I've spent the first part of my early summer evenings fascinated by MTV's docu-series Catfish where two filmmakers investigate an online romance that has one person eager to meet and the other hesitant and elusive. It's fun to wager bets on whether the reveal at the end will be the person they've claimed to be... or someone else entirely, catfishing the initial person through fake pictures and elaborate stories.

The interesting thing about Catfish, beyond the exploitative reality TV elements, is that it's a lesson in Red Pill theory, told in completion, in just 45 minutes. Each and every episode. Need more confirmation, watch more than one episode. Want a good cross-section of people, binge the series.

Catfish is so good because it's an accurate representation of reality. Let me explain...

The average person writing in to Catfish for help sorting out their elusive long-distance online romantic partner ISN'T a pathetic loser, who'd theoretically be unable to attract someone in real life (although the show does have its share of this...). Rather, the average Catfish protagonist is a rather average person.... and there in lies the RED PILL.

They'll start the episode talking about how they're in love with their elusive online girlfriend/boyfriend. When asked what they love about them, they cite a deep personal connection that they've been unable to establish with anyone met in real life.... and then we get to see the pictures this mystery person has sent them.... which, for the red pill aware, paints the true picture.

Remember, we don't listen to what people say, we observe their actions.

The pictures sent will typically be of an impossibly good looking person, usually 3-4 notches above our protagonist. Sometimes they will resemble a professional model (literally, as the catfish will often use pictures stolen from professional models). The protagonist yammers on about love and connection but the pictures stand out like a sore thumb- and, as you might guess, it's NEVER the reverse. The catfish is NEVER less attractive than the protagonist.

Like a true cross section, yes, sometimes it works out and the person is who they said they were... a small, small minority of the time, the person isn't who they said they were and the protagonist truly doesn't care- it was about connection after all.

However, the vast majority of the time, the person is lying because they are obese/highly unattractive and, suddenly, despite being in love and having this strong connection for months, and sometimes years, the protagonist is immediately uninterested in the catfish.

Dropped like a rock uninterested.

ANALYSIS:

Why? Because the strong connection was total bullshit, as it (almost) always is. The protagonist thought he/she lucked into a relationship with someone far more valuable than himself/herself. To make that person stick around, they used the strong connection snake-oil as if to say "when I'm the lesser aesthetically valuable of the two of us, looks don't matter in favor of a strong connection."

Suddenly, when the protagonist realizes that the reverse is actually what's happened- that they are far better looking than their mysterious online love interest- the strong connection dies a swift death. As it turns out, they were excited by the prospect of dating someone far more valuable than whom they're used to and when that aspect of the relationship evaporates, as does their interest.

Welcome to Hell