Reality Check: Joshua Green *08

Beauty and the Geek (2007)

Beauty and the Geek is a reality television series on the CW network. It has been advertised as “The Ultimate Social Experiment.” 

The show consists of a group of “beauties,” young women who have relied primarily on their looks – and a group of “geeks” – young men who have relied primarily on intellect rather than social aptitude or looks – who are paired up to compete as couples for a shared $250,000 and other prizes. (For the fourth season, in which Green appeared, the producers modified the formula to include an extra team consisting of a male “beauty” and a female “geek.”) 

Each “beauty” lives together in a room with her “geek” during the course of the competition. There are a series of challenges, one testing the beauties on a primarily academic subject, and another that has the geeks competing in a more popular/social realm. The winners of the challenges select two teams to compete against each other in a quiz show-style question-and-answer session, with the team getting the fewest number of questions correct being eliminated.

In his words:

The show’s goal, among others, was to bring people together who normally would not interact, and force them to learn about each other. In interacting with the beauties (and even with the other geeks), I came to the conclusion that, although a lot of us come from different worlds, we can certainly get along, find some common ground, and even understand and appreciate each other. It’s easy to stay in one’s comfort zone around people that we know we’ll “get” — but there’s no real danger in venturing out.

Most memorable moment:

During the show, there was always a lot going on, and at this point, my specific memories aren’t as clear as they (maybe) used to be. Still, one incident that comes to mind is, oddly enough, my eventual elimination from the show. (My team finished the show in fourth place, out of 10 teams.) My partner, Shay, and I were interviewed separately outside the mansion, and then we were brought together for another set of interview questions. After that, we were forced to say our final good-byes. I’m not generally an emotional person, but at that point my eyes were filled with tears. We had both been through an incredible experience together, learning about random topics while really learning about each other, and it was suddenly coming to an end. 

Do it again?

The experience was certainly fun and revealing in various ways. At the same time, it fit ridiculously well into my schedule, and I’m unlikely to ever have that kind of time off again. Overall, if the opportunity somehow arose again, I’d be happy to participate, though I’d be happier if other people were given the opportunity to experience what I did.

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