First, it's important to note that this is a SATIRE. Second, these are largely staged events with paid actors (and a few unsuspecting participants and bystanders). Now that that's said I'll give my reaction and analysis. There were times I had turn away from the screen, I don't particularly like viewing feces, those segments I couldn't wait to get over. But there were other times I was laughing out loud, such as the Amazing Racist, he acts very closely to the way that way too many people think and behave, he's just braver and more brazen than the average person with his combination of ignorance and arrogance. I think this segment is one of the reasons many people are offended by this film, it IS good satire in that it is more honest about reality than most people care to admit. As Archie Bunker, the racist character from the television show "All In The Family" said: "There's a little of me in all of youse." Meaning we all have our prejudices and ignorant generalizations, the important thing is to be aware of them and admit they exist and are not positive traits, which takes much of the steam out of racism. As I watched the other segments I couldn't help but compare them to the "reality" shows they were satirizing. In every case, I actually found them to be less offensive than the "real" ones. For a start, none of the "shows" in this film are presented as anything other than what they are: grotesque pandering to the participants' greed and vanity and the audience's deviant voyeurism. The similar styled shows on television, as well as many of the other shows, particularly the so-called "comedy" shows are almost always misrepresented as "wholesome family entertainment" when in fact they are thinly guised (or not so thinly guised) sadism, racism, and/or pandering to any number of the lowest human traits. Much of the film you will be incredulous "do people really do that for money or fame?" Of course they do, anyone who's watched "reality" television or Jerry Springer see how cheaply people sell their souls for a little money or fame, parading the most intimate details of their sordid lives for the whole world to see. Again, the fact that this film does nothing to hide this fact nor that it blatantly exploits anyone and everyone for any number of self interests, makes it satire of a moderately high level. I think its honesty is the reason many are offended by this and not the "real" thing on television: they don't want to admit they have a cruel voyeuristic streak, or are a racist, or whatever. If people dislike it for its grossness I can certainly appreciate and concur with that reason but to find it more offensive than the "real" thing is ludicrous and misses the whole point of satire.
Some people have compared this to the "Jackass" series. Actually it's pretty much a satire of that as well. In the "Jackass" series they try to be as offensive as possible and they succeed rather well most of the time. "Lost Reality" is more obviously staged and slightly more thoughtful. It almost crosses that line between satire and blatant pandering at times (and actually may some could successfully argue), but the cruelty is not real and is obviously staged in Lost Reality, while in the examples it satirizes it is less staged and often presented as something else. If for no other reason, watch "Lost Reality" just to see the "Amazing Racist" those cringes you get and incredulous laughter will come as you recognize way too many others in his portrayal, perhaps even elements of yourself.
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