So I watched Fear Factor last night (because I’ve got a little crush on Joe Rogan), and I said to my husband, “what’s the biggie?”
Here’s my take:
They’re trying to scare the contestants by making them ‘jump’ of buildings or ‘walk’ on tightropes or ‘lay in a pile’ of snakes. Only the thing is, it’s T.V. You know going into it that they can’t kill you. They can’t let you get maimed by an attack dog…you’re always going to be safe.
So what’s to be scared of? This girl last night was saying “I have such a fear of heights, this is going to be scary”. WHY? You’re wearing a helmet, you’re supervised, you’re strapped in fifty ways from sunday, there’s no way at all you can be hurt. The snakes can’t be poisonous, they can’t make you jump without a safe bungee cord. Settle down.
The only thing that is effective on that show is when they have to eat testicles or eyes or bugs or whatever, and that’s not even FEAR, that’s just gross out, puke factor. I’m not scared of testicles, I just don’t have an appetite for them.
For them to really SCARE me on that show, I’d have to be out in a field in the middle of Oklahoma with a funnel cloud comin’ right at me.
I agree. I saw this show in a restaurant, of all places, where they had a TV going. They were having people wear big bulky suits and then be attacked by a dog, but of course the dog couldn’t actually hurt them. My wife asked how much they’d have to pay me to do that and I said, “Not much, really, but I wouldn’t tell THEM that.”
Right. This girl was scared poopless because “i’ve really been attacked by a dog”. Well, fine, but were you totally padded, with people watching, who will call off the dog the minute he tries to hurt you?
Note to Everyone On Fear Factor: You’re not going to get hurt. Ever. It’s against the rules of game show television. You may puke, but that’s about it.
I’ve never seen the show, but I’ve heard about it. It seems to fall into the same category as the rest of the new “real” shows coming out these days. Let’s face it, sit-coms and cop dramas have been done to death, and this is what will be taking it’s place, at least for now…until someone gets killed or maimed. I’m sure we won’t have to wait too long.
Well, see, that’s the interesting thing about fear. It doesn’t actually go through your cerebral cortex. It goes straight for the reptilian part of the brain that looks down from a 6 story building and says, “Height, bad”. The whole show is about overriding that fear.
I’ve done just enough rock climbing to know that even though you’re firmly belayed with a rope strong enough to support a UHaul truck, the thought of falling will make you cling to that wall like a gecko clings to a ceiling.
Granted, the show is awful in many ways, but what the contestants are doing is dangerous, and they could get hurt (although probably not killed).
I agree that there is no real risk in any challenge on the show, but it could still be scary. Someone who is scared of heights is gonna be scared weather or not they are strapped in. Someone who is scared of dogs will be scared weather or not they are padded. Ya know?
I know people who have gone bungee jumping and they were scared shitless at the top even though it is a pretty safe activity.
Another thing is that “Fear Factor” is just a name. It wouldn’t sound as good if they called it “Things That May Or May Not Be Scary Even Though You Are Not Really At Any Risk At All”
Maybe I need to be in the situation, but I still don’t think jumping five stories out of a window would be scary if you knew ahead of time:
there’s a net
I’m wearing a helmet
I’m under supervision
I’m completely strapped in
I’m on television, where if anything bad happened, they’d be sued for $6 billion dollars.
Actually, part of the contract you’re made to sign before going on the show states that you or your family won’t sue them if you get hurt or killed while participating in the show.
I’m very scared of heights. Just reading this thread about heights and jumping out of buildings has my palms sweating. Even though I would know that I’m under supervision and strapped in, etc., etc., I would still be scared shitless. Would that stop me from doing the stunt… no. Probably because, like you said, I’d know deep down I was safe, and also because I’d like to prove to myself I could do it. I think fear is all about mind over matter. When they make the people eat buffalo testicles and live beetles and worms, you just have to psyche yourself into eating it. Is it worth $50,000 to eat a few worms? Hell yeah! I’d do it. I may not like it but I’d do it.
Totally agree with you, jarbabe. They should just quit doing the jumping off stuff and make it about eating gross things. And change the name from “Fear Factor” to “Stuff Your Mother Told You Never To Put In Your Mouth”.
Although, I still wouldn’t watch it. Much as I love reality t.v., I just don’t feel this counts as real t.v. when you know nothing is going to go wrong except somebody might chicken out. Bor-ring!
I disagree, jarbaby. For one thing, some of those stunts are actually a bit dangerous. Take, for intstance, the boat-to-helicopter transfer. There was no safety line there, and if you fall, you’re hitting the water from (I’m guessing here) 20 or 30 feet, going 20 or 30 mph. That’s enough to hurt if you hit the water at a bad angle. Then, there’s always the chance (slim though it may be) that the safety line will break, or that they didn’t hook it up right.
Then, there’s the psychological factor. Even though I’m hooked up to a safety line or there’s a net below me, if I’m walking a high, narrow beam, I’m gonna be a bit nervous. I’m sure these contestants walk into it with the same attitude as you, and even though most of them are probably hamming it up a little, I do believe their fear is real.
