Duty of Care Failure? Concerns Over BB Management of Housemate Conflict & Discrimination and Authority.

Tim said:
Yeah I have to second the OP, it seems that the approach from BB is to let them run riot and if some one is hurt enough they're called to the diary room and love bombed to make it all better.

I've been watching the live feeds heavily over the past few days and there is downright nasty behaviour happening all the time. It's so blatant at times that it can't be excused as simply misinterpreting the feeds. Some examples:
  • Today the underwear boys did another one of their cosplay podcasts (thankfully these haven't made it to the daily show). The podcast was focused on making fun of Mia. They "interviewed" Michael about his interactions with Mia and Colin spoke at length about how he found it funny when Michael makes fun of her.

  • Bruce has previously said that Mia is a "shit person" to the other boys. In a related conversation Vinnie rallied the boys to not trust Mia and said "as saw as I saw her in that pink double breasted suit (on launch night) I knew I couldn't trust her".

  • You can audibly hear the underwear boys snicker when Mia speaks to the group. I don't know if Mia realises it or not, if she does she is pretending it's not happening.

  • Today when Allana explained she has Aboriginal heritage, Vinnie and Edward got angry at her for bringing it up. This is what led to Allana saying she doesn't feel safe that is mentioned by OP. They tried to tell her that racism against Aboriginal Australians is overblown and her bringing racism up made them feel attacked (seriously).
The bad behaviour is primarily coming from Colin, Bruce and Vinnie, but occasionally Edward is dragged in and Michael eggs them on from behind the scenes.

This is ultimately a failure in casting - too many blokey blokes were brought in and they're dominating the direction of the house. But also a failure of the producers to enforce a code of conduct. There's some comments above about this being just house "conflict". I reject this - I've seen enough of the feed already to see that the seeds of bullying are there - mostly of Mia right now, but another housemate will be targeted once she's gone. This looks like trivial conflict now, but after a few weeks it will become truly foul in there. Allana can see it coming.

A side note about HMs talking over Big Brother - to give you an indication of how it's going... tonight was a bunch of games that will be broadcast on Friday night. Big Brother was so bad at controlling the housemates he had to assign Conor as his "2IC" to herd the housemates and get them to shut up. Otherwise they were simply not listening to anything BB was saying.
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Thank you for further expanding on this Tim. I think I’m tired and people do have their right to disagree with what I have to say, but some of your examples also highlight the setting of an example that I mention to society. Whacking people back down and making it personal or calling them emotional because it’s a point they don’t agree or refuse to understand or see other views.

Also shout out to @the Theorist I know we have spoken on some of this and also appreciate your insight and further commentary and points of examples.

Pulling out of the BB world, what I’m finding in the real world these days are people’s lack of compassion for others and I think the situation in the house from the members mentioned above highlights this. There are some extreme situations, view points and lack of compassion from those men in there and it’s interesting it’s targeted at the women…. I think shows like BB set an example for being able to have different views but being able to be respectful, listening and having decent discussion that is still caring even if you disagree and that’s not happening.
 
There is a balance to be struck between producers intervening when necessary and producers stepping in to resolve issues the housemates should be able to resolve amongst themselves.

Where behaviour needs challenging I'd rather see housemates calling out each others poor behaviour rather than producers micromanaging it but it is a fine line about where they should step in. I'd ultimately rather the HMs be left to show their authentic selves to HMs and viewers than be tipped off early and then present a PG version of themselves that goes on to win.


Also think we need to be careful about considering what doesn't make the daily show to be what producers are trying to hide. The live stream is part of the viewing experience and as critical in creating the narrative of the season and it should be considered a good thing we get to see stuff on the live stream that doesn't make the daily shows rather than a problem.
 
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Brekkie said:
There is a balance to be struck between producers intervening when necessary and producers stepping in to resolve issues the housemates should be able to resolve amongst themselves.
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I completely agree - this is what makes Big Brother so fascinating to watch. But what also makes it fascinating is that the viewers should get to see all facets and sides of the HMs, and (live streams aside, as it’s only a small portion of the viewers) currently we are not. I think that’s a main point being raised in this conversation.

The feelings and thoughts shared in this thread are valid, but I do think that the HMs in question aren’t being held accountable. If not entirely by the producers, then at least by the viewers. If the Daily Shows were at least balanced enough to show the contrasting sides of HMs such as Bruce, Michael and Vinnie (or at least have shown some of the previously aired conversations with less bias), then imo there would be slightly less concern and it’d be up to the audience to hold them accountable and decide what to do with them. Again, that’s a vital element and the whole point of Big Brother. That isn’t what’s happening here.

Currently, there is a very active decision being made to hide all the maliciousness that’s going on from the wider public. We aren’t making this up - the evidence is out there. Those that watch the streams will see the episodes and find the aforementioned HMs portrayed primarily as “funny larrikans”, edited empathetically and emotively, with light-hearted memes also being pumped out about them on social media.

There is a whole other layer of context to Colin that is missing entirely from the Daily Shows (and social media) to protect what feels like the show’s current “golden boy”. He has done and said some terrible things in the house, and behaved very erratically, and it’s being erased in favour of what some might call a “winner’s edit”.

Part of the original premise of the show is to showcase “the good, the bad and the ugly” of all HMs. They used to do a fine job of this back in the day… you could watch only episodes of some of the original seasons and get a full scope of personalities and who HMs are without needing a live stream. Now, it seems entertainment is more important than humility.
 
