Media observation #5

Hieeeee!

Because the topic was reality TV, I'll present you with my favourite reality competition TV-show: RuPaul's Drag Race.

RuPaul herself.

Yes, it's all about drag queens. Yes, it's America's Next Top Model meets Project Runway. Yes, everyone is fabulous. Yes, yes, yes gawd!

RuPaul is an iconic drag queen who hosts the show and actually won an Emmy award this year for Best Reality Host! The competition consists of 9-14 drag queens competing for the crown and cash prize (usually 100,00$). There has been 8 seasons of Drag Race and 2 seasons of Drag Race: All Stars.

The usual episode consists of a mini challenge and a maxi challenge. The winner of the maxi challenge will get some sort of prize (usually sponsored goods like jewelry or holidays) and secure their place in the competition. Every week there's also the bottom two, which have to "lipsync for their lives" aka they hold a lipsync battle whose winner will stay in the competition. Sometimes both get to stay or both get eliminated, to spice things up a little.

Some of my favourite queens. (1/2)

At first, it all may seem confusing. But then you'll get sucked into the glittering world of drag queens and you can't get out. The series has a very quirky sense of humor, bad puns, lots of creativeness and gorgeous dresses, a lot of drama and unforgettable moments. It's an experience.

The show has been criticized for bad editing. A handful of past drag racers have raised their voice about how they were edited to look more mean than they actually are, to the point where they've told that sometimes the filming crew/directors tell them what to say or ask them certain questions and then edit the answers out of context. It's all very interesting and adds an extra layer of drama to the show, but at the same time it kind of takes away the excitement when you know that "oh, this could be edited to look different". Some competitors have even gone to screenings of the new episodes and told people that some other competitors were edited to look more mean than they actually were.

I recommend giving this series a try! It's best to start from season 1 and then continue chronologically because then you will understand more jokes (the show jokes a lot on itself and past competitors and their catchphrases) but if you want to jump straight into Netflix and watch the 7th season, feel free. It has some gorgeous faces!

Some of my favourite queens. (2/2)

Now sashay away,
Oona