So another Apprentice has been dinged for acting like a reality show contestant instead of a job applicant. And that’s appropriate and right and just, because fame-whoring and drama queenery aren’t very good predictors for executive success.
But…
If Donald Trump and his minions are going to find fault with this in contestants, they might share the same criticism with the people who cast the show, because that fiefdom of the Trump empire clearly did not get the memo. At least in the case of the women apprentices, they cast for conflict, which is the default setting for reality programming. (It’s unclear as to whether that played a role with the men, and if it did, the casting directors don’t have as good an eye for volatile, pernicious men as they do for volatile, pernicious women.) And while it’s a default setting, it only serves to make the Apprentice less interesting, because the fame-whores (male or female) are destined to be picked off long before they can do any serious damage.
While Trump has no difficulty looking like an idiot, or at least amusingly ridiculous, even he seems to have his limits. And those limits clearly include the following guiding principle: Do not go on national television and appear to approve the actions of a scheming fame-whore who’s clutching for camera time by allowing them within miles of a responsible executive position.
And I just have to add… these women! I… words simply fail me. There are maybe two (Pamela, who fled the women’s team and never looked back, and blond Jennifer, who’s trying to rise above the fray of her wallowing colleagues, but rising above it isn’t doing anything to improve it, so no medals being handed out here) who do not fulfill every sexist, stereotypical criticism thrown at women in the workplace. These nightmares are alternately too emotional, too unfocused, they over-personalize everything, they stab each other in the back, they can’t balance details with the big picture… Hundreds of thousands of people applied to be on this show! Did merit have nothing to do with it?
I would be fascinated to hear what successful businesswomen (aside from Carolyn, as she’s been darn unambiguous in her response) have to say about these contestants. I would also be fascinated to know what message they think the show is sending about women in the workplace, or women with ambition, or whatever. Because, even though it’s only a reality show, it does seem to specifically reinforce negative images. It’s just… ICK.