Experiencing the Real World

Don't deny it -- everyone has done it at least once.

It usually happens around 3 p.m. on a Sunday, when you're feeling the effects from the previous night and you should be doing homework, but your brain just can't take it yet. So you turn on the TV and find yourself absorbed in the cat fights and romantic endeavors of complete strangers during a four-hour marathon of the reality show du jour.

Reality TV is a constant presence in the media, thanks to its relatively cheap production costs and popularity with viewers.

Somewhere along its trajectory, reality programming has strayed from the whole "real" aspect -- many shows have become contrived and gimmicky.

But one that has actually kept it real is the aptly titled The Real World on MTV.

Starting with the New York season in 1992, this show, in which seven young adults become roommates in a fabulous house where cameras are filming everything they do, was among the first in the reality revolution.

As the opening sequence explains, it shows viewers "what happens when people stop being polite and start getting real."

Cheesy slogans aside, the Real World has addressed important issues for the MTV generation throughout its 14 years, such as San Francisco (1994) cast member Pedro Zamora's emotionally charged battle with AIDS, or the Chicago (2002) cast's reaction to the tragedy of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Of course the producers keep plot lines from getting too heavy by peppering the episodes with footage of wild parties, hook-ups and practical jokes. This balance, along with the tendency for cast members to be attractive people with vibrant personalities, has kept the Real World one of MTV's dominant programs and a standout show in the masses of mediocre reality television.

The most recent season of the Real World was filmed in Key West, and its episodes included everything from evacuations during last year's devastating hurricane season to cast member Paula's struggle with body image issues, though the season kept its fun feel with the requisite drunken hi-jinks that reached a high point in the city's Fantasy Fest.

Among the Key West cast was Lewis and Clark College graduate Zach Mann, whose affable personality made him the unofficial peacemaker in the house and the elected manager of the Mystic Tan business the cast members ran.

Mann was an accidental applicant for the show. He drove a friend to an open casting call for the Real World in Portland, Ore., and he decided to give it a whirl and try out once they arrived.

"My post-graduate plans included teaching tennis at a summer camp in Maine and traveling around Europe in the fall," Mann said. "I felt that I had nothing really to lose, so I interviewed with 10 other people in a room and was called back that night to do an on-camera interview."

Despite apprehensions about being rejected during the application process, Mann soon packed his bags for a stay in Key West, along with the other six people hand-selected by MTV casting agents.

Prior to moving into the house, Mann kept an open mind.

"I had no expectations for myself, my cast, the house, the city of Key West -- nothing. I had watched the show before and knew what I was getting myself into. The last thing I wanted to do was set myself up for disappointment," he said.

Disappointment is far from what the Real World experience brought, as Mann and his cast-mates had an action-packed time during filming, or so it seemed from a viewer's perspective.

But Mann noted, "Remember, one full day of filming is actually more hours than the entire season combined."

The relatively dull, peaceful moments of downtime outnumbered the arguments between housemates and slurred conversations during taxi rides home after barhopping, but only those last two made it onto TV.

"We are broken down to the lowest common denominator," Mann said. "No matter how amazing, sensitive or thoughtful you may be during the day, in a 22 minute episode, you will most likely be shown as an alcoholic with an affinity for nudity once the sun goes down."

Even so, he added, "I do feel that we were portrayed accurately; however, the breadth of our personalities was grossly deformed by a few bad nights out on the town."

By living through all of the events on the show and then watching the edited versions afterward, Mann has an insider's perspective on why the Real World has retained such staying power over a decade of reality television.

"Our show is a chance to watch young people live in a mansion, fight, cry, love and hate each other all while some TRL song of the day is playing in the background," he said. "It's a perfect wedding of aspirational living and consumerism."

He quickly added that his pessimism about the Real World ends there, since he enjoyed being on the show and appreciated the opportunities and friendships that came from it.

With an estimated 30,000 applicants per year according to the Bunim-Murray Productions Web site, your chances of getting into medical school are a lot higher than getting on the show.

Even so, if any Hopkins students aspire to fill that awkward gap between graduation and their professional future with a stint on The Real World, Mann advised that above all, you should understand that every aspect of your life will be taped for the four months on location -- the embarrassing things you blurt without thinking, those early mornings spent lazing around in your pajamas, or that mistake of a random hook-up following one too many drinks.

"You will have no privacy, no connection to real life outside your house, no relationships that mean anything until the cameras stop rolling, and no good sex," he said. "Seriously, sex on TV sucks!"