Review by Booklist Review
Sociology professor Lindemann explores the way reality television reflects American society in this deep dive into the most-talked about shows of the last three decades. Busting past the supposition that these shows are nothing more than "guilty pleasures," Lindemann lays bare the way the Kardashians, the Real Housewives, the contestants on Survivor, and the casts of many other shows are simply "versions of ourselves who go too far." Those competitors on Survivor might be extreme, but they do demonstrate how people work together in groups. The ubiquitous Kardashians with their wealth and relationship drama might not represent the average person, but their emphasis on familial bonds is something most can relate to. Lindemann also points out the ways reality TV mirrors and upholds society's class, race, and gender divides in shows like Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, America's Next Top Model, and Celebrity Wife Swap. With the election of businessman and reality-TV star Donald Trump as U.S. president in 2016, the reach and influence of reality TV was evident for all to see. An eye-opening and entertaining read.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In this insightful study, sociologist Lindemann (Commuter Spouses) dissects one of pop culture's most derided phenomena: reality TV. She considers why the genre has become the touchstone it is in America today and argues that, though "bold and garish," it also "holds the potential to explore new possibilities... gain a keener understanding of ourselves." She makes astute points by tracing the history of the genre all the way back to MTV's The Real World in 1992, and offering analysis of popular shows such as Survivor, Keeping Up with the Kardashians, and the Real Housewives franchise. One of the genre's main hooks, she explains, is the sociological give-and-take it presents, wherein viewers expect certain behaviors from specific cast members who, in turn, cash in on these preconceived ideas "to craft... a self." While this "reciprocal process" often reinforces stereotypes around gender roles, sexuality, and race, she points out how such confines have also been subverted, as evidenced in Cardi B's reappropriation of the word ratchet during her time on Love & Hip Hop "as a form of resistance." In sum, Lindemann argues, these shows "remind us that deviance exists on a spectrum and... what is acceptable changes across social contexts." This takes the guilt out of a popular guilty pleasure. (Oct.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Sociologist and reality TV fan Lindemann (Lehigh Univ.; Commuter Spouses) investigates what the genre says about modern culture--why we watch, the shows' social impacts, and how these series reinforce stereotypes and tropes. Lindemann traces the roots of reality television back to the quiz shows of the 1950s and romance-oriented shows of the 1960s. She explains that reality programming became especially popular in the 1990s and early 2000s, due to the desire for voyeuristic pleasure, coupled with actors' skyrocketing salaries and high production costs for mainstream scripted shows. Beginning with MTV's The Real World, Lindemann groups programs based on the institutions and social constrictions they represent, from the "intensive mothering" of reality TV moms, to the gendered conventional expectations for love and romance in dating shows such as The Bachelor, to the intersection of reality and politics illustrated by the Oval Office meeting between Donald Trump and Kim Kardashian. Lindemann acknowledges the unhealthy aspects of reality TV but presents it in a mostly positive light--as a vehicle to showcase people who might not otherwise get a platform and as an opportunity for audiences to enjoy a shared experience. VERDICT An insightful and thoughtful study of reality TV that fans of the genre will appreciate.--Lisa Henry, Kirkwood P.L., MO
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
For reality TV fans looking for high-minded, scholarly reasons to defend what many consider "guilty pleasure" viewing, here is a book filled with them. Lindemann, an associate professor of sociology at Lehigh University, crafts a thorough, well-plotted argument that shows how MTV's Real World franchise, reality competitions like the Survivor series, and the universe of Real Housewives stars both influence popular culture and are shaped by it. Though the narrative is constructed like a doctoral thesis--the first half moves from an examination of reality TV's impact on the self, couples, groups, and families to tackling big issues like race, gender, and sexuality in the second half--the author drops in enough quirky tidbits about Cardi B or various Kardashians, especially at the beginning, to keep things moving. She walks the line between entertaining and educational as she discusses how unscripted TV is "a fun-house mirror of our dominant, heteronormative culture, and even as it deals in sexual archetypes, the genre also shows us some possibilities for transcending our deeply entrenched roles and expectations." But given the ever growing cavalcade of fascinating personalities to write about--e.g., the megarich Kardashian and Jenner families, battling Real Housewives, and groundbreaking activists like Pedro from The Real World: San Francisco--Lindemann's discourse usually ends up toward the academic side. "We've seen how it has popped from its documentary roots," she writes, "thrusting zanier and zanier cast members into increasingly convoluted and provocative scenarios." However, we see little of that zaniness or the escapist interest that attract people to the format in the first place. When the author does indulge--as she does with a fascinating look at how "real" "Countess" LuAnn de Lesseps is on the Real Housewives of New York City--it just makes you want more. A vigorous, sometimes predictable defense for reality TV that could use more of the genre's surprises. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
