Catfish: The TV Show

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.

In fairness, there were a few episodes early on that actually were interesting. Now it's just a combination of obvious clout chasers, product placement literally everywhere, and the show using people who appear to be genuinely ill.

They spend the opening of the episode "investigating" (in other words, searching the same internet that the "victims" presumably have access to). They speculate and brew some drama before setting up a meeting with the "catfish." The first encounter is usually more hostile so they take a break, then come back with something along the lines of...

"How did you get here? What made you do this? Tell us your deepest, darkest secrets. We care."

*catfish shares horrid story of woe and despair, usually accompanied by tears*

"Mmhmm, mhmm....terrible.... Ok well, bye!"

*Catfish crew leave, high-fiving each other about what good people they are.*

It has the train-wreck entertainment value of Jerry Springer, but unlike Springer, there's this really pompous, holier than thou attitude. They really seem to want to convince you that they "care" about these people they're exploiting.

What actually made me write a review was catching a few episodes of the latest season, where they've gone completely virtual. They're now making an entire television show of people literally just sitting at their computers arguing about ridiculous drama.

It's slightly hilarious, pretty sad, mildly creepy and extremely bizarre.

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.

It's all scripted Nev Schulman is a liar look it up and do the research you'll find out that past employees have been threatened by the management that if they don't lie then they are terminated.