A group of filmmakers in their 20′s from ManiaTV set out to do an internet spoof of MTV’s reality show “Real World,” with homeless people as the subjects. The homeless cast members were paid for their participation. Producers had them compete in a cardboard “house-building” contest, and sent them to shop in a grocery store in an affluent neighborhood (where they were unwanted) and play at a public golf course (where they were kicked out.)
Advocates for the homeless protested the exploitation of the cast members, but in the end, something interesting happened. Four of the six homeless people featured in the videos got off the street — with the help of the filmmakers, who drove them to get substance abuse treatment and find jobs.
Producer Darwyn Metzger said the filmmakers became attached to the homeless.
“Once you make that personal connection with them, you feel you have to go above and beyond,” Metzger said. “I think we were all inspired by the fact they were very honest and had good hearts.”
ManiaTV staff members said the show started out as a comic twist on “The Real World,” but that changed. On its Web site, ManiaTV says: “Instead of following the normal reality formula of exploitation in the name of entertainment, we decided to help these folks along the way. The result is an expose that will make you laugh, cry and, hopefully, think.”
» Read more about the effect that the homeless cast members had on the filmmakers and producers of “Homeless Real World.”
» See the trailer for “Homeless Real World.” By the end of it, I just couldn’t stop smiling.
This story is so ironic to me. The folks from ManiaTV started out to make fun of homeless people, but ended up helping them to change their lives. And I suspect that this experience changed the lives of the filmmakers, as well. The way to change the world is one person at a time, one relationship at a time. And sometimes, it happens when we least expect it — and it changes us, too.
Using the Media for good, even through entertainment is a concept that I hope takes off. The crew and cast alike gained in many ways.