Catfish: The TV Show

I used to like this show until the hosts started using it to push their democratic agenda down viewers throats, with the T-shirts they wear.

I seriously doubt that Nev ever wears any/most of these shirts outside of the house/studio, it's clearly just for SHOW.

SO FAKE

This show should be called: 99% of people online have no idea how to check a facebook profile.

Reverse image search tools and actually reading linked facebook profiles is about the extent of "Investigative research" that Max and Nev actually are capable of doing. This show proves 2 things, most people have no clue about the power of the internet, both to lure gullible people into fake relationships and it can be used to actually validate if a person is real or not.

The one thing great about the show and why it deserves 5 stars is the guys always seek a positive outcome and try to sort it all out to the best of their abilities.

The one thing annoying and downright artificial are the Social Justice Warrior T-shirts they wear. In particular is a pink one with the words "feminist." on it. I mean come on.... really? It is interesting on one level of social communication in the digital age and exemplifies how messed up it can get.

Conversely it is troubling that the TV show has a social agenda as MTV always has had and is duplicitous in the subtleness in which the show uses their stories as a vehicle to creating 'Societal norms" at a level that would make Edward Bernays proud.

Pros: Catfish shows clearly: How oblivious some people can be about their own actions and consequences. How unaware some people are about their "information" whether real or false shown publicly, and how vulnerable it makes them. How easy it is to convince some people of anything. Every Song used in the show titles the song name and song title. If anything this show provides a great case why Facebook should be banned as being destructive to people, community and society.

Cons: Max finally learns how to use the focus on his personal camera after 6 years making the series. Nev and Max show even they are gullible enough to be catfished themselves. Sometimes their T-shirts on the show oozes a stench of Social Justice Warrior, overly Pc Correct subtexts. The frequent use of MTV music to transition storyline through the filler footage and montages is used too much in some episodes. The entire idea of Catfish is one that is based on a foundational premise of people lying cheating and deceiving other people, by revealing how easy it is could give others ideas and make Catfish episodes an endless Tv show.

Goofy over-acted repetitious format overall yet stylized well, some episodes are worth a look, even though I suspect it's all scripted.

I see reviews on this site where posters say the show is "fake" without providing any proof. I see reviews where posters say you must be stupid if you are the victim of one of these scams.

The fact remains that people do sometimes invest their emotions in exclusively online relationships.

Online technology is so new and it brings new dimensions in relating to others. One of the most important aspects of online communication is the factor of anonymity. We have all seen the trolls that visit this site and others. We have witnessed the anti-social behavior of some gamers who use their anonymity to escape responsibility for their actions. It should be no surprise that bad behavior can manifest whenever anonymity is part of the formula.

"Catfish" has shown--unsurprisingly--that the victims are usually people who are emotionally needy, sometimes desperate. The world (real and virtual) is full of people who have trouble fitting in, who are dealing with emotional issues, who have a personal history that makes them vulnerable. They reach out. And sometimes they find an unscrupulous person.

"Catfish" has also shown that the perpetrators are also damaged people. The first episode of the second season was a prime example. The catfish was someone who had been bullied. She was striking out as a way to make herself feel better.

The human psychology is interesting. These cases serve as warnings for those who might become victims. And the show reminds us that behind all of those anonymous names and avatars exist real people. Every one of them has his own problems. Nev and Max, who are the on-camera hosts, do their best to inject humanity into the proceedings. Their objective is not to ridicule or belittle, unlike some other shows. They attempt to connect with and understand every victim and every catfish.

Surprisingly, the cases they get involved with are very diverse. The catfish might be a lonely person or a scammer. It might be an older lady or a person of an unexpected gender. I don't know how long they can mine this phenomenon, but so far it is entertaining and useful.

One of the ONLY watchable MTV shows. Not perfect but serviceable.

Catfishing is one of those concepts that one can only truly understand if one has experienced it. And personally, I think that only people that have been catfished can truly understand this show and the people in it.

People here say that it seems fake, because there is no way that the people being catfished would be so stupid. But no, let me tell you that that point is completely realistic. No one seems to understand that when you feel so captivated by someone, you accept everything that they tell you and even become delusional. You start to believe all their excuses and even feel guilty about questioning their identity.

I am glad that they always try to get the other side of the story as well. We like to satanize catfishes and believe that they are just pure evil. But it really isn't always like that. No one understand how sad it is to be rejected by your appearance, how hard it is to have so much to say but no one to listen. People also seem to think that they go out of their way just to make their "evil catfishing plan" to work. But really, making a fake profile only takes minutes. Covering the holes with excuses is really easy as well, specially (as I said before) when the other person is so captivated that they begin to lose common sense. Most catfishes don't even have mean intentions, they just want someone to talk, but eventually things get out of hand. No one seems to remember how hard it is to come clean after lying for so long.

Some things (scenes) might be a little fabricated, but everything on TV is, and not only realities, also documentaries and news. And you know what? Even if the stories are indeed fake, I don't really care, because I know they can be real and I know much worse stories than the ones depicted here.

I really like this show, I am glad that MTV take this kind of risks to at least try to bring something different on air. I never thought that feeling awkward and cringing at the TV would be entertaining.