Cue the Sun! The Invention of Reality TV by Emily Nussbaum

Stephany recommended Cue the Sun! The Invention of Reality TV by Emily Nussbaum almost a year ago and I just got around to reading it. I mean, I do eventually circle around to my TBR.

Like Stephany, if you had asked me about the origins of reality television, I would have said it all started with The Real World on MTV (RIP MTV). Of course I would think it was The Real World because man did I eat that up when I was a teenager (This is the true story…of seven strangers…picked to live in a house…and have their lives taped…to find out what happens…when people stop being polite…and start getting real), but Nussbaum goes back in time and talks about Candid Camera and The Dating Game and goes into the deep history of the genre. 

And then things get darker as modern reality tv shows pop up. The way contestants and crew were treated on shows like Survivor and The Bachelor was atrocious and Nussbaum discusses living and working conditions and brings receipts with interviews with people who had been on set (or, in the case of Survivor, on island where in the first season they didn't have places for the crew to sleep). She discusses the evolution of contestants from Julie's naive presence on The Real World to contestants who see these types of shows as a way to jumpstart their own influencer status. 

And then things get even darker with The Apprentice and I will say no more than that. It was incredibly hard to read. 

What I like about this is that Nussbaum is clearly a fan of the genre. She doesn't pretend that she wasn't watching the live feed of the first season of Big Brother 24/7. She doesn't shy away from her eagerness to see the next episode of The Bachelor. But she also knows there are definite issues with reality television, with the exploitation of labor, including cast and crew, with the long-term psychological damage, with the way it sends contestants off into the world of pseudo-celebrity without any support (or money), with the way it edits and cuts to create stories that weren't there, and with the way it distorts what reality is. And that's not to mention the gender and racial inequities.  

I appreciate when books take pop culture seriously (more on why I take it seriously is here). What is shown on television and in the movies moves the needle in the world. The needle is often sociopolitical - think of Mr. Rogers dipping his feet into a pool with a black man, Dawson's Creek showing two men kissing, or Pedro Zamora showing everyone the reality of life of a gay man with HIV (more on him below). I think Nussbaum carves the perfect middle point of discussing why we enjoy reality with the critical lens of why we maybe shouldn't. 

Even if you aren't a reality television person, this book is worth reading. I mean, look what's happening to the American politick if nothing else. 4.5/5 stars

Lines of note:

It was the reality paradox that would, in later years, became [sic] endemic: They were superstars, but without the paycheck or social protection that usually accompanied mind-blowing celebrity. Each cast member had earned $2,600, with the first half paid weekly to cover expenses. (page 138-139)

But he did find it irresponsible that MTV hadn't offered the cast any counseling. Part of the problem with reality fame was having trusted the producers in the first place, absorbing their praise, he pointed out: If you hated your portrayal, you had to confront the fact that maybe your "puppet masters" hadn't cared about you, after all. (page 140)

That was the catch-22 of the reality genre: The savvier its subjects became, the more self-aware about their roles, the less authentic the footage was - but, arguably, the more ethical. (page 141)

The European reality phenomenon has its own complicated history, involving a separate set of pioneers, many of them easily as shameless and piratical as any Hollywood Hustler. (page 172) 

He didn't dislike the cast, he told me; it was hard not to feel some tenderness for people you watched all day. But being in the control room felt like being a prison guard - it was tempting to use your power. (page 259)

When Trump was elected president, some of the people who had worked on The Apprentice felt responsible, even (and based on my interviews, especially) those low on the call sheet. Camera operator Sarah Levy lamented that they had "created this false view of him." Former audio technician Richard Velazquez told me, "It kills me, because we created this jerk. We assisted him with his plans. It's our fault." (page 383)

For Mike Fleiss, the creator of The Bachelor, Trump's rise felt like an indelible stain on the genre, exposing something existentially rotten in the industry. "All that talk about the decline of Western civilization and the sign of the apocalypse? It turned out to be true," he said. (page 386)

Things I looked up:

Pedro Zamora (xvii) - He was after my time watching The Real World. Pedro Zamora was a Cuban-American AIDS educator and television personality. As one of the first openly gay men with AIDS to be portrayed in popular media, Zamora brought international attention to HIV/AIDS and LGBTQ issues and prejudices through his appearance on MTV's reality television series The Real World: San Francisco. 

Zamora's romantic relationship with Sean Sasser was also documented on the show; their relationship was later nominated by MTV viewers for "Favorite Love Story" award, and the broadcast of their commitment ceremony in 1994, in which they exchanged vows, was the first such same-sex ceremony in television history, and is considered a landmark in the history of the medium. He died shortly after the finale of his season of The Real World aired at age 22. 

Baudrillard (xix) - Sean Baudrillard was a French sociologist and philosopher with an interest in cultural studies. He is best known for his analyses of media, contemporary culture, and technological communication, as well as his formulation of concepts such as hyperreality. Frankly, I'm a bit surprised I didn't know this name. 

Stanley Kowalski (page 24) - a fictional character in Tennessee Williams' play A Streetcar Named Desire. Do I have to read this play now?

1985 music video "Stop the Madness" (page 94) - Insane anti-drug video starring, among others, Whitney Houston (woof)

1951 "Bloody Christmas" scandal (page 99) - Bloody Christmas was the severe beating of seven civilians by members of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) on December 25, 1951. The attacks, which left five Mexican American and two white young men with broken bones and ruptured organs, were only properly investigated after lobbying from the Mexican American community. The internal inquiry by Los Angeles Chief of Police William H. Parker resulted in eight police officers being indicted for the assaults, 54 being transferred, and 39 suspended.

sub-rosa (page 168) - a Latin phrase which denotes secrecy or confidentiality. The rose has an ancient history as a symbol of secrecy. Its opposite term is sub vino, meaning "under [the grape]vine", referring to being loose-lipped whilst under the influence of alcohol.

palapa (page 327) - ambiguous in the book - could be a thatched roof made of palm tree leaves, common in Central America and Mexico OR a Filipino condiment originating from the Maranao people

Hat mentions (why hats?): 

...they all removed their hats. (page 21)

...as Funt breaks eggs into his expensive hat. (page 23)

Cracking a few eggs into a hat no longer felt especially transgressive...(page 27)

"Chuck would put a hat on me and make me his chauffeur, then have me drive to the dentist." (page 39)

He tugged his hat down over his eyes...(page 42)

...revealing a smirking drug dealer in a Panama hat...(page 94)

...lounge around their SoHo loft wearing clown hats and cowrie beads...(page 136)

"My hats are off to the people who created it..." (page 151)

Indiana Jones-esque Akubra hat (page 172)

a hat tip to the slavery miniseries Roots (page 244)

...wore only a red cowboy hat and a gun belt. (page 288)

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Did you click on the link to the "Stop the Madness" video? How batshit were the 1980s?