Anyway, if you’re so sure of yourself, sign up for the show. I’d love to see you on it! Just remember who gave you the idea when they hand you the check, ok?
I just saw the show for the first time yesterday. I don’t think it will last, but it is an interesting concept. Of course we know that the contestants will (most likely) not be allowed to be hurt or killed, but that’s not the point. Most fears are not rational. If you’re scared of dogs, you’re scared of dogs–never mind that you are wearing padding and are on a game show. That doesn’t stop your fear. If you’re afraid of heights, no amount of safety equipment is going to make you less afraid.
Take someone who’s afraid of flying. You can tell them how safe it is as compared to driving, tell them the statistics, and show them the safety equipment, but that’s not going to make them all of a sudden no longer fear flying.
Flyboy, I’m not trying to be cocky. I would fail out of those tests in a second, I’m sure. I think the show is interesting but not “Fearful”. It’s just a big, grown up version of Double Dare. Is your big number one fear having to participate in a ski-doo helicopter transfer?
Now if they said, “we’re going to let you loose in a cornfield with a maniac stalker/rapist right behind you and if you get out alive and unscathed within two hours you get $1,000,000”, that’s scary AND challenging.
I watch it all the time. I don’t know why I watch it, because I’m not a fan of any of the other “reality” tv shows. But anyhow…
It is all about the psychological aspect of it. Kinda like the reason they said Blair Witch Project was supposed to be scary (which I didn’t think it really was…but that’s another story) - It’s all in your head. I personally wouldn’t be able to lay down in a pit of snakes, even if I knew they weren’t poisonous. I’m not sure I could eat testicles or sheep eyeballs, and I’m even less sure that I could eat live worms or beetles. I couldn’t be a contestant. I can barely swallow pills. Mind over matter? Not when there’s a live bug squirting its bodily fluids in my mouth. GAG
I watched it on Sunday eve., the contestants had to eat a worm martini! I know that wouldn’t kill me, but no way would I ever do it. Two of the contestents almost puked the worms up, and I almost lost my dinner too. No way, $50,000 is not enough to eat live worms! I would have done the other stunts though, did anyone see the stunt where they had to climb around on the wet car that was hanging above the dam? That looked hard.
I am not afraid of worms (or martinis), it grossed me out. I am afraid of puking on TV, maybe that was the angle? Some of the stunts almost looked like fun…being pulled on your beyy behind two galloping horses didn’t look too bad, but I cannot fathom eating live worms. The rats and snakes wouldn’t scare me although I don’t know how I would react in a situation where I was covered in them, I might lose it. This was the first and only time I watched the show, for some reason the eating of the worms really upset me.
I’m with you, Jarbaby. I don’t see the point to the show, and I think the participants are all losers. You have to eat live bugs for a chance at $50K (which is about $35K after taxes). No thanks!
That said, I guess the appeal of the show is seeing people do incredibly disgusting and slightly dangerous things for money. Maybe if they win they can buy some self respect. (Sorry for the cynicism there.)
They had some of the winners of Fear Factor on Weakest Link. I have to say, those people are definitely not the brightest people on earth. The winner ended up with something like $20,000 something. It’d be nice to have, sure, but that’s less than they got from Fear Factor. I guess having to rely on their intelligence for money doesn’t work as well as relying on their ability to do stupid stunts.
And so it’l silly to expect people to be unafraid just because they know, rationally, that everything is under control. Their fear is irrational precisely because they know everything’s going to be okay, but they can’t help feeling afraid anyway. Their fear is real, even though it’s irrational. They’re still feeling the fear even though they know they shouldn’t.
F’rinstance - I have a fear of heights. Just like my dad. I know it’s not rational, and I can still do something in spite of being scared as hell. I went skydiving the other day, in spite of my fear of heights.
The fact that I’m alive to tell about it, and that I knew, rationally, that everything would be fine, didn’t change my fear during the event, though. I DID feel fear. I was able to ignore it, but I still felt it. I have enough will to push it aside and bull on anyway. But it doesn’t go away just because I ignore it. Fear is often irrational, and it can’t be “thought” away. If you’re afraid of heights, it doesn’t matter how much safety gear, backup parachutes, etc, etc… they strap onto you. You still fear even though you know everything’s going to be fine. It’s that ancient stuff buried in our minds that we’ve never shed. An offshoot of our self-preservation instinct. Knowing that you won’t get hurt doesn’t change your fear. The rational part of your brain doesn’t produce it and can’t stop it. It’s not rational fear, and it can’t be thought away. That’s point #1.
Point #2 is that the producers of the show are counting on you having a sense of empathy. Or maybe sympathy, I’m not sure. Regardless, they assume you have similiar fears to the contentants, and you could imagine yourself in their shoes - and feel the fringes of their fright. Obviously, this doesn’t work on everyone. Some people just can’t project themselves into the show. And if you’re one of those people it doesn’t work on, the show will be boring for you. Even if you share some of the same (irrational) fears as the contestants.
-Ben
