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?

Five for Friday, Edition #34

1) Holiday cards - I put them in the mail Wednesday night. I presume that means my international friends will get them sometime in 2026. Woot woot! YOU GUYS. When I was cleaning my mom's house, I found my high school senior photos and there were a bunch of wallet-sized ones left, so I put them in all my high school friends' cards. Oh, and Allison got a couple. If you want to know what I looked like in high school, just imagine me with long hair and fewer wrinkles. 

I ran out of stickers, so the last few didn't get a sticker. How much am I going to let this bother me? (I think you all know that it's going to bother me, but if you get an envelope that doesn't have a sticker, it doesn't mean I don't love you.)

2) Secret SANta - Sarah was my Secret SANta and look what goodies ended up at my door! A fuzzy scarf and hat set. I think you all know I'm always cold, so what a thoughtful gift.

The deadline San set for us to mail our items was December 6. That seems reasonable, but I wanted to buy something for my swap partner at the local Holiday Market that was on that date, so I went to the market in the morning and got to the post office with five minutes before it closed. I told the rest of the story on Nicole's blog, so why am I redoing this?

3) Weather - Friends. It's batshit here. And do you know what the highs this weekend are supposed to be? I can't even. A high of five (that's -15 to you Celsius folks). Dumb. So dumb. 

4) Murderbot - Well, I am not going to let the weather bother me because my plan for the weekend is to sit on the couch with my favorite cat and watch Murderbot on Apple TV. My husband recently bought a laptop and we have three free months of Apple TV and you better believe we are watching A LOT of things. 

Do you see that car covered in snow? It's an Audi wagon and I'm so jealous of it. It's beautiful and perfect and THEY DON'T SELL IT IN THE US ANYMORE. Ahem. 

5) Cookies - Workplace demerit and gold star incoming. 

Demerit - Our holiday employee celebration was on Tuesday afternoon. It was an event running from 1-3 and we turned up about 2. I trudged across campus with some of my colleagues and arrived to find the worst food spread imaginable. There were meatballs in some sort of grey sauce (*gag*), an empty tureen of soup, some sad looking tiny sandwiches with one slice of lunchmeat (*heave*) on them, and a cheese plate. I liked the cheese, actually. There was a hot cocoa and coffee bar, but I don't drink either, so that was a bust for me personally, but went over well with everyone else. 

But the kicker? They had put a lovely sugar cookie at each place setting at some tables and there was frosting and sprinkles to decorate said cookies. But, hypothetically, if you arrived at 2, there were NO MORE COOKIES. Did I need a cookie? No. Did I trudge across campus with the thought that maybe I could get a cookie? Yes. 

I was actually more insulted with the lackluster food than if there had just been no food. That is all. Are you listening, Big Guy in Charge? (I actually really hope he doesn't read my blog.)

Gold star: The dean of our college

 (This might actually be confusing for non higher ed folks. I work at a university that is made up of six individual colleges. I work for one of those colleges. People frequently say they're going to college and that's technically true, but not all colleges are universities, but all universities have at least two colleges.)

hosts a Cookies and Cocoa event every year. His partner is a baker extraordinaire and she makes SO MANY COOKIES. And guess what? On Wednesday, I got cookies and the leftovers stay in the kitchen on our floor! Woot! Cookies galore at the end of the week. 

Also, I was bringing a friend a meal on Monday, so I made spiced chocolate chip cookies and brown butter sugar cookies AND we're going to a dealio tonight, so I made buckeyes last night. There has been SO MUCH BUTTER AND SUGAR usage in our house. It's going to be brutal when I have to go back to reality in January. But right now? My candy/cookie game is great.

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Are you going to be caught up in this Arctic blast? What's the last cookie you ate? 

5.11 Stranger - Flicking Images, Sports

Bestest Friend and I are doing a blog project. Each day we will write a blog post on a pre-determined theme chosen by a random noun generator. The theme for the eleventh day of the month is "Stranger."

