The Pick Up Artist
Mystery Shows Social Misfits How to Approach Women
His name is really “Eric” but as he’ll tell the eight guys looking for guidance, one must have a groovy handle in order to properly pick up women. Mystery, as he calls himself, is a self-professed pick up artist who will take a group of guys that claim to have no luck with women and transform them into genuine studs.
Eight Guys Without Game Head to Texas
The eight guys that signed up for the show will all travel to Austin, Texas, where they will learn new lessons each week on how to talk to a girl. Mystery and two of his assistants (who he calls his “wingmen”) work with the guys in showing them the proper opening lines, body confidence, and image to approach women. After each lesson, the guys then go to out into the real world armed with their new knowledge and demonstrate what they’ve learned on real women in clubs and bars. Mystery and his wingmen watch the guys in action from hidden cameras placed throughout the club.
Mystery decides how well each guy did in the weekly challenges, and thus awards the top performers a medallion. As is the case with other reality shows, the weakest performer is eliminated and must go home. At the end of eight weeks, one man will then be named “Master Pick Up Artist” and receive $50,000.
Tongue Tied
But it’s clear from watching this show that the prize money (and even the crown of “Master Pick Up Artist”) seem secondary to the contestants in this competition. The men range in age from lower 20s to mid 40s. Their ethnicity and backgrounds are all entirely different. What they do share is an inability to talk to women. They lack the basic communications skills necessary to start up a conversation with the opposite sex, and when combined with their fear of the female gender, they blush, stutter, and sometimes, freeze in mid-sentence. Many of the guys have never had a girlfriend, and several are still virgins, including the 45-year old, Fred.
The appealing characteristic of the contestants is the fact that, while many men have a bit of intimidation when it comes to approaching a woman for a date, these guys allow it to stop them from even trying.
More Than Just a Competition
Combined with their social awkwardness, however, is sense of naivety and innocence. These guys are not just there to pick up women; rather, they seem desperate to find that one special woman just for them. This virtuousness pulls on the heartstrings of viewers as they watch the contestants sincerely learn each new technique in hopes of changing their approach, and possibly, their life.
Next up: Peacock Theory and gambits.
The Pick Up Artist
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