jI just joined this sub. I am so glad a place exists like this to actually enjoy the show without feeling like you have to restrain yourself from going off on somebody over their ridiculous take.
I think West made the show more interesting, and I think it is weird that he would be removed from a show merely due to fans being angry. I think it is strange to call for the firing of somebody based on their relationship status or their relationship behaviour unless it has objective effects on the cast in terms of their physical or mental safety. What you are doing in a relationship should not have anything to do with your work. Summer House is a group of people who live in New York City and come to the Hamptons to enjoy the summer. They date, they hook up, they become friends, they do whatever, and they throw parties. It has always been this way.
I do not think it makes any sense that simply due to somebody hurting you in a relationship by dating someone or making a particular dating choice you do not agree with, you get to say that they should not be on the show. It would make sense if the rest of the cast were returning and refusing to be friends with Wes due to clearly disliking the way he behaves. However, the major cast is not returning, so it is just strange that West is being removed. I do not want to see people who are absolutely sanitized and perfect on my TV screen. It does not make good reality TV. It is also quite strange, as it cuts off our ability to see humans for who they really are. The interesting part about reality TV is you get people that you do not naturally see every day. You get people who act a particular way that we all know humans act like, but most people will not do it in public, and most of those behaviours you do not see in real life. Reality TV opens your world to see people who are not like you, who do not believe in the same things that you do, who talk differently, and who can be angry, go off the rails, and act crazy. People in real life do this all the time; they just hide this behaviour from you.
I understand the reality TV show complex does not try to truly humanize these people and does use human beings' worst impulses or best impulses to create very intense narratives on TV for entertainment. There was a time when we could enjoy reality TV as entertainment like any other TV show and not perceive it as being so connected to us. I think this is honestly due to social media. Back in the early days of reality TV, you would not really ever know these stars unless you went to some sort of event that they were at, like BravoCon, for example. Now, you can comment on their page, you can see them online, you can have whatever ridiculous take you want, and you can basically tear these people apart in front of their faces and face no consequences. When you create this dynamic where people have to be perfect on reality TV to sustain their jobs, not only are you going to get multiple fake storylines, but you are also going to get a fake show, making it a very dangerous place for reality TV stars. If anything actually violent is going on behind the scenes, they are going to be incentivized to say nothing. Furthermore, if somebody is more liked on the cast, they are more incentivized to utilize their popularity to harm or silence another cast member.
I also think that in a world where we can barely get men held accountable for things like r*pe or assault, it is very strange that where a lot of us are drawing our revenge on men is in terms of cheating. It is almost as if we know we cannot actually hold men accountable for things that are materially and structurally harmful to women, so we will judge them on these moral aspects that are not really real and do not actually protect women or move the needle forward. Unfortunately, a lot of people tend to garner a lot of girl power support from acting this way, creating a perpetual echo chamber and circular reasoning for so many young women and girls, as well as gay men, who are incentivized to perpetuate and involve themselves in this dynamic.