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In general, I rarely watch television or movies. There are books to read, dogs to walk, and dinners to cook and I never learned how to watch flickering images on screens. I'm not even joking about this. I feel like at some point we teach kids how to sit still and watch tv, but I was never really given that lesson. I never know where to look at the screen and am forever saying "hey, what's going on in the left corner of the screen?" and my husband becomes annoyed. 

I also really don't care much about sports. I admire athleticism (soccer players run so much, so far!), but as someone who is non-competitive, I don't really understand about rules or winning or the thrill of the game. Because I am rarely presented with live sports and you must watch a flickering screen, you can also see how I would perhaps miss the goal scoring bits because I am too busy watching the camera man on the edge of the screen as he kneels on the field to get a good shot.  

(I also live somewhere with state sports teams that are ubiquitous and as someone who does not root for these teams, it can be dispiriting to live here. That's a rant for another day.)

So. Film and sports. Not my jam.

My husband started watching Netflix's Break Point, a show about professional tennis players, and I was reading on the couch and was suddenly really invested in the personal relationships of several tennis players whose names I had never heard before. But then! Then! He started Full Swing, the documentary series about golf players, and before I knew it, I was asking him if we had time to watch an episode before we started dinner and if he could wait for me to walk the dog before he started a new episode. GOLF! The most boring sport on the planet. GOLF!

Then today he texted me a news article about one of the players and I read it, had an opinion about it, and knew the journalist that was mentioned in the article. Who have I even become? What a strange turn of events.  I'm sure that now that we've watched all the episodes, I will cease to care about golf.

When's the last time you had a brief obsession with something that is completely unlike your normal interests?

Snapshot of My Day, Edition #6, 6/23/2022

I got the idea for a "snapshot" type of post from Stephany who got it from Torrie over at To Love and To Learn. I'm a straight up copycat of their format!

Right now.

Time I woke up: Just before my alarm went off this morning at around 6:15. The birds were chirping and the sun was streaming in through the windows.

First thing I did upon waking: Stumbled over to my phone to turn off the alarm and then I went around closing upstairs windows to keep the cool air from overnight in during the day.

Today's weather: Mid-80s and sunny.  Clear blue skies. It's a pretty perfect summer day.

Today is Hannah's third Gotcha Day. We're so proud of our little nugget.

An out-of-the-ordinary thing that happened today: The neighbors have been working on their front porch, which is to say that they totally demolished it. Today they were pouring concrete for a new slab and footings and Hannah the Dog lost her mind at one of the workers. She has rarely been so excitable on a walk and it was not a shining moment in her training.

Last thing I read (not on the Internet): I'm reading Dark Lover (Black Dagger Brotherhood #1) by J.R. Ward because we chose it as our book club book for the month on my joking recommendation. I do not think this book series is perfect (the names all have extra letters in them! like Rhage! and Tohrment!, Ward can't resist name dropping designer brands all the time, and her constant use of the term "shitkickers" instead of shoes or boots is frustrating), but her worldbuilding is solid and in the later books she really dives into some of the difficulties of being in a long-term relationship which is not something you really see in romance a lot.  Do I sound defensive about this choice? It's because I am. I said it sort of jokingly, not expecting that everyone would jump on the suggestion. *sigh* I'll let you know next week how it went over with members of my book, but I'm guessing that the answer is not really well.  

Last thing I read (on the Internet): I read a long reddit thread about the scandal involving Billy Jensen, the former host of the podcast The Murder Squad.  I'm also slightly obsessed with why the McElroys are so abruptly ending their current campaign on The Adventure Zone and moving from weekly to biweekly and have spent more than my fair amount of time reading through threads about that, too. I love juicy podcasting gossip.

Last text I received: Reminder from the vet that Hannah has an appointment tomorrow. (Of course she does!)

Last text I sent: My BFF sent me a meme via text (above) and I texted back "Lolol. It's too true."

Last website I visited: A local two-year college's website to look at job postings.

Our grocery store stocks these in the summer months, so I eat one every night after dinner. I do not regret the extra 100 calories a day.

Last show I watched: I watched an episode of season two of Floor is Lava on Netflix after a particularly stressful job meeting. 

