Reality TV, The Apprentice and Job Hunting

It must be an exceedingly difficult task to choose the handful of successful applicants from the thousands of starry-eyed hopefuls who apply for each series of The Apprentice. Exceedingly difficult, that is, not for a lack of talent (nor an abundance for that matter) but for the simple fact that the show is as much an exercise in reality television as it is an exposition of business practice. Therefore, whilst it is true to say that the successful candidates must display at least a basic level of business acumen, this detail is only necessary in so far as it justifies the show's central premise. It is equally true, however, to say that television programmes live and die by their viewers and, thus, what is far more important is that the candidates are entertaining to watch. And this brings us to the curious paradox that lies at the heart of "reality TV"; that is to say that, in order to turn reality in to a viable form of entertainment, it must be manipulated in such a way that it is no longer merely a reflection of real life. Rather it is an illusion; a form of hyper reality, perhaps. It is only in this illusory world that The Apprentice can exist, for only here is it possible that such a sorry band of applicants could possibly make the short list for a lucrative partnership with one of Britain's most prestigious businessmen. And yet, in spite of their mediocrity, they are undeniably entertaining to watch, even if that entertainment revolves almost entirely around their vulgarity.

Nevertheless, I would a hazard a guess that even the most ardent fans of reality television are well aware of the disparity between what is presented as real and what is real. After all, isn't that what makes reality TV so compelling? It offers a completely contrived vision of reality that somehow manages to position itself both close enough and far enough from our own experience that we can simultaneously invest ourselves in it and maintain a distance. And yet we have become so accustomed to this disparity that it can be quite unnerving when reality television strays too close to reality. Take the most recent series of The Apprentice for example. In many ways the show wasn't any different from previous incarnations; in fact, if anything it adhered so rigidly to the usual formula that it became a self parody of sorts. Indeed, for all its theatricality and sensationalism, the final came down to a decidedly simple decision between two personalities. However, during the final programme, Alan Sugar effectively asked the question, "Do you have to be a bit of a dick to get noticed these days?" (Disclaimer: Not necessarily his words). Judging by his subsequent decision to hire "Ricky" Martin, surely one of the show's most arrogant, egotistic and, frankly, ridiculous candidates in memory, the answer, it seems, is a resounding yes. Now, given all that I've already said about reality TV, of course this choice didn't come as a great surprise; out of the two remaining candidates, Martin was clearly the entertainer, the showman, the jester. But with the fragile state of the current economic climate and my own desperate search for a job firmly in mind, I couldn't help feel that this was a rather disappointing conclusion; a sign of the times, so to speak. I'm no fool; I fully understand the importance of self-marketing but I didn't realise that that meant sacrificing personal integrity. Then again, perhaps I've been going about job applications all wrong? Maybe if I said I was "Thor" I'd be taken seriously.