviously, so we don't forget the closeted mormon's name).
And at first, I thought Ryan was going to be the worst, but his subtle comedic timing and one-liners are pretty funny (not to mention his shirt in the "I'm not immature" clip says "SARCASM: just one of my many talents"--OBV.) .... he might be growing on me.
Finally, as noted above, devyn is now the worst (college educated) person on (m)tv ... I'm sure there are others....right?
Score = 1