The Real World: Back to New Orleans, Episode 04
“Let’s put on some reggae jams and just chill out.” - McKenzie
I’ve got to hand it to MTV. While they are getting worse and worse at capturing the nuances of the human condition, this is the second week in a row that version of New Orleans that appeared on screen was pretty darn close to the way things really are down here. The prelude to and aftermath of the Saints’ Super Bowl victory was nothing short of life-affirmingly awesome. The type of douchebag date-rapist you meet at a shitbox like The Beach on Bourbon would feel right at home at the hell-hole that is Monkey Hill. And a trip to The Boot isn’t complete until you meet at least one girl with a visible sore on her lip. Yep, they’ve got this place pretty well pegged. But as their portrait of a city that can conceivably be painted in any number of ways continues to impress, their chronicle of people interacting with even a baseline level of dignity continues to disappoint.
Even back when the first group of strangers moved into the SoHo loft that hosted The Real World’s inaugural season, truly combative discussions about race were already obsolete among young adults of a certain age. In 1992 - just as is the case today - if someone in their early 20s had ass-backward views on race-relations, he or she would rightfully be dismissed as a simple-minded bigot. Sure, every now and then a cast member gets busted perpetrating an offensive stereotype, but treatises on race have rarely gone beyond “Not all black people with pagers are drug dealers” and have rarely needed to. MTV knows enough to know that putting an unabashed racist in close quarters with anything other than a bunch of unabashed racists would be disastrous (and not at all engaging).
And because any modern conversations about religion and gender roles should be doubly innocuous lest they come off as comically heavy-handed, the only issue consistently ripe for meaningful discussion - both “meaningful” and “discussion” being used extremely liberally for the lack of more accurate terms - has been the cast members’ differing attitudes towards various sexual orientations. Over the years, the subject has been handled with a wildly inconsistent level of sensitivity - on the part of the cast and the producers alike - and this season it appears as though the Wheel of Tact has landed squarely on “Race to the Bottom.”
Ryan’s actions are inexcusable and anyone in his or her right mind should find them extraordinarily offensive. But Preston isn’t exactly elevating the discourse, either. I am not going to dismiss the possibility that Ryan is acting out because he is, in fact, deeply closeted and painfully insecure. However, I would argue that there is at least an equal chance that he is nothing more than a classless, homophobic prick. Whatever the case, Preston isn’t likely to build any bridges by constantly accusing him of being gay.
While we are on the subject of tolerance, I really hope that Preston was asked to leave The Beach only because he was contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and not because he was being openly affection with a member of the same sex. Either way, he should thank his lucky stars that he was not watching the Super Bowl next door at Razoo, where the bouncers have literally killed people for less. In addition to the above mentioned venues, I spied Guy’s Food Store (exterior only), McDonald’s and (terribly, horribly) Avenue Pub. And in case anyone is looking for tips on having a dignified conversation about, well, anything really, I made this diagram:
