my take on the shilpa shetty/big brother controversy

Reality TV is as contrived and unnatural a setting as one could imagine, yet it can reveal some of the most basic insights and truths of life. Moments of everyday life, which ordinarily don’t draw attention from society at large, are magnified to massive proportions and bring with them scrutiny, focus, and debate. And therein lies its value.

The real story of Shilpa Shetty and the reality TV show, “Big Brother,” is actually of a complex undercurrent that exists in society. The “beauty” of reality TV, is that it amplifies the full range of emotion and experience—in this case the maliciousness of hatred. The precise intent of the harassers can only truly be known by them. But to Ms. Shetty and many minorities, including the South Asian community, the situation reeks of prejudice and discrimination.

One could argue that Ms. Shetty has brought upon herself the indignity of this treatment by agreeing to participate in the show. “Big Brother” contestants (like most reality TV shows) are not known for their moral fiber. Going into the show, Ms. Shetty should have known of the possibility of all kinds of ludicrous and unsettling behavior. When you agree to take part in reality TV, you must be ready for whatever comes. You can expect insanity from two places; from behavior on the show, and from the outside world reacting to your behavior on the show. To the latter point, you must be ready for blogs to tear apart everything from your makeup, your clothing, your voice, and every single word you utter. And if you’re a minority, be prepared for people on message boards to call you a terrorist or resort to other stereotypes and say silly things about your family. It comes with the territory of becoming a “public figure.” It turns out the public isn’t always so kind. Who knew? But, regardless of this fact, the story of Ms. Shetty’s mistreatment has made almost every major newspaper across the world, including The New York Times.

Unlike a reality TV contestant, the 10-year-old minority child who gets picked on because he looks different, dresses different, or because his parents have accents, did not sign up for any of this. Generally, every adult agrees that one child taunting another based on race is a bad thing. Yet that is the sort of everyday prejudice rarely mentioned—almost as if it didn’t occur. A quick look across the blogosphere reveals a multitude of bloggers of South Asian and other minority backgrounds who acknowledge the prejudice they dealt with while growing up. And the negative consequences of this are often longer term than a moment of torment: The kid can grow up to be an adult who feels ashamed about the way he was treated and blames himself, or even pushes away his cultural heritage in order to “fit in” and escape mockery. And here we come to the value of the incident, and why Ms. Shetty has done the world a favor. While often visible only to those who face its wrath, there clearly is a quiet undercurrent of prejudice that remains in the US, Britain, and other places, that goes unmentioned. Perhaps because of a South Asian community that is not as visible or vocal as its other minority brethren, it has been more acceptable for this type of prejudice against them to be perpetuated. But clearly, prejudice on TV for millions to see, offends a national, and in Ms. Shetty’s case, a global, sensibility and results in this current maelstrom.

There are benefits that can come out of the focus on Ms. Shetty’s mistreatment. This incident increases public discussion, and the consciousness for such matters, and people are more likely to think twice about saying a potentially hurtful statement. Maybe the 10-year-old kid sees that he’s not alone and that hatred is directed even toward other successful, visible people. Maybe the tormentors of that kid see it happening on TV and don’t like it, and slowly change their ways. No matter what, an issue of mistreatment previously hidden from view is now in the spotlight for the world to see.

It’s almost consensus that reality TV often offers up the worst of society. And it is terrible and vile. But in this cesspool of horror, there can beauty. And as bizarre as it is—this incident is it.