How we drive to and leave behind the West

The reason for pride is the project “Behind the Glass”, which has been continuing already for ten days. Six young men – three boys and three girls live in a glass flat, full of video-cameras and microphones. Their life is being translated by Inter-net and it is shown three times a day by TV-6 channel, in special translations, where the most interesting moments of their life could be seen, including very intimate moments, such as changing underwear, taking a shower, and almost love-scenes, caught in the night by infra-red cameras. Of course philosophic aspects of the closed co-existence of the six persons, observed by cameras, are being neglected, while vouyerists are triuphing, because porno-sites’ content is being permanently renovated with fresh screenshots from “Behind the Glass”, so the TV channel’s leadership supposes everything is going all right.

“The sense of the project is its openness, general producer of TV-6 channel says, so I suppose, people get pleasure from peeping, including the scenes in the bath. The main idea is, that people refuse privacy. So, I respect their choice.” I would prefer even not to speak about the project at all. Though, I have to. Because the channel’s leadership, which seems to spend much time preparing the project, obviously neglects some important things. Such, as cameras in lavatory pan. A big auditorium of proctologists and gynaecologists seems to have been forgotten completely. Though, probably, there is a secret sense here.

That are just jokes, but the project with such an erotic and sometimes even pornographic content continues to take much of television time in the all-Russian channel. In principle, the arguments are clear: the channel is private, so its owners could do all they want, the essential thing is that the rating should be higher. And to watch or not to watch – is the private thing of any TV viewer. Of course, the rating could not be achieved without “healthy” pornography. A show aimed at psychology, people’s relations behind glass walls, would suit Culture Channel, while TV-6 prefers real erotic details.

While in the West, creation of porno-sites is being opposed, the Russian TV channel shows this programme. Separated sites are being even created for screenshots from this programme. So, we have an advanced television, which is even more advanced, than its Western brothers. In a similar project of British TV, there was no sex at all, while in a US project, or in a French one, these scenes were limited, and everywhere a warning was being translated: unwanted for viewers before 18. In Italy, there was a very special show: TV cameras showed the life of a priest and his parishioners. In times of Peter the Great, when decollete came from Europe to Russia, some ladies of high society decided to outdo Western fashionable women, by uncovering themselves up to the waist. So today, we continue to drive to the West and to leave it behind.