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Big Brother’s televised revolution

Photo by Eyestetix Studio on Unsplash

There was a brilliant scene in a satirical show that aired on BBC3 many years ago, The Revolution Will be Televised, in which the programme creators, Joylon Rubinstein and Heydon Prowse, walked separately around a park asking people what at first appeared to be very unusual and risqué questions.

Do you want to be my friend? Can I poke you? Is it OK if I show you some photos of my latest holiday? You might know a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend’s; is that enough for us to become friends? Passers-by who were confronted with this line of innocent interrogation had various reactions. Some told the pair to get lost (they were acting their roles separately, so that was a lot of getting told to get lost), some saw the funny side of Rubinstein and Prowse’s questions but were still reluctant to swallow the bait and welcome them in their group. Others (a very small amount) were more trusting and engaged in conversation with the comedians.

What was obvious to anyone watching the show was that the only thing the pair were doing was bringing to life the ways in which people interacted on Facebook. By using phrases such “Can you like me?”, “Let me poke you/can you poke me back?” and “Can I be your friend/can…