MS. FUDGE’S SWEET NOTHINGS
After disrupting the city with cameras and augmented reality television personalities, the 28th season of MTV’s The Real World seems to have finally left Portland. For myself and many other Portlanders like me, this also means a welcome relief from the types of people such a show appeals to.
Corinna Scott/VANGUARD STAFf
The cast, rumored to be boarding in the Pearl District, was primarily spotted in Northwest and Southwest Portland during the August–October filming. Fans with too much time on their hands even created Twitter accounts, such as @realworldpdx and @RealWorldPDXspy, and tweeted sightings around town.
While a decrepit reality show in Portland would normally cause mild distaste, at most, TRW intruded on my environment by having its cast work at the local Pizza Schmizza Pub and Grub.
The little pizzeria, located on Southwest Fourth Avenue and Montgomery Street, had seven cast members attempting to serve pizza and drinks.
Having lived across the street from Schmizza for more than two years, I was a bit surprised when I started seeing overcrowded sidewalks and expensive camera equipment being loaded out of vans. It quickly became apparent that it was because of a reality show. Much to my dismay, they’d be infiltrating my environment for several months.
It’s not the first time camera crews have upset the balance on campus. Leverage filming during last winter’s finals week interrupted the flow of foot traffic by monopolizing Urban Plaza. But the show did bring the school revenue through filming and parking charges, and it was only on campus for about two weeks.
TRW, staying in Portland for around three months, created a completely different type of annoyance for students who happened to stumble into Pizza Schmizza. The pub, with its outside picnic benches and eccentric inside decor, is a mix of sports bar meets Portland-cool.
Though there’s an overabundance of good food and microbreweries here, sometimes a $2 slice of pizza and $3 well drink is too irresistible for a poor college student to pass up. This led me to frequent the pub more times than I’m proud to admit, and I’ve noticed over the years that the usual patrons include a few students, a group of guys in their 30s watching a Timbers game and possibly a couple on a disappointing date.
This fine quasi-alcoholic crowd abruptly transformed into young 20-somethings vying for the camera’s attention. Normally quiet weekday afternoons transformed into a crowd of women wearing several pounds of makeup and men whose hats were angled in impractical ways.
Essentially, “bros” had invaded my turf. The atmosphere changed so dramatically that I and other regulars avoided going during filming hours. I’d head out in hopes of getting a slice only to head back home in disgust, stomach growling.
During the times my hunger won over my indignation, I quickly regretted my decision. At one point, a cast member yelled across the bar at a friend, literally calling out every form of “bro” he could think of.
Although the cast and filming finally stopped popping up downtown, and related Twitter accounts have started growing stale, the repercussions of MTV’s presence in Portland is concerning.
Many Portlanders pride themselves on the city’s affinity for the offbeat culture we’ve created, including odd clothing, food and music tastes.
I can’t help wonder how TRW will choose to portray our fair city. The image could end up drawing in people that some of the current population would find distasteful. A show that still somehow draws in a couple million viewers could potentially distort the culture we’ve lovingly built.
Over the last five years that I’ve lived here, I’ve evidently bought into what I once thought was an absurd level of obscurity that permeates our city. Regardless of how the show depicts us, at least we can find solace in getting a few bros out of our local watering holes.