{"id":2282451,"date":"2024-06-24T06:58:02","date_gmt":"2024-06-24T10:58:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cue-the-sun-reviews-reality-tv-for-intelligentsia-not-true-fans\/"},"modified":"2024-06-24T07:03:22","modified_gmt":"2024-06-24T11:03:22","slug":"cue-the-sun-reviews-reality-tv-for-intelligentsia-not-true-fans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cue-the-sun-reviews-reality-tv-for-intelligentsia-not-true-fans\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Cue The Sun!&#8217; Reviews Reality TV For Intelligentsia, Not True Fans"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcue-the-sun-reviews-reality-tv-for-intelligentsia-not-true-fans%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2282451&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The summary revolves \u200baround the author&#8217;s exploration into the world\u2062 of reality television as influenced by marriage and newfound\u2064 enthusiasm \u2062for \u2064the genre. The discussion branched into Emily Nussbaum&#8217;s \u200bbook &#8220;Cue the Sun!&#8221; which offers a \u200dhistory of\u2064 reality TV. Contrary to the zest that \u2062might\u2062 be expected \u200bfrom a fan of the genre, the book presents a\u200c detailed scholarly analysis\u200d on the\u2064 evolution of\u2063 reality TV, focusing\u200b heavily on\u2062 production \u200dprocesses, stylistic innovations, and labor conditions right from the 1940s radio shows to\u200c modern-day hits like \u200c&#8221;Survivor.&#8221; The analytical\u2064 tone of the book caters more to a critical audience \u200bthan \u2064to everyday fans, delving into topics like unionization and the influence on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/why-this-average-american-is-voting-for-donald-trump\/\" title=\"Why This Average American Is Voting for Donald Trump\">mainstream media<\/a>, which might not appeal to all reality TV enthusiasts.<\/p>\n<p>The text also shares insights\u2063 on manipulative production techniques and the changes in public \u2063and participant perceptions over the decades, spurred \u2062especially\u200b by the\u200b radical\u2063 transparency facilitated by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-new-acting-attorney-general-jeff-rosen-recently-wrote-an-essay-on-foreign-influence-in-us-elections-this-tells-us-a-little-about-his-knowledge-of-whats-going-on-today\/\" title=\"The New Acting Attorney General Jeff Rosen Recently Wrote an Essay on Foreign Influence in US Elections \u2013 This Tells Us A Little About His Knowledge of What\u2019s Going On Today\">social media platforms<\/a>. This illustrated a\u200d shift in\u2063 reality TV where personal lives\u200c are commodified as\u200c participants \u200bbecome more aware and proactive \u2062in portraying their lives for public consumption. The book questions the implications of such a media landscape on genuine human\u200b experiences \u200dand personal identity. The discomfort raised by enjoying spectacles of others\u2019 miseries or mishaps\u200c and the normalization of once-taboo\u2063 behaviors are also critical themes. These reflect broader societal\u200c changes influenced by\u200b the pervasive nature\u2063 of reality television and public voyeurism, rounding out a comprehensive if somewhat academic examination of the reality TV industry.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>When I got married, I started watching my wife\u2019s favorite genre: reality television. As an adult convert, I joined the ranks of reality fans with fresh eyes. Chit-chat about highbrow television is often quite dull and perfunctory: \u201cOh yeah, that\u2019s a great show.\u201d Telling someone that you too like \u201c90 Day Fianc\u00e9\u201d is an entirely different experience. The enthusiasm, commitment, and lack of pretension reality fans possess are striking and endearing. Joining this community has changed my social life.<\/p>\n<p>So I approached Emily Nussbaum\u2019s history of reality TV, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.penguinrandomhouse.com\/books\/563029\/cue-the-sun-by-emily-nussbaum\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Cue the Sun!<\/a><\/em>, with great eagerness, hoping to glean some insights on how the sausage is made at TLC, Bravo, and other networks I\u2019ve grown to love. What became apparent, as Nussbaum worked her way through the evolution of reality programming, is that this book is neither for me nor your friend who loves TLC.<\/p>\n<p>Unlike its subject matter, this book is not particularly fun. Instead, it\u2019s a series of roughly standalone chapters detailing the production process, stylistic innovations, and labor conditions of reality programs ranging from 1940s radio to \u201cSurvivor.