Last podcast I listened to: I'm relistening to Binge Mode Harry Potter as a comfort listen and I just finished the episode on the fourth movie.

Last thing I said: Hannah still won't eat her snack. I don't know how we're going to get her to take her afternoon meds. (I said this to Dr. BB in case that wasn't clear.)

Last thing I ate: Blue Diamond Habanero BBQ Almonds.

Things are crazy next door!

What I was doing an hour ago: Watching Floor is Lava.

What I will be doing an hour from now: Attempting to get Hannah to eat dinner. I suspect it will not go well.

Current whereabouts of the other members of the household: Hannah is sleeping in her bed in the room next to me, Zelda is on her cat tree in the mudroom, and Dr. BB is upstairs practicing guitar.

One thing I crossed off my to-do list today: I had one small assignment at work today to write a paragraph or two explaining something we're doing and I did it.  I procrastinated for far too long, but it was done, so that's that.

I'm only slightly mortified at what a mess my work space is. Only slightly, though.

That's a wrap. Is your desk neater than mine? Does your dog refuse to eat?  Let me know what crazy demolition is happening in your neighborhood!

TM and GBBO: Why Good Things Must End (I Guess)

Both Taskmaster (TM) and Great British Bake-Off  (GBBO) had their finals on Friday and I'm over here wondering what I'm going to do with my Fridays for the rest of my life.  

I'm going to try to remain spoiler-free, but who even knows what a spoiler is these days, so be aware.

The contestants on Taskmaster were wonderful this season.  

Photo credit.

1) Victoria Coren Mitchell (VCM) is so smart and was so unable to undo the impression that the Taskmaster had that she was incapable of everyday tasks that she was unfairly underscored throughout the entire season. Highlights of her season include basically solving a puzzle by herself while her teammate patiently allowed her to run roughshod over him and her learning how to ride a bike during a task. 

2) Morgana Robinson was just a bundle of hysterical chaos. From the first task when she called the Taskmaster's assistant a filthy name to the last task when she dressed up as a sex-crazed mermaid, it was impossible to take your eyes off of her.  

3) Guz Khan is absolutely hysterical and his ability to sell anything to the Taskmaster was pure genius - VCM should have learned something from Guz, but she never quite pulled it off.  At one point, Greg asked him if he had ever been in sales and he admitted he had and it was just the best.

4) Desiree Burch is an American woman and absolutely the star of the show as far as I was concerned. She was so very good at prize tasks, from her first prize task of a beautiful chaise lounge to the last one of a air dancer, she got full marks for the prize task in 6/10 episodes.  And let's not forget the time she ate sand or pounded a drink without closing her mouth in seven seconds.  Desiree was not someone I was familiar with before this show, but now I'm a huge fan.

5) Alan Davies just looked like he had so much fun during the whole show. Even when he was failing miserably at a task, he was just laughing and smiling. There was a really sweet moment when he was creating a scene with toys in a bathtub and Desiree offhandedly said "he must be a really good dad" and he just looked so chuffed. I enjoyed his whole vibe. He was VCM's partner in the task when she was solving a riddle and he had half the answer, but he was just so patient with her. I bet he IS a good dad.

But the tasks were a bit lackluster, to be honest. There weren't a lot of tasks in which the contestants could just do whatever they wanted.  Most of them were pretty set (watch Alex do a dance twice and then complete the dance, using these tools pop the balloon, get a chair into the tower room, etc.) and the thing that made them funny was that the contestants were funny.  Whatever. A not-great season of TM is better than most television, I think.

Photo credit

The Great British Bake Off had many highs and lows. The contestants were absolutely fabulous and so nice and kind and I loved it when they helped each other, particularly when the German guy would teach the young kids things. I have nothing negative to say about the contestants, particularly given that they were away from their families and friends for such an extended period of time.  It couldn't have bene easy to live in a baking bubble like that.

