WHEN TELEVISION MAKES YOU BIGGER THAN YOU ARE/ THE TPF 6 FACES

The other weekend I joined the superficial standards of Nairobi’s social scene after an invite to attend #TPF6 Gala Night opening. The celebrity undercurrent is kinetic. People stare when the former Tusker Project Fame contestants walk into the studio dome for the live recording. Ruth Matete, Ng’ang’alito; Wendy kimani among others who are a handful of instant celebrities created by the power and influence of local reality TV.

Many questions have risen on the many strains contenders say come along with Reality TV’s 15-minutes of fame. Do the impressions created on the shows come later to haunt them because they were fake?

Most reality shows have cameras rolling 24 hours a day and these 24 hours are condensed and edited into 30-60 minute daily shows. People watch these and they think they know you; but in reality does Reality TV always give the full picture of a person?

Can the misconceptions that public has about reality TV stars be partly attributed to editing? Real people are placed in an unrealistic situation in order to create a story. Is it safe to say that reality TV is only 90 percent reality? The editing and a lot of it are applied to add spice .

But even as TPF6 takes the East African stage; the above questions are not for us today; yet I would love to keep this discussion going. Here are the TPF6 faces that ultimately, in the end, will have to make their own reality.

by Embukane Vincent Libosso

photos by Tusker lager facebook page.