In the beginning, Philly was all about the idea of exposing itself on cable by hosting The Real World. Seriously, we even protested in the streets to get the stupid show to come here. Philadelphians want to show the world (or thousands of teenage TRL-obsessed viewers) that no city has more pride and personality than ours. But the city those MTV kids are living in seems a little distorted. Old City and Center City, and even West Philly, are recognizable, but it's truly amazing what cameras and kickass editing can do. It is so clean! As the cast walks along the streets of the city, there is no sign of a single piece of trash or a food cart that blows nasty smog into your face as you walk by. You know that something's off when even the Schuylkill looks swimmable.
In last week's episode, the infamous seven strangers ventured into West Philly, where the central conflict of the show occurred in our very own jappy-jean mecca Smith Bros. The drama was as intense as ever: Mel (the nice California girl who hopes to be an English teacher) was appalled that Sarah (the wild Emory grad who reveals that her boobs are fake in the first episode) would spend $140 on a pair of jeans. Mel gossips to the boys about Sarah's crazy shopping habits, a reaction that makes it pretty clear that this was definitely her first visit to Penn, and probably her last. She has certainly never shopped with a Penn girl.
As the crew is filmed strolling around West Philly, one wonders, where are the bums begging for money? Clearly they cut out any footage of the cast going to buy overpriced groceries at Fresh Grocer (to go with their overpriced jeans) and passing the limbless in front of McDonalds on 40th. That would have captured the true characters of West Philadelphia.
If people come to visit expecting the gentrified Philly they see on The Real World, they won't be able to appreciate why our city really is special. The Real World isn't Real Philly. This is Real Philly: one morning last week I walked out of my house to see a homeless dude sleeping comfortably on the couch on our porch. I didn't bother to stop and freak out; it's just another one of Philly's charms. Perhaps one of these days the cast will get a chance to experience the classy Pat's instead of Swanky Bubbles and the world will catch a glimpse of Philly's true colors.
I've never been to Chicago or San Diego, but I bet it's safe to say that those cities aren't as sparkling clean and bum-free as they seemed on MTV. I suppose it's pretty naive to assume that Philly would look real on reality TV. As for me, I'll take this city as it is, gritty streets and all. Still, I wouldn't mind living in that house now that the cast has moved out. I'll settle for it even if it's a little less nice than it looks on camera. The commute to class wouldn't be that bad, and I'd even let the bums come and sleep on my new porch.