But basically everything else about this season was terrible. I hate that "earning" a Hollywood handshake is equivalent to earning star baker or winning a technical. It seems that performance in the technical challenge is no longer evaluated in terms of who should go home (episode nine, *ahem*).  I'm not sure why they even bother with them if they're just going to ignore them in judging.

And then there is the problem of the hosts. I was recently watching an earlier season with Mel and Sue and those two were such geniuses at doing little gags that were a) funny b) food-related, and c) uplifted the bakers.  Maybe Sue grabs the spatula with something yummy on it and tells Mel how delicious it is as she's keeping it away from Mel, maybe Mel puts the bakes in her pocket because she wants to eat it later, or maybe they just stand and watch the bakers watch the cakes in the oven and ask the bakers what they are watching for.  

Noel and Matt don't seem to give a rat's ass about food. I've never seen either one of them "sample" a bake.  Maybe this is a COVID restriction, but they don't even ask about food, either. They ask the bakers to talk trash about bakers, predict things, and then do these never-ending bits and skits that seem to distract the bakers from what they're doing. They don't ask about technique or what they're doing or what their ideas are.  I have historically liked Noel Fielding (a Taskmaster alum, *natch*), but I found him quite nasty in the last two episodes of the season. I honestly left the season thinking that if they don't get new hosts, I might not watch the next season.  How can this be?! How can it go from appointment television to I can't watch these two fools be mean/distracting to the bakers so quickly?!  

So that's that. I am currently rewatching GBBO episodes of old with Mel, Sue, and Mary, but what will I watch when I'm done with that? Probably nothing, to be honest. I'll just read all the time.  Be prepared for more book reviews!

Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning

Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning is the first book in the beloved Fever franchise.  Moning develops a world in which Dublin is the center of an emergent Fae revival and that is bad news for humans.  The heroine, Mac, goes to Dublin after her sister is murdered there, looking for clues to figure out exactly what happened to her.  She meets Barrons, a bookstore owner who has some occult knowledge and contacts throughout Dublin.  They start to work together (sort of) to find some obscure book that will apparently halt this Fae invasion.  

Mac loves pink, thinks about nail polish constantly, and doesn't seem to consider it dangerous to walk down dark streets in an unknown city by herself.  Barrons is broody, grumpy, and uncommunicative.  And these are the people in charge of saving the human race?  Heaven help us all.

(We have been watching episodes of Top Shot, an old reality show that used to run on the History Channel and which is mostly available on Netflix. There's a guy in the fourth season who is a federal police officer and veteran from the Air Force and he was just so immature.  Every time he would come on the screen, Dr. BB and I would roll our eyes because if this is the type of person who is in charge of national security, we are seriously doomed.)

(We have been watching this show because Dr. BB is convinced civil unrest will be happening. He wants me to be comfortable with firearms. Instead, I talk constantly about how beautiful the Bulldog Gatling gun, a completely impractical weapon that requires multiple people to operate, is. We also purchased a slingshot, so don't come around our house unless you want me to attempt to hit you with a clay pellet.)

Okay, back to this book. I would classify this book as an urban fantasy more than a paranormal romance. Frankly, it's not a romance at all, which is why I'm absolutely confused as to why it is frequently listed as one of the greatest romance novels.  This book is mostly about world building.  Dublin has a dark, hidden side and we're going to explore the city. There are dark areas of the city that are entirely missing from maps and this book walks us through those areas.  The book also covers the introduction of the Fae.  We have a completely naive character in Mac who is learning about this other world as we do and is even writing up a glossary to help us follow. This is all done competently, although, full disclosure, it's not exactly to my taste.

But there's no romance.  Some might call this a slow burn, but even then there's no resolution - I'm not sure if Mac is going to end up romantically attached to Barrons or V'lanes or someone else entirely. There's no happily ever after, which definitely hurts the romance novel fan in my soul.  

So, there you have it. An adequate introduction to a fantastical world that lives beside the world you and I know, but not a love story.  I think I would probably send you to the Rivers of London series instead of the Fever series if you want urban fantasy (London instead of Dublin, but you're still over there in Europe). If you want romance, I don't know exactly where to send you, but it isn't here.