With everything that reality television means to our culture, it is easy to watch Big Fat Gypsy Weddings as something of a Jersey Shore freak show. Much like Jersey Shore, the lifestyle is one that I can’t even being to imagine or respect. The women dress questionably, the men treat them as second class citizens, and some of the culture presented to us in the first episode–namely grabbing–was cringe-worthy.
But I haven’t watched other episodes, so it seems unfair to judge what Channel 4’s collective aim for this show is. There were moments when I wanted the show to go culturally deeper than it attempted. Girls get married so young, and what are the chances that these will go on to be lasting and happy? Mothers watch their daughters act out the same rituals they were a part of themselves, and what do they really think of it? Do they want more? What do they worry about as mothers? Occasionally the show will ask something like this of one of the travelers, but the responses were all shallow and uninformative as to the real workings of this community.
That said, I did find this clip from a later episode that seemed to be trying to dig into the real way of life of these people beyond just the parties:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtmFYz_KKsQ
I would like to see more of this kind of thought. When the little girl is laughed at at her own first communion, what does she or her family think? Have any of these girls ever been raped during a “grabbing” or, for that matter, when they were out on the streets in the kind of clothes they wear? The mother in that clip says that they don’t want the influences of the outside world infecting their children, yet the intro voiceover says that the traveller culture has collided with the 21st century, and that explains the dressing, the over-the-top weddings, etc.
The show is undeniably looking into a different culture, but just how hard is it looking? How hard do we want it to look? Are we content to sit back and watch the spray tans and the ridiculous dresses or do we really want to know who these people are?
I certainly agree that it would have been nice to see some sort of deeper cultural look into the lives of these individuals. If this were to happen, I think the show would eventually cater to an entirely new audience. Perhaps by analyzing the inner workings of their lifestyle at a deeper level, Big Fat Gypsy Weddings would take on a documentary feel as opposed to a reality television categorization. Those who indulge in Jersey Shore, Dance Moms, Toddlers and Tiaras, etc. are clearly drawn to these programs because of the sensation associated with them. I wonder if they were to alter the program whether they would also alter the channel, time slot, advertising, target audience, etc.
To me, there is no doubt that Big Fat Gypsy Wedding is only scratching the surface of the travelling people culture (and I do say this only having seen one episode). I think that it is a very good point that in order to do so the tone and genre of the show would probably shift to a documentary-style. However, it remains reality-styled because, although it does highlight some interesting aspects of a relatively unknown culture, its focus is not on gypsies but on the wedding. This is not a small point as it defines the subject of the program. Inherently this causes the show to be sensationalistic because its focus is narrow and based on a sensationalistic event. I think the show does inform the viewer to an extent, but it is primarily about the wedding and pre-wedding activities rather than traveler culture.