Naked Attraction in the Czech Republic stirs the internet: For some a perfect revelation, for others a decadent entertainment
At the beginning of October, a new television dating reality show began airing on Óčko. The concept borrowed from abroad aims to prove that dating can also be done in reverse. Or rather start where you normally end. One contestant, four boxes, four naked bodies. As more parts of people's bodies in the box are gradually revealed, the contestant gradually eliminates unsuitable candidates until he ends up with two perfect matches. Then he also gets naked and the final selection is solely up to him. All this accompanied by the presenter and actress Monika Timková.
This worldwide format of a nude dating show was relatively unknown in our country, but that is changing with the arrival of our version. Our version differs from the foreign one in the length of the episodes. While abroad every episode has two parts with different contestants, we deliver it gradually to the viewers - one episode equals one contestant. The production team was perhaps rightfully afraid of viewer reactions. Is our society even ready for reverse dating?
Is nudity a test of intimate connection?
The whole concept of the show is to demonstrate the significant role physical appearance plays in selecting partners, and how we react to human bodies without filters and edits. The overlap should also be in educational interludes, which should inform or teach the viewer something new in a fun way. At the same time, it should mainly help the participants, not only with finding love.
Thanks to the diversity that each participant brings, any embarrassment is set aside. Every body has its unique story, which can bring closer a certain reality of human affairs and days. Piercings, hairiness, firm bodies, tattoos, scars, you will see everything here. Space is also given to the LGBTQ+ community, so some episodes are based on selection between protagonists of the same sex.
On the Edge of Taste
Voyeurism was not always entirely socially acceptable, perhaps except for nude beaches and erotic channels. Seeing it in full glory on television can, therefore, be somewhat of a shocking affair. The show is, due to nudity and occasional vulgar expressions, labelled eighteen-plus.
This gives all participants the opportunity to express themselves authentically and without filter. It’s clear that the production with this reality show is skating on thin ice between light quirkiness with an educational subtext and completely inappropriate nudity on television screens. The naked dating is also playing with the shock factor and human curiosity. A lot of viewers still turn it on with a certain conviction that they really can’t broadcast this on television.
The show is rocking the internet
If anything, this endeavor really succeeded in arousing attention and emotions. The internet is teeming with many articles, comments and appalled statements. Everyone knows about the show, or at least heard something about it. A smaller paradox is that Óčko itself has been broadcasting the foreign versions for a long time already. But they didn't bring nearly as much popularity as the domestic mutation.
"I laughed from the beginning to the end. Incredible sayings were falling. The cast was chosen absolutely randomly. Simply perfect, you need to see it! The Czech Naked Attraction easily competes with the foreign ones,"
said photo model and gymnast Barbora Zavadilová, a participant in the reality show Survivor for Óčko.
"This time is really declining,"
expresses his opinion under the facebook post by Oliver.
Reactions are very mixed and viewers are divided into two groups. One loves this slightly crazy project and the other finds it incomprehensible. It is just the type of program that you will either love or hate. Nothing in between.
Compared to foreign versions, the Czech one is still in its infancy. Maybe due to its novelty it lacks more serious participants. Other versions show a certain bizarreness in the stylization of their contestants, but otherwise, they are basically ordinary people. In the first episode, the production offered a really peculiar mixture of men and slightly detracted from the impression that the viewer has someone to support. But so far only the first few episodes are out and according to the plan, up to twenty are to be released in the first season.
