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A post-postmodern reflection of a construction of a performance of reality." The video The Surreal World is a based on a half-hour show produced by MTV entitled, "The Real World," in which "seven strangers are picked to live in a house and agree to have their lives videotaped" (from the program). The presence of the cameras affects the reality of the events within the show, causing interactions of questionable sincerity as the "strangers" try to live their lives in a fishbowl. The subsequent "dramas" (the dramas which the show is famous) are often overly melodramatic or too easily solved. The premise of The Surreal World is to recreate this "postmodern" television series as a parody of "The Real World" as a 22-minute episode of 5 characters in their early twenties, living in a squat in Atlanta. Included in the cast are: Jay Irwin, a conservative, religious guy; Moonbeam, a wicca/hippy "aura" gal; the ManWithTwoBreasts, a Cuban immigrant who is of mysterious gender; Zoe, a fun lovin', rumored-to-be-heroin-addict; and Mike, a couch potato with a penchant for food, toys and future pec implants. Loosely focusing on several societal issues incorporating addiction/dependency, gender/se uality, denial, tolerance, prejudice, and drug abuse, the episode asks the audience to look beyond the obvious "reality" to find truths for themselves in the realm of the high and low sublime. |