Originally Posted by starry:
“I suppose they could just put on an act when they know there's a task or event that will be shown on the HLs. But the producers could always undermine them by showing them acting another way another time, or even edit out most of their act. Most under the pressured situations that occur surely end up undermining them anyway.”
1. I think some HMs do take advantage of such times, and Deana was accused of doing it in bb13. It's hard to be judge, in Deana's case, because there was virtually no live coverage, and because it can be natural to be livelier at such times.
Another case that's been discussed is Aisleyne's reaction to hearing Imogen would be evicted. It seemed OTT. Quite a few people thought it was fake, and they could point to particular aspects of her behaviour that seemed to fit the idea that she was playing to the cameras. However, there were also many who thought it was genuine, and they could point to her friendship with Imogen and to the emotional stresses and pressures she was under at the time. However-2, those people tended to describe her reaction in ways that left out things that had been thought suspicious. The other side would have some answer to that; and so on.
I think it ends with a question mark still over Aisleyne, but it's not definite either way; there's no proof on either side; and I think that's how such things will typically go. It's one of the big problems with the idea that if HMs 'put on an act', they'll be (or can be) exposed. Different people will see -- and continue to see -- the same actions in different ways.
The producers can try to undermine the HMs by showing them acting another way another time, but unless it's clearly and directly contradictory, or a admission of faking, we still end at a question mark. Editing out most of the 'act' can be difficult, which is one reason why tasks and big events raise suspicions. If BB wants to show an eviction reaction, for example, and HM-A is right next to HM-B, it can be hard to show one without showing the other. Besides, BB usually wants to show big reactions.
2. That's about a brief 'act'; the usual claim that successful acting is impossible is about putting on an act 7 days a week 24 hours a day. What probably is (nearly?) impossible is something like Becky bb5 claiming to be Italian or Thaila Zucchi pretending to be Pauline from Australia. But that doesn't mean a HM can't succeed in creating a misleading impression of themself by exaggerating or reducing aspects of their normal self. If a HM wanted to keep certain opinions from the viewers, for example -- which is the sort of thing Rachel Rice was accused of -- I don't think that's anywhere near impossible.
It also needs to be remembered that it isn't really 24/7. There are times when the HM is asleep, of just lying or sitting quietly somewhere, or on their own, or with HM friends who don't stress them. The "pressured situations" that might "end up undermining them anyway" can be rare and won't necessarily catch them off guard in a way that reveals what they're rather not. For example, a reserved HM will be difficult to 'bounce' into expressing an opinion they'd rather not, because they tend to keep such things to themself anyway. Many people manage not to show some sides to their personality at work even though they go to work every day and face some pressured situations.