\u201d This format makes it easy for you to flip to your favorite show\u2019s chapter. <\/p>\n<p>But again, the book is designed for a liberal intelligentsia that may view these shows as guilty pleasures but wants to maintain an ironic or intellectual detachment from them. They want to discuss unionization efforts and the stylistic debt \u201cThe Office\u201d owes reality TV rather than how a three-part tell-all is still not enough to cap a really great season. This is not the dishy, behind-the-scenes book aimed at \u201cBachelor Nation.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><strong>What You Came For<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Nevertheless, a few (though genuinely, very few) juicy scoops sneak through.<\/p>\n<p>One of the best ones is offered by Sarah Shapiro, an early producer on \u201cThe Bachelor.\u201d Shapiro started out as a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College interested in \u201cmaximalist queer art, equal parts grotesque and gorgeous.\u201d She ended up on the set of \u201cThe Bachelor,\u201d where she found she had a knack for being \u201cthe schlubby best friend who hot girls tell sh-t to.\u201d Nussbaum offers a liberal critique of the \u201cbone-deep sexism,\u201d \u201cThe Bachelor,\u201d and Shapiro\u2019s situation: \u201cThe series tapped a wellspring of internalized misogyny, teaching her to aim it at other women.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Shapiro\u2019s take is a little less highfalutin: \u201cI started getting rewarded for it and I started getting money for it \u2014 and then I started feeling like it was actually really f-cking satisfying! Like: <em>Destroy <\/em>these b-tches.\u201d Insiders call manipulative producers posing as confidantes \u201cpreditors,\u201d a mash-up of predator and editor. Shapiro was one of the best.<\/p>\n<p>One season, Shapiro knew her contestant wasn\u2019t getting the final rose, but sensing an opportunity, she began pumping the bachelorette up: \u201cOh my God, I\u2019m going to get fired for telling you this. Like: Oh my God, oh my God. It\u2019s <em>you<\/em>.\u201d She got the bachelorette into her dress, excited and liquored up. When she was rejected, Shapiro earned hours of meltdown footage and high praise from her bosses.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>What Reality Has Wrought<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The book\u2019s title, <em>Cue the Sun!<\/em>, is a reference to \u201cThe Truman Show,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=dlnmQbPGuls\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the 1998 Jim Carrey movie<\/a> where he plays a man who doesn\u2019t realize he\u2019s the star of a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/american-idol-accused-of-using-conway-daughter-for-ratings\/\" title=\"\u2018American Idol\u2019 Accused Of Using Conway Daughter For Ratings\">reality television show<\/a> and all his \u201cfriends\u201d are actually actors. The film looks prescient in our modern influencer culture, nailing the voyeurism, the artificiality, and the solipsism that\u2019s become commonplace. Everyone is running his own brand, starring in his own show, and the best at it get paid.<\/p>\n<p>This development has left some industry veterans quite cynical. When Mike Fleiss first pitched \u201cThe Bachelor,\u201d people didn\u2019t understand why you would kiss someone on camera. Now, Fleiss said, \u201cThis new generation is just like, \u2018Why would I ever kiss somebody <em>off <\/em>camera?\u2019 That\u2019s where they\u2019re at.\u201d Traditionally, producers would use alcohol or lack of sleep to induce reckless and entertaining behavior. Now exhibitionists need no prodding. In fact, they need to be well-rested and well-treated to deliver the antics they know the showrunners want.<\/p>\n<p>Nussbaum recently wrote a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/magazine\/2024\/05\/27\/is-love-is-blind-a-toxic-workplace\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">column<\/a> asking if \u201cLove Is Blind\u201d is a \u201ctoxic workplace.\u201d In some ways, this idea marks reality TV completing its arc. When \u201cAn American Family\u201d first came out in 1973, the subjects were authentic because they didn\u2019t really understand what it meant to allow cameras to film them and editors to dramatize their lives. Now reality TV has so permeated mainstream culture that cast members view themselves as \u201cworkers\u201d who knowingly sell their personal lives. The difference between Instagramming your entire life and appearing on \u201cThe Bachelor\u201d is one of degree, not kind.