The Compound

The unnamed reality television show at the center of The Compound is an amalgamation of two subgenres: romance reality and survival reality, epitomized by Love Island (2015-present) and Survivor (2000-present), respectively. The current iteration of Love Island began in 2015; it has been an international hit ever since, with 22 international editions existing worldwide. The show features a group of young, attractive contestants living in an isolated villa under constant video surveillance. As in The Compound, contestants on Love Island (known as “Islanders”) must be in a couple to remain in the villa. Like their fictional counterparts, Islanders cannot have phones or any access to the outside world, and periods of inactivity are punctuated by “challenges” in which the group or individuals can win prizes. Rawle’s use of the words “boys” and “girls” to describe men and women in their twenties and thirties similarly reflects the show’s conventions. Beyond these structural parallels, the scene in which producers manipulate Lily into discovering Ryan’s affair with Vanessa echoes real-life instances of Love Island producers revealing infidelity to wronged parties through challenges. Ultimately, Rawle argues that reality romance shows like Love Island are “a cruel exaggeration of our ideas of desire and desirability” (34).

Along with its satire of romance reality, The Compound also parodies survival reality television. The most famous of these shows is Survivor, which began in 1997 as the Swedish show Expedition Robinson. Since its inception in 2000, the American version of Survivor has aired for 48 consecutive seasons. The show strands a diverse group of contestants (known as “Survivors”) in an isolated location for 26-42 days. The contestants compete in teams to complete physical challenges and puzzles to win prizes and/or immunity, forcing the other team to “Tribal Council,” where they must vote off a teammate. As in The Compound, survivors complete challenges to win things they need to survive, such as food, supplies for their living quarters, and personal items. Although Survivors are never outright denied food, as the residents of the Compound are, they are often forced to ration the little food they are given. Ryan and Sam’s killing of live ducks for food echoes many instances on Survivor where contestants received live chickens as rewards and chose to kill and eat them. The Compound critiques survival reality shows like Survivor, implying that audiences would accept a more extreme and violent version of the show if it were available.