Fire Island News

Unfortunate Reality
By Beene Fitzpatrick
Thursday, June 1st, 2006

With great regret, I say these words: the rumor concerning ABC’s version of the Real World coming to Fire Island is true.

“One Ocean View” will film six-episodes throughout June and July that are scheduled to air sometime in August or September.  According to a Daily Variety article, the goal is to create a “Real World meets Laguna Beach for adults.” The camera crews will follow the drama-filled lives of a group of people who'll spend their weekends in a summerhouse on Fire Island and weekdays in the hustle of nearby New York City. The show is produced by Bunim/Murray Productions, the extremely successful team responsible for MTV's Real World.

So how real will this be? I don’t think it’s going to be a good representation of reality in general and will most likely have negative effects on this beautiful island. The production, of course, is not concerned with before-after scenarios.

How realistic can it be that a bunch of 20-somethings can shell out over $100,000 for an oceanfront summer rental in one of the biggest houses on Fire Island? In general, how “real” have these reality shows been in the past? The housemates, i.e. actors, are fed story lines and scenarios they must act out in order to create drama. What can kind of stories are gong to sell, and what kind of characters are going to play out this drama? I expect we will see “the bitch,” “a token homosexual,” a “rich white kid,” the “Asian girl who is in love with the white kid, but sleeps with everyone,” the “African-American who pushes the black stereotypes,” and a “loud-mouth Strong Island guy” who just pisses everyone off.

Do these characters represent Fire Island? What will the show have to do to create a strong story that attracts America? Let the truth be told: the laid-back, chill vibe of Fire Island’s hammock-living, no-shoes style will never sell. People come to this island and leave the drama behind. They come to relax and be in a place so un-Hampton and unique it feels like a tropical paradise, not a small stretch of sand a stones-throw away from NYC.

So let me tell you how I heard about this show. Over the past few months there has been a creepy buzz about a new reality show set to film on Fire Island. In fact, I had the nauseating experience of having this news confirmed first hand. It was early May when I sat on a nearly empty ferryboat heading to Ocean Beach. I sat directly in back of three stereotypical NYC professionals: big attitudes, big mouths, and unusually big sunglasses.

Anyway, it seems the kind of people who would film this Jerry Springer-esque garbage are also the type who speak with a manner easily overheard by everyone on the boat. I gathered, by the conversation, they worked for ABC or the production team and were accompanied by (what I assumed was with his attempts to educate these people on Fire Island life) a guide. Not surprising, most of his information was way off. Bottom line, I didn’t get a vibe that the best interests of Fire Islanders were their priority.

They spoke of broad-stroke storylines, the house, the needs of the producers, the potential cast, and the party scene. But not once did I hear them speak about anything remotely associated with preserving the integrity of our precious island. You may wonder how the town of Ocean Beach, with so many crazy laws, would allow this. This is a town that will not allow you to ride a bike or eat a candy-bar on the street, but they are going to unleash this kind of negative presentation on our community — a community that takes its privacy very seriously and whose locals do everything they can to preserve this place.

So, get ready for fabricated stories about a place that we all love so much. Open your arms for the Hampton crowd as they flock to a place all-of-a-sudden new and hip. The high schools’ prom invasion, with teenagers upset with the unreal world of “reality,” and the not-so charming, muscle-bound, wife-beater, Long Island youth looking to score big with the “girls gone wild” they saw on their favorite episode of “One Ocean View.”
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