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Podcast: Activism, Meet Reality TV: Why ‘The Activist’ is Problematic

  • by Alexa
activism 2021

Would you compete over social and humanitarian issues on reality TV?

Last week, CBS announced a new reality show, The Activist, which pits advocates against one another for the opportunity to go to the G20 Summit in Italy this October.

The original description is as follows: “One thing seems more clear than ever: Planet Earth is a singular village, demanding if not relying on individual engagement. From the Global Citizen movement comes an awe-inspiring look at what can come of it. The Activist pairs advocates from the worlds of health, education, and the environment with famous figures in a series of competitions that’ll take the winners — and their ideas for seismic world change — to the G20 Summit in Italy.”

To win challenges, the activists competing on the show would have to amass a social following and perform other tactics to share their messages.

After facing online backlash, the network released a statement saying that the show will be a documentary instead of a competition.

On this week’s episode, Alexa discusses why the show is problematic, whether there is any good that could come from it, and the nexus of activism and popular culture.

She references a previous Novel Hand article about the humanitarian side of the Bachelor franchise on ABC.

Listen to today’s podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever else you get your podcasts!

Read Anusha’s recent article about The Activist reality TV show.

Look for new episodes of Activism, Meet Impact each Wednesday morning.

Alexa

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