Big Brother

To literary types, the term "Big Brother" instantly evokes George Orwell's novel 1984 and its vision of a totalitarian regime that is always observing its citizenry. Big Brother is the figure that is constantly watching and ready to reprimand the populace for disobeying the rules. 

For fans of reality television, Big Brother has come to represent a worldwide phenomenon, a form of televised competition in which contestants must live together for a set period of time with no contact from the outside world. As they spend their days in the "Big Brother house," their every move is observed by cameras built into the walls; viewers can catch up with events on a broadcast TV series as well as through 24/7 feeds sent out via the web. Residents regularly vote each other out, scheming and backstabbing their way toward a cash prize.

The Big Brother TV series began in the Netherlands in 1999, and has since spread to over seventy countries, including the US and UK. Wherever the show is broadcast, fans tend to become very passionate about the game, posting regular updates to message boards about each and every happening on the live feeds. The show has become a ratings hit worldwide due to its low production costs and the ability to air several episodes each week throughout each abbreviated season, usually lasting no more than three months. The success of Big Brother is usually attributed to the voyeuristic tendencies inherent in most of humanity, and to the selection of young, attractive, and frequently stupid contestants. 

by Matt Springer Are you a writer, passionate about this or any other topic? Join Blogcritics!

Latest blogosphere posts tagged “Big Brother”

• Scenic Sunday

  
  My Boat — Authority: 115
  Oops! Im late! Sorry about that. For some reason I totally blanked out on getting my Scenic Sunday post up! Well, this week I wanted to share something with you that Europe in INSANE over! HELLO KITTY! Seriously, she is EVERYWHERE. I didnt quite realize how much Hello Kitty has infiltrated this country until we went ...
  1 hour ago

• Kätlin Laas Scandalous Pictures from Big Brother Finland

  
  Ferdielicious.com — Authority: 113
  Big Brother Finland’s Kätlin Laas is the latest addition to the Pinoy Big Brother Double Up Housemates after swapping places with PBB housemate Cathy Remperas, the Charming babe from Bohol. The 22-year-old Finnish housemate have been staying in the PBB house for weeks now and I’ve seen that she really is a ...
  1 hour ago

• Designed To Rock

  
  Bona Fide Darling — Authority: 125
  In todays second installment of "Designed To Rock," we talk with Round Rock, TX gig poster designer, Todd Slater. Todd has designed for a variety of different artists ranging from Green Day to Elvis Costello. You can check out his portfolio of work here . Bona Fide Darling: How long have you been designing? ...
  1 hour ago

• Tids and Tads From Texas

  
  BallHype - Top Auto Racing News, Videos, and Blogs — Authority: 152
    Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge, battled his younger brother Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&Ms Toyota, throughout Sundays NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. Kyle Busch, who was going for a record three wins ... 4ever3 posted 38 minutes ago ...
  1 hour ago

• Pac-10 Preview

  
  College Hoops Journal — Authority: 91
  UCLA barely got a sniff of the preseason top 25. That’s how bleak it is right now for the left coast conference. I’ll be honest: it looks as bad as I can remember it in all my … well … 12 years of really following the sport closely. It’s crazy how far this league has fallen (and Pac-10 homers are even ...
  1 hour ago

• entry level rig for my brother

  
  TechEnclave — Authority: 509
  Hello evry1!!! i need ur suggestion for making a entry level rig for my brother... basic requirements 1-->for MS Office work 2-->for watching TV,Movies & listening to some music 3-->for internet He is thinking of buying Benq G2412HD(to watch TV) so this is final so pls suggest other stuff to buy AMD ...
  2 hours ago

• Bollywood Actresses Have Found Love In Successful Married Men

  
  Latest Bollywood|Kollywood|Tollywood| News — Authority: 448
  When Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty walks down the aisle to marry London-based businessman Raj Kundra this month, she will be following in the footsteps of Hema Malini, Sridevi and Raveena Tandon – actresses who famously entered into wedlock with men who had been married earlier. Shilpa met millionaire Kundra, ...
  2 hours ago

• 4 days on, Kavita remains missing

  
  The Punekar — Authority: 147
  The Times of India : A platoon of 30 commandos of the Pune rural police, and about 40 friends of Amit Chikali, brother of the missing engineer Kavita Chikali (28), conducted a massive search on the Sinhagad fort on Saturday. However, the whereabouts of Kavita still appears uncertain. A resident of Chandannagar, ...
  2 hours ago

