A second season that should “raise the temperature even more.” Paramount+ and MTV broadcast this Saturday, November 23, the first two episodes of the new season of French coastthe reality show that ignited public debate a few months ago. The concept: ten young people gathered in a house in Cap d’Agde to celebrate, discuss and establish romantic relationships. So far, nothing very different from many other reality shows.
But French coast makes sexuality a central theme of its program: the candidates often talk about it in very crude terms and the relationships are shown (blurred and cut) on the screen. Last November, the then Minister of Culture, Rima Abdul-Malak, considered it a program “bordering on pornography.” “For teenagers who say to themselves: ‘this is the reality of human relationships, of sexual relationships,’ it can be a catastrophic introduction,” he worried at the time.
The question of the representation of sexuality in reality shows arose upon his arrival in France, with the famous pool scene between Loana and Jean-Édouard in Loft history. With RMC Story, Loana said in October that they had “drank too much” and that they did not think they would be filmed at that time. He also said several times that he regretted this scene.
Relationships in a particular context
To make these regrets cease to exist, some suggest that the presence of “intimacy coordinators” on these shoots would be useful. This recent profession involves establishing and then enforcing the framework within which intimate scenes in artistic productions will take place, to ensure that everyone’s consent is respected.
Content creator under the nickname Le cul nu on Instagram and intimacy coordinator, Manon Lugas developed this reflection while working a few years ago for a famous reality television show: “I attended many problematic situations and the production of an entertainment program. which pushed the candidates into vulnerable situations.
“In all programs, production embodies power and this skews the relationship with the candidates,” he explains to BFMTV.com. “A candidate who is starting out knows very well that he is starting a career, it is at stake for him to have production in his pocket, all this in a context of confinement, of extreme fatigue,” since they get up early in the morning. tomorrow and I go to bed very late. Elements that accumulated cannot guarantee informed consent at the time of an intimate act.
Preparation before filming.
To counteract this, intimacy coordinators interviewed by BFMTV.com suggest implementing real preparation for candidates.
“An intimacy coordinator could intervene in the initial phase, perhaps already addressing the issue of violence and sexual and sexist harassment,” estimates Monia Aït El Hadj. “It would be good to talk about it, explain what it is, the issues of consent and the ability to express boundaries, whether physical or emotional.”
Manon Lugas thus suggests a “personal interview” with a “refresher course” on these topics and a debate to “detect where uncomfortable situations may arise”, if a candidate does not want to be touched in certain places, for example. This would make them reflect on their limits in order to be able, the day one of them is exceeded, to “react and express it to the other”, agrees Monia Aït El Hadj.
A presence on set?
In film, the intimacy coordinator is usually present on set during intimate scenes. He prepares them together with the film crew so that they become authentic choreographies, where no movement is surprising. But in unscripted productions like reality shows, this is not possible.
However, it would be interesting to have an external person present who can “tell us to stop filming in case of violation of the limits or if we believe that consent is not informed” – due to alcohol consumption or extreme tiredness, for example – , considers Manon Lugas. .
But the way these shoots work makes this prospect unlikely. “We cannot have someone monitoring the candidates 24 hours a day, we are not the police,” says Monia Aït El Hadj. Manon Lugas also doubts that productions will ever accept such a device in shows that claim their spontaneous appearance.
Which is not without risks: during the first season of French coastA candidate sexually assaulted another participant in the program by kissing him without his consent. After this non-consensual kiss, he apologized the next day and filming continued. The production of the program did not respond to our requests about the measures implemented to deal with this type of situation.
Paloma García Martens advocates, at a minimum, a “reduction of mental health risks” on these sets, “with support staff” for candidates who may be “mental health professionals or people around them,” an adaptation of workplaces with rest areas and the possibility of deciding not to be filmed.”
Many reality shows already offer candidates sessions with a psychologist, before and after filming and, sometimes, even during filming. Most also provide them with a “nanny,” a person who guides them, meets some of their needs, and liaises with the film crew. But these actors embody “a certain power,” since they are all linked to the production, for Manon Lugas.
Scenes broadcast without the candidate’s approval
The broadcast can also become a test for candidates. In 2020, Chani Lenglet had witnessed a sexual encounter with another Angels candidate, broadcast on NRJ12. “I was filmed in my privacy and above all without my knowledge. “If I had known for a second and a half that the images could be used…” he denounced on Instagram. Contacted, she did not respond to our requests.
In certain film or pornographic productions, privacy coordinators can intervene during editing, according to Manon Lugas. But in reality shows, “it would be one more step,” he says. “Producers and distributors like to know they can do whatever they want with the footage.”
Monia Aït El Hadj, for her part, suggests that candidates “put clear limits on their image rights.” “I can only advise people who embark on this type of program to establish (in their contract) a broadcast limit if they can, or to knowingly agree and not have sex if they want to be sure that it will not be broadcast.” “. ” she says.
Mission impossible?
Paloma García Martens is more skeptical. Even with an intimacy coordinator, he considers it “impossible” to be sure of a candidate’s consent in the circumstances that characterize current reality shows: “It is selling ice cream in the Sahara without a refrigerator, it is losing out,” he laments.
He considers it “complicated” to “create conditions favorable to the application of consent with a system that completely removes the autonomy of the participants.” The fact that reality TV candidates are isolated from the world, without access to their phone most of the time, without sleep and depending on the editing that will be done of their experience. to achieve fame It puts them “under pressure.”
“The main driving force of reality shows is to play with the boundary between the intimate and the public,” emphasizes Aziliz Kondracki, a doctoral student at the School of Advanced Studies in Social Sciences in Marseille.
Hence the profusion of programs based on romantic themes: “Love works very well in the context of reality shows, since what is more intimate than the question of love and sexuality?”, continues this broadcast specialist television. have an appointment. “Showing sex on television goes beyond the private sphere and that is what also retains the viewer, who wants to see how far the camera and the montage go,” he adds.
Coordinating intimacy also allows for improved communication between actors on a set. “But will productions be interested in creating spaces to reduce conflicts while making money from conflicts between candidates?” asks Paloma García Martens.
Source: BFM TV
