MTV - Catfish
MTV - Catfish
Extract
Show BackgroundCatfish is a American MTV Documentary series
based on the Catfish film which follows Nev on his discovery that
someone that he had been in contact with online had been lying
about their identity. The TV show follows Nev Schulman and Max
Joseph, there have been 4 seasons and 57 episodes, in which they
help people who are emotionally entangled with someone they have
never met in real life. When on the internet, catfish is a term
that refers to a person who creates a fake personal profile on a
social media site/several social sites using someone elses pictures
and fake personal information. The catfish in this series usually
intend to trick an unsuspecting person into falling in love with
them.
ModeThis documentary is a reflexive documentary, as the the film
maker acknowledges their own presence in the show, this is shown
through Nev and Maxs interaction with the camera and also through
Maxs recurring use of a handheld camera. They are in front of the
camera and give some narrative guidance throughout the
episodes.
ThemeThis TV documentary series is designed to help members of
the public with their problem which is similar to that of Nevs from
the film Catfish, falling for someone theyve never met. Nev claimed
that after the release of the film he received requests from people
asking him for his help in determining whether or not their
online-only lover is lying or being truthful about their identity.
Nev and Max contact the catfish to arrange a first meeting between
the two virtual lovers, then they document how this impacts both of
the people.
Stylistic DevicesAcoustic guitar music is used to set a calm and
casual mood, however this theme changes when they discover the
person theyre trying to find is lying (this is a recurring theme in
all episodes and extracts of this show). This change of tune
represents how the audience would feel upon discovering that the
subject is lying. A text bubble is used to show the two hosts of
the shows names, this is appropriate as it fits with the social
media theme. The main title is slightly dark which reflects the
dark side of this show where negative truths are unturned. It is
also artistically influenced by social media and technology
creating a crackled TV effect.