• A question of promotion…

  
  Capes -N- Babes, a webcomic by Chris Flick — Authority: 118
  My daughter is an amazing young girl. Last night, she asked me to look over a paper she was writing for one of her classes and to see what i thought. With the exception of a VERY FEW minor suggestions on my part - and that’s really what they were - this is what she wrote: It has come to my attention as of late, ...
  2 hours ago

• Dry Lot, Wet Lot

  
  Key West Diary — Authority: 132
  Suppose you wanted to live in Big Pine Key and suppose you had a job in Key West. The homes off Ships Way would be 50 minutes from your job and you might end up in a street like this. On a windy afternoon your neighbors trash can might have rolled into the street, but this is a quiet area, and no harm done: Pine ...
  2 hours ago

• I Don’t Like to Read! by Nancy Carlson

  
  Special 2 me — Authority: 125
  I Don’t Like to Read!, written & illustrated by Nancy Carlson, is a book that I’ve book looking for. I am always on the lookout for amazing books; especially ones that deal with slow learners or those with learning disabilities. This book, my latest purchase, deals with slow learners. The heroine of the book ...
  3 hours ago

• A Letter to my Son

  
  I Want a Minivan — Authority: 116
  It is bedtime. You dive onto your bed, somersaulting to your pillow with all the energy your two and a half year old self can muster. You lay your head down, making it seem like it is going to be an easy night. You do that every night, but it is never easy. You toss and you turn. You pull at toes confined in ...
  3 hours ago

• Company is here!

  
  Lemoncholy's flight of fancy — Authority: 122
  My sister, niece and brother-in-law arrived this morning after taking the red eye in from California. they werent here an hour before we were leaving and heading to the flea market. jeff slipped my niece $20 to spend there and she made it go far. she had a great time and found some wonderful purchases. i usually dont ...
  3 hours ago

• They’re not getting it

  
  Grush Hour — Authority: 99
  Earlier in November 2009, I was a guest on a talk-TV show, Goldhawk Live (Rogers). The host Dale Goldhawk, posed the question: “Road tolls: are you for or against?” There were two live guests, myself, an advocate of pricing all road-use at the marginal rate needed to manage congestion, and Jim Kenzie, a ...
  3 hours ago

• 8/30: Birth Order, Revisited

  
  Pho for Five — Authority: 119
  This was inspired by Melanie’s question about birth order: Birth order and stereotypes, I think you blogged in reference to your bio sibs in past, but what do you see in your own kids’ relationships in terms of birth order? are they how you’d expect? I did write a post way back on this topic about the ...
  3 hours ago

• After bath fun

  
  Cy Jackson Snyder — Authority: 129
  Cy loves to hold Cruz. He is very good at it too! Look at this proud big brother! "NOSE" "KISSIE" "MORE KISSIES"
  3 hours ago

• Kucinich votes against the Health Care Bill

  
  WeeksMD — Authority: 136
  D r. Weeks’ Comment:   Obama, by trying to placate everyone  except the people who actually voted for him, by hugging the path of compromise, is giving us no real change. Even Dennis Kucinich, the liberal progressive idealist from Cleveland agrees with Ron Paul, the Texas libertarian: the current health ...
  3 hours ago

• Merdreys Monday Moods

  
  Laine's Online Diary — Authority: 427
  Todays Mood: CHRISTMAS-Y! "Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas.....everywhere you goooOoOoooo! =) Last night, my brother-in-law took the family for a car ride along Orchard Road to view the Christmas light up! It was magnificent! I especially loved how they decorated the trees too! So..it was time to dig into ...
  3 hours ago

• My day at work

  
  Semi Charmed Life — Authority: 113
  Today (and yesterday for that matter) I took care of a very sick little boy who was dying. His family is going to withdraw life support tomorrow. Most people look at this as a horrific part of my job and I wont lie, it is awful. But whether I chose to work in the NICU or not, awful things will still happen. Even ...
  3 hours ago

• Oh, the precious moments!

  
  Our Heart's Journey — Authority: 116
  (Still working on a basketball update, but in short - it was awesssome!!) Today, I took Austin and Logan to their preschool church to sing with the rest of their school mates. They look handsome, dont they? Now, get ready to laugh...... Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com A ...
  3 hours ago

Comments about Big Brother