Sometime reality television isn’t. Or, more probably, reality television is always a fictionalized take on reality that plays to everyone’s stereotypes and prejudices.
For an example we could look at Council Bluffs’ recent brush with fame. Jon “Bar Fistula” Taffer spent some time with the folks down at the O Face bar and created a documentary straight out of the Omaha collective mind [1]. I watched it and I was completely turned off by what I saw.
I also read that goldmine of Omaha dive bar information, Hit That Dive [2]. While a bit abandoned until very recently, HTD is a great resource for finding a neighborhood bar no matter what neighborhood you find yourself in anywhere near the metro area. Sometimes he gets distracted by non-essentials like who has the best hot wings, but for the most part, dead-on stuff.
HTD was pulled in by the Bar Rescue folks for background when they were looking at doing a series of shows in the area. From the beginning, he wrote about the way the show breaks from reality in order to provide a more entertaining television experience. This post [3] does a great job of summarizing the Bar Rescue experience in Omaha leading up to the unveiling of the O Face show.
The best, however, is a little video chat [4] reviewing what took place at O Face and some assertions that what transpired on everyone’s television set was more or less completely fabricated. Things that are false:
- The owner did not ring a bell when she wanted a drink, this was a prop brought in by the production staff
- The fight between the daughter and the shot girl was completely staged
- The two of them actually friends IRL
- Firing the daughter was pre-planned. She was “promoted” into that position months earlier so that the firing could be integrated into the show
That’s just a taste, and who’s to say they’re right? I know which way I lean, however, and I think it is sad that Taffer used the Tuck as a ratings boost given that everyone in the area already has the preconceived notion that this is how we roll. On the other hand, keeps the pretentious folks in Midtown/West O.
[1] http://www.barrescueupdates.com/2014/03/bar-rescue-oface-bar-update.html
[2] http://www.hitthatdive.com/
[3] http://www.hitthatdive.com/2014/03/hitthatdive-bar-rescue-omaha-weekend.html
[4] http://www.hitthatdive.com/2014/03/here-you-go-bar-rescue-fans.html
