Battle of the Bots!

Battlebots airs on ABC on weekends. Link here: http://abc.go.com/shows/battlebots

Flames shoot forth from the yellow-bodied beast! "Stinger"  moves in swiftly, trying to melt the wheels off his opponent. But, the silver "Bronco" has few tricks of his own  on-board. Well, ok maybe just one trick, and it's basically to flip opponents into the air. Such as when he did this:

"Bronco" Flipping "Stinger" OVER the wall, near the audience (while flamethrower was still active)

"Bronco" Flipping "Stinger" OVER the wall, near the audience (while flamethrower was still active)

 "Bronco" wins the match, the crowd goes wild, the owners rush in to perform robo-surgery, and... Commercials time! Yep, I had received the requisite ~5 minutes of quality TV programming, and was now... Getting programmed? We'll leave the commercials alone since, most of the time, they are muted anyway. 

Plus, when we get back to the show there will be a lot more action in the next match. I bet they will drop right into the battle.  ...Yeah right! Since when would we abandon such a meaty subject as Televised messaging to entrap the minds of viewers... Especially if we can just stare:

Hi, I'm l+\@@/+l    

Hi, I'm l+\@@/+l    

Oops, did you lose your brain back there with our advertisers? Oh, you're fine. Just cast your gaze upon this glowing screen. I mean, just look at those... teeth. 

Oops, did you lose your brain back there with our advertisers? Oh, you're fine. Just cast your gaze upon this glowing screen. I mean, just look at those... teeth. 

Here, we have questions tossed to the MEN, who are clearly the only sex capable of discussing "technical details." So much for supporting more girls/women in STEM... 

Here, we have questions tossed to the MEN, who are clearly the only sex capable of discussing "technical details." So much for supporting more girls/women in STEM... 

So, about that whole "Sex-appeal" dynamic... I have a few questions, but doubt they'll ever be answered:

  1. WHO Chose this dynamic & staging? Was it the Producer who said "2 guys who look like they're serious + 1 ditzy-style blonde bombshell will sell the show!" Or, was it higher-up in ABC that this schema formed?
  2. WHY Do they think you NEED this set-up? Is the idea really just to draw in as many of the masses as possible? "We've already got the nerds with Robots & Flamethrowers. Let's toss in some eye-candy to get the rest of the world!"
  3. WILL YOU be manipulated in this manner? Look around your workspace, house, neighborhood, etc... and you will find tons of similar advertising & messaging. 

    Have a Great Day, Enjoy the Show, and Keep Aware