Big Brother

 Big Brother is a television reality show which was first broadcast in Netherlands in 1999. The inspiration for its title came from the George Orwell’s 1949 dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four in which Big Brother is an ever present, all seeing and all controlling entity. In each season of the series, a diverse group of people are invited to live together in Big Brother’s house. They are completely cut off from the rest of the world and are kept under constant surveillance. The season lasts for about 3 months and generally there are less than 16 guests. At regular intervals, the house mates are invited to have one out of a number of nominated housemates evicted. The last remaining housemate is declared a winner at the end of the game. The winner usually receives huge cash prize along with car, holiday and in some editions even house.

 The show often invites ire and derision from critics and intellectuals alike for its voyeuristic nature as contestants surrender their privacy in return of minor celebrity status and cash prize. But the show has proved to be a huge commercial success around the world.