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insider06 said:
Might cop some heat for this, but Pete Cunningham sucks as BB. Like he’s actually terrible. Not all his fault I’m sure. The producers would sign off on his method/approach to the role, if not design it themselves. It is a shambles
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I was a bit confused by his behaviour last night during the live streams when they were doing the temu fnl/showdown. He seemed nervous at times and seemed a bit stuttery with seemingly hardly any control over the housemates.

I dont know if he was at a point of thinking to hell with it all and actually possibly looking to get fired as BB or just finding it hard to be main bb now or what, but his behaviour seemed very unBB like.

Almost wondering if someone needs to check on him to see how hes coping and not just the housemates.
 
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Poona said:
I was a bit confused by his behaviour last night during the live streams when they were doing the temu fnl/showdown. He seemed nervous at times and seemed a bit stuttery with seemingly hardly any control over the housemates.

I dont know if he was at a point of thinking to hell with it all and actually possibly looking to get fired as BB or just finding it hard to be main bb now or what, but his behaviour seemed very unBB like.

Almost wondering if someone needs to check on him to see how hes coping and not just the housemates.
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Don’t forget I think most of Pete is piped live into the house. We hear a polished/possibly dubbed version in the DS. I’d expect some stuttering or pausing. Pete will be following orders from the producers. He’s not a bad big brother but the bb character needs to revert back to having authority and he’s gotta be meaner. It’s a free for all right now.
 
I don't watch streams
Maybe I've not taking the so seriously as some
Too me The BB original was basically put a random mix of personally in a house and watch what happens and only intervene if really necessary
I never felt its BB job to make them all friends and play nice
Sure there always been not so vice personalities and things said that are inappropriate that should not go to broadcast
 
insider06 said:
Might cop some heat for this, but Pete Cunningham sucks as BB. Like he’s actually terrible. Not all his fault I’m sure. The producers would sign off on his method/approach to the role, if not design it themselves. It is a shambles
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Questions:
1. Would Leon do any better if he was head BB?
2. Is this a Big Brother problem or a production problem?
2b. If it is a production problem, does it lie with Banijay or with Ten? I would presume that there is a Channel 10 Broadcast Standards and Practices department that might need to be held accountable.
 
Yeah, Big Brother needs to stamp his authority on the HMs (as mentioned, it has started), and it needs to be shown on TV. I don't want to go down the route of mean for mean's sake, like Nick's BB character often did, but he needs to be authoritarian. I want to find a balance where Big Brother pulls them up for breaches, such as nomination talk or talking without their microphone and demands respect, but isn't cutting HMs off every 2 seconds at nomination time.
 
bradnak said:
Yeah, Big Brother needs to stamp his authority on the HMs (as mentioned, it has started), and it needs to be shown on TV. I don't want to go down the route of mean for mean's sake, like Nick's BB character often did, but he needs to be authoritarian. I want to find a balance where Big Brother pulls them up for breaches, such as nomination talk or talking without their microphone and demands respect, but isn't cutting HMs off every 2 seconds at nomination time.
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Honestly I wouldn’t hate if they played a story where Nicks BB character returns to some extent. “You’ve had your fun time, now things are changing” - I know that’s a stretch but I’ve been playing BB producer in my head. I have a soft spot for elements of BB4-BB7 and how the house was run. I’d love for them to be called to the lounge and have BB cut them off - “do not talk while big brother is talking. You will refer to big brother as big brother and only big brother. The funds you have won are in jeopardy if you continue to break the rules…”

Pete’s BB is pulling them for rule breaks but it isn’t being shown and I believe they’re being tame with it, and I don’t really understand why those would be omitted from the daily show. Airing rule breaks and reprimands is about as OG as it gets. So far it’s just a free holiday to live inside a warehouse at dreamworld.

What about hot water restrictions? They have full access to a washer and dryer. Their appliances work 24/7. It’s kinda lame.
 
As I’ve said, the stream and daily show are two completely different shows. The fact they’re not showing any negative footage of Colin is alarming. His behaviour when he drinks is a big concern for the welfare of everyone in that house. But the public love him. We should be seeing these people in every light.
 
insider06 said:
Might cop some heat for this, but Pete Cunningham sucks as BB. Like he’s actually terrible. Not all his fault I’m sure. The producers would sign off on his method/approach to the role, if not design it themselves. It is a shambles
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Valid opinion.

No need to replace what didn’t need to be fixed, and Leon was an excellent Big Brother.
 
One thing I've noticed is how the housemates are constantly talking over each other and making all the conversations hard to understand and follow. In the previous live streamed seasons this seemed to happen far less frequently and I do wonder why this is. Was it just that in the past the producers had better cotrol of which microphones to turn on and off, was society THAT different in how people talk to each other and listen when people talk or were they being constantly warned in the diary room not to talk over each other? Its hard to say but I will admit that the current situation does make the livestreams very difficult to watch.
 
Zcsund1234 said:
I thought the same about Leon. Nick was over the top mean and I get people like Peter but as a BB voice it was just a bit too generic for me.

Thank fuck the channel 7 one is dead tho. No more “are you ready to play my game?”
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Only watched the first season of the 7 one.

Saw commercials for another season and immediately picked Marley as my favourite. No shock that he ended up winning.

The third season (love one) I didn’t even bother looking at the commercials.
 
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