Overview
āWritten with a storytellerās verve, a journalistās skepticism, a criticās astuteness, and a fanās loving eye.āāMichael Chabon, author ofĀ The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
Who invented reality television, the worldās most dangerous pop-culture genre? And why canāt we look away? In this revelatory, deeply reported account of the rise of ādirty documentaryāāfrom its contentious roots in radio to the ascent of Donald TrumpāEmily Nussbaum unearths the origin story of the genre that ate the world, as told through the lively voices of the people who built it. At once gimlet-eyed and empathetic, Cue the Sun! explores the morally charged, funny, and sometimes tragic consequences of the hunt for something real inside something fake.
In sharp, absorbing prose, Nussbaum traces the jagged fuses of experimentation that exploded with Survivor at the turn of the millennium. She introduces the genreās trickster pioneers, from the icy Allen Funt to the shambolic Chuck Barris; Cops auteur John Langley; cynical Bachelor ringmaster Mike Fleiss; and Jon Murray and Mary-Ellis Bunim, the visionaries behind The Real Worldāalong with dozens of stars from An American Family, The Real World, Big Brother, Survivor, and The Bachelor. We learn about the tools of the tradeālike the Frankenbite, a deceptive editorās best friendāand ugly tales of exploitation. But Cue the Sun! also celebrates realityās peculiar power: a jolt of emotion that could never have come from a script.
What happened to the first reality stars, the Loudsāand why wonāt they speak to the couple who filmed them? Which serial killer won on The Dating Game? Nussbaum explores reality TV as a strike-breaker, the queer roots of Bravo, the dark truth behind The Apprentice, and more. A shrewd observer who adores television, Nussbaum is the ideal voice for the first substantive history of the genre that, for better or worse, made America what it is today.
This book title, Cue the Sun! (The Invention of Reality TV), ISBN: 9780525508991, by Emily Nussbaum, published by Random House Publishing Group (June 25, 2024) is available in hardcover. Our minimum order quantity is 25 copies. All standard bulk book orders ship FREE in the continental USA and delivered in 4-10 business days.
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