Catfish the Docu-Series: Review

Nev and Max, creators of Catfish: The Movie, and the well-known documentary series, Catfish, are back in full swing with their latest season. In a nutshell, the term Catfish is used to describe a person posing as someone else online. This show's concept is clever, and is inspired from Nev's own experience of being deceived by a fake account.

Catfish follows people hoping to meet their significant other after talking to them online. The episodes start off with Nev and Max having been contacted by their guest for help in uncovering the person they have been communicating with. Little do the guests on the show realise that many of the faces behind the accounts are not the same face shown in the profile pictures, which is revealed at the end of each episode.

Catfish is a prime example of uncovering the ‘dark’ side of social media, and with new episodes having released this year, it perfectly brings to light and proves that the misuse of social media is still a problem occurring today.

Catfish fan tweets

One of the highlights of Catfish is that the show's creators make the most use out of a hand-held camera to video blog, or ‘vlog,’ majority of each episode. Since the show is in no form a professionally made documentary, ‘vlogging’ gives it a friendlier feel and helps to capture extra moments with the guest that would not typically be seen in a professional documentary.

While the show is entertaining, it is also at times highly bizarre and unrealistic, especially when some of the Catfish guests explain how they have never talked to their significant other on the phone in all the years they have known them, a sure sign that that the account cannot possibly be legitimate.

Catfish fan tweets

The most alarming segment of the show must be when Nev and Max begin digging up information to uncover the person behind the potentially fake account. Seeing Nev and Max collect all this evidence curates an unnerving reminder that a lot of information put up online is open and free for anyone to see – and anyone to steal.

One of the best part of this docu-series is when Nev gets in contact via a phone call with the perpetrators. It can almost be comical to hear the impersonator answer the phone as their alter ego, especially if Nev and Max had already uncovered the truth beforehand.

Catfish fan tweets

Each Catfish episode is packed with a mixture of emotion and intensity, usually built up towards the end when the impersonator agrees to have Max, Nev and the show's guest visit them at their house. The show creates this ‘edge of the seat moment’ when the face behind the profile steps out to meet the victim for the first time in person.

Something to applaud about Catfish is that they keep things fair. The aftermath of the situation is handled well, with Nev and Max sitting down with the person behind the fake account to hear their side of the story. The last few minutes of the episodes normally take a deeper turn and become emotional, as many of the perpetrators have admitted to creating fake accounts due to past negative experiences.

Catfish fan tweets

Catfish is a good reminder of the malicious part of social media, where anyone can pose as someone else. With these fake social media accounts having full control of the content they post, this docu-series serves as a warning to support the classic saying: don't believe everything you see online.

With Catfish back on air, and the drama just as an intense as ever, this is a series worth checking out.

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