Sat 16 Apr 2005
BURNING QUESTIONS
ANDREW EATON .
TheScotsman
COMING TO ITV soon: Celebrity Wrestling! In which Jade Goody’s ex-boyfriend, a Page Three model and some slightly less famous people fight inside a metal cage for your viewing pleasure. "Wrestling as it’s never been seen before!" ITV has promised. "Pretty undignified," responded Mediawatch UK, stating the obvious, somewhat.
Round one, then. If you’re up to speed on trash TV, you may already have learned that Kate Lawler (from Big Brother, remember? No? Oh) has a wrestling move called the "a***hole takedown"; that Michelle Heaton of Liberty X has her sights set on Victoria Silvstedt (she’s a Swedish model; do keep up) and plans to "grab her by the hair and rip it out"; and that footballer Lee Sharpe has already broken a rib. What fun! Presumably the contestants will later reveal how much violence has taught them about themselves, even though the only reason many viewers will tune in is the slim hope that someone - James Hewitt, oh please, please - will actually get hurt.
Here’s a thought: the programme at least some Celebrity Wrestling viewers would really like to watch is Bumfights. This, in case you missed the fuss, is a now notorious film in which San Diego tramps were filmed brawling and setting each other’s hair on fire. They were persuaded to do this by four young film-makers who offered them cigarettes, food, drink, and small amounts of money. One man, an alcoholic, was even persuaded to tattoo the word "Bumfights" on his forehead.
One of the film-makers, Ray Laticia, explained to CNN that fighting was part of tramps’ "culture", adding: "We’re simply there to video it." Bumfights was, with quite brilliant shamelessness, subtitled "Cause for Concern", as if its aim was to expose rather than cynically exploit. The whole thing was, screamingly obviously, appalling and unforgivable. But the world being as it is, the film sold hundreds of thousands of copies, at $20 each, and the phenomenon ran and ran, even producing a "sequel" allegedly bought by a Las Vegas company for $1.5 million. And yes, Bumfights’ creators went to court, but got off with a "misdemeanour". Why? Because the court couldn’t prove the film’s "stars" didn’t consent to be involved.
By a curious coincidence, just as we prepare ourselves for the onslaught of Celebrity Wrestling, Bumfights is coming to a digital channel near you (Reality TV, tomorrow at 10pm). It is, of course, not the original film - even digital couldn’t get away with that - but a documentary exposing the whole sorry affair. The tone is calm and serious, more than you’d think from a channel whose other April highlights include shows called Bald and Streak Party. Police, social workers and one still homeless Bumfights "star" are interviewed condemning the DVD. Very brief clips are shown.
Why would so many people want to watch Bumfights? Partly because it’s forbidden fruit, the idea being so blatantly abhorrent. But it is also, I suspect, about power. We are now so media-savvy, so used to whiz-bang special effects, that we don’t trust anything we see anymore. Much of the time we flinch from things that look staged, preferring to find entertainment in what we think of as "reality". The more "reality" TV we watch, though, the more we appreciate how "unreal", how staged and cleverly edited it is. This gives us power both as viewers and participants. Notice how the tone of each season of Big Brother shifts slightly, as the contestants, having watched previous seasons, learn how its "reality" is shaped by the producers, and how they can manipulate it themselves. We are all spin doctors now.
In this scenario, what we see is only "real" if someone is powerless, so two tramps fighting is about as "real" as entertainment gets. The homeless, as well as being at the bottom of the social power ladder, are at the bottom of the showbiz power ladder. No-one is dressing them, or choreographing them, or writing them press releases. In this sense, if no other, the stars of Bumfights have something in common with Z list, unemployed celebrities. They are compelling to watch because they are powerless enough that they will humiliate themselves for our entertainment.
Of course, Celebrity Wrestling is not Bumfights. But they have the same question at their heart: why would someone appear on a show like this? For money? Attention? Next up on ITV is a show called Celebrity Shark Bait - suggesting a channel on a mission to discover how far it can go before people start saying no. Bumfights suggests an answer: much, much further.
He seems to have recognised she plays from the heart,she never gives up,she wants to beat you. 
