Just before the pandemic began, a competitive virtual reality program was launched on Netflix. Since its launch, “The Circle” has been a huge success, expanding to international releases in Brazil and France. The winner of the social media game gets $ 100,000.
“The Circle” allows contestants to appear as a catfish, a fake copy of someone else, for the duration of the show. The two seasons available on Netflix are full of twists and turns, adding players all season when others are knocked out, and even letting those who voted outside the show see the rest of the players face to face. Besides these few face-to-face interactions, the exposure is through cameras and screens in which the candidates talk to each other to send messages to each other.
Every few episodes, players rank each other, usually selecting two “influencers” as the two highest ranked players. Then influencers decide who to block, considering the relationships they have formed, whether real or catfish, and their popularity in the overall ranking. The show is mostly about knowing if someone is real while filming it through their posts, forming real relationships with each other or just trying to make some money.
Jay Grant, a sophomore business analyst, watched “The Circle” after hearing others recommend the show. He was intrigued by the idea that very little of the interaction happened face to face and how that would work with the concept of the show.
“I find it interesting how the contestants talk to each other when they can hide behind a curtain,” said Grant. “I think the show demonstrates the influence of social media on reality, because the contestants can play the role of others and not themselves. They often have more courage to speak negatively about others while hiding behind the character they created in the show.”
This social media show has covered a lot of topics with their catfish characters. Some claim to be of a different genre, others claim to be a different version of themselves, or even a famous musician like Lance Bass, NSYNC member, plays his personal assistant Lisa Del Campo In the second season.
Julia James, sophomore of international studies and history, explained how the people who play catfish roles on the show are like real people photographing different versions of themselves online. I mentioned that people only tend to share what they want people to see on social media, which often affects their perception of people.
“Social media makes me feel like everyone around me is living their life together because you only post what you want people to see,” James said. “It’s not very authentic and I want to meet people in this ideal place that they create in real life, not just on social media. I think the ‘circle’ amplifies this message by showing the audience how well people will go to present themselves perfectly and how easy it is Their conviction in this story. “
The final season of “The Circle” was filled with drama between two contestants, Savannah Palace Yeah Terelisha. Maya McCabe, a sophomore international studies student, found this story particularly interesting as the contestants began to form an alliance, only to create a split between all the players, where the others had to choose a side between the two.
“One of the things that I found interesting about the new season of the episode was how the show and the people who participated in it got involved in the story of women opposing each other and women like… enemies, not allies,” McCabe said. “Women should not be attacked against each other, especially with everyone else. We have to support each other.”
While “The Circle” is a competitive reality drama and television series, it delves into broader issues such as feminism and stereotypes, McCabe reported. The program uses social media in a new way that has not yet been widely introduced to the world of television. However, given the recent lack of social interaction due to COVID-19, it seemed appropriate for Netflix to produce the show.
After experiencing messaging and a lack of face-to-face contact in the real world during the pandemic, “The Circle” represents how people are currently connected to the Internet. Thinking about how show and social media will affect the future, Grant sees social media growing larger.
“I think this concept will continue to be used in reality TV shows,” Grant said. “I think social media will continue to be a more important part of our lives and this program is just the beginning of this expansion.”
While some have differing opinions on whether or not the show is really worth watching, it appears that the concept of social media on television is not going to disappear. The Circle touches body image, self-confidence and more by allowing people to describe themselves as they like.
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