The Real Third-World

How's this for an idea for a new reality show?

Some tv studio finds or builds a huge multi-million dollar mansion in the middle of a very rich neighborhood, Beverly Hills or someplace similar. Fly by shot of the neighborhood, complete with fountains, Ferraris, and swimming pools, ending with the big "Sold" sign in front of our own beloved example of conspicuous consumption.

The loving, caring studio then goes to Africa, or south America, or someplace with mind-numbing poverty, and brings back a family. Not a typical American nuclear family, mom, dad, 2.4 children and a dog, the family called "traditional" by those who don't actually want to look back any farther than 1950's suburban life, but a real traditional family. Mother, father, 8-15 children, grandparents, aunts and uncles and their attendant children, livestock and exotic illnesses. We take this family and move it, livestock included, into the delightfully roomy mansion in Beverly Hills.

The show would consist of the family's attempts to get used to American life, and the neighbors' attempts to get used to the third world in their back yards. High points could include moments such as when the chickens get loose and roost in the movie star's gutters, when the goats have overgrazed the family's lawn and they decide to utilize the neighbors' lawns, and when the neighbors hold a neighborhood meeting and try to get the family evicted on the grounds that they're lowering property values (which might actually stand up in court).

The studio would pay all the family's bills and provide them with immigration papers and a translator if they don't speak english. The family would get to live in a safer place, the studio would make money, and we'd get to hate the celebrities we all know and love. All in all, everyone's a winner. I think it'd be fun to watch, and it might even become popular.