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Where Do We Go From Here<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>These are the uncomfortable issues reality TV raises. In a world shaped by \u201cKeeping Up With the Kardashians\u201d and social media, how do you live a real life rather than a curated facsimile of one? When does entertainment shift from harmless to normalizing taboo and indecorous behavior? What does it mean to live in a world where people gladly bare all for a small shot at C-list fame? And is it cruel to enjoy watching them suffer when they\u2019ve signed up for this?<\/p>\n<p>Nietzsche famously <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oxfordreference.com\/display\/10.1093\/acref\/9780191843730.001.0001\/q-oro-ed5-00007886\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a>, \u201cIf you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.\u201d After close to a hundred years of reality programming and generations of critics declaring it a spectacle that degrades public morality, there is clearly a growing section of fans and cast members that do not view reality TV as stylistic achievement (like Nussbaum) or absurd entertainment (like me and most people I know).<\/p>\n<p>To them, \u201cLove is Blind\u201d is a workplace, and Kim Kardashian is a hero. Her empire, built on selling every scrap of her integrity and privacy is not a moral failure or cause for morbid curiosity, it\u2019s an entrepreneurial victory. Fifty-seven percent of Gen Zers, if given the choice, would <a href=\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/business-news\/what-is-gen-zs-no-1-career-choice-social-media-influencer\/459387\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">choose to be social media influencers<\/a>. As traditional norms and institutions have lost influence, reality TV has gone from vulgar sideshow to mainstream aspirational content.<\/p>\n<p>While Nussbaum predictably goes after Trump, claiming that \u201cThe Apprentice\u201d rebranded a \u201cmultiply-bankrupt ignoramus\u201d who left a \u201cstain on real estate, Twitter, and democracy,\u201d the truth is that Trump, Kim Kardashian, and RuPaul are all rewriting the rules of what\u2019s acceptable and praiseworthy. If Kim Kardashian is a mogul and RuPaul is an icon, then Donald Trump is indeed \u201ca great businessman.\u201d But on these sorts of issues, Nussbaum is silent, content with condemning Trump but looking no further.<\/p>\n<p>Like \u201cThe Truman Show,\u201d our world can feel surreal. People jump at the chance to sell their privacy, their integrity, and their souls for a shot at fame. It can be strange and sad but also intriguing and comical. A little prudence helps separate the good from the bad, the degrading from the entertaining. And at the end of the day, as all reality fans know, you need a good sense of humor to enjoy the absurdity of it all.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Ben Christenson <a href=\"https:\/\/benjaminchristenson.com\/articles\/\">writes<\/a> from Virginia, where he lives with his family and pets.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After marrying, I began enjoying my wife&#8217;s preferred reality TV shows. As a new fan, I found discussions about sophisticated series often bland. However, sharing enthusiasm for shows like &#8220;90 Day Fianc\u00e9&#8221; sparked more engaging conversations<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1418,"featured_media":2282452,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Copy-of-Book-Cover-Featured-Image-2-1.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[32384,32385,32383,16230,32386],"class_list":["post-2282451","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-cue-the-sun","tag-intelligentsia","tag-reality-tv","tag-reviews","tag-tv-critics"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Copy-of-Book-Cover-Featured-Image-2-1.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2282451","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1418"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2282451"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2282451\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2282452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2282451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2282451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2282451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}