The Battle of the Regions

For some reason reality shows haven't had a huge impact in Colombian TV. This is remarkable, given the situation in USA and some European countries (notably, UK and Italy) were this kind of crappy TV is the rule. For instance, in Colombia only one season of Big Brother was produced, and although it had decent ratings, these weren't enough to produce a second season. Colombian TV channels have tried adaptations of many realities, but none of them has had a real impact in audiences. While some people could say that this means that Colombian TV audiences are somehow "smart", a quick look to most successful TV shows nowadays (soap operas based on the drug dealing culture) would quickly prove them wrong.

There is, however, a kind of reality show that has had more impact in Colombia than the others. It's the kind of reality show that involves people living in a beach (or an island), in harsh conditions, away from the world. They compete for better conditions in the beach and, at the end, for a lot of money. The first versions were the local adaptation of things like Survivor in the US (which in turn is derived from a Swedish show called Expedition Robinson). They did two or three seasons following the original format (that is, the way participants are divided into teams, the way of eliminating contestants, the games and proofs, etc.) But, at some point, Colombian producers refused to continue paying the original franchise and decided to create their own format.

And that was a brilliant decision. With complete liberty, Colombian producers experimented with the way of selecting participants and dividing them into teams. An initial experiment consisted in creating three teams: celebrities, participants from former seasons of the show, and regular people. Then, they went further and divided participants according to their social status: rich, middle class, and poor. I liked that one very much. In a subsequent season, the criterion for teams was age: young, not-so-young, and old people competed in the show. Unfortunately I couldn't follow that one, as I was in Italy already.

The most recent format they are using these days is one that would impact anyone in Colombia: a reality in which teams represent the three or four most representative regions of the country. (Here "region" is to be understood in a cultural sense; a region might comprise people from several "states" in which the country is divided.) I don't know if this is really an original idea, but in Colombia it was perfect to create controversy and increase ratings. As in many other countries, in Colombia regions have an heterogeneous structure and culture, an several rivalries among regions are very well-known. So the show ---called "The Battle of the Regions"--- targeted precisely that. As expected the selected participants represent the most stereotypical behaviors of each region, so confrontations (which is the thing we all love to see) are guaranteed. Now that I am abroad I can't follow this reality, which is a real pity.

This year the novelty in the reality was the addition of a team representing "Colombians abroad". I wonder how they behave; more precisely, in wonder the thing(s) that Colombian producers might regard as "stereotypical" in Colombians abroad. I also wonder what such a reality would look like in a country such as Italy, in which regions are so different from each other. Perhaps only two teams ("North" and "South") would be enough, or perhaps people would demand a team for each of the 20 regions (or 21, so as to include the "Italians abroad"). It is possible that such a TV experiment would reveal the rather weak identity of Italy as a whole.