The Washington Post - USA (2022-02-20)

E6 EZ EE THE WASHINGTON POST.SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 20 , 2022

BOOK WORLD

the chapters that follow are a love

letter to sociology — to its capac-

ity to show us how a form of pop

culture often belittled as low-

brow, frivolous, and nonredeem-

ing can so vividly illuminate our

own social worlds.”

One major theme is that our

culture is nowhere near as pro-

gressive as some might like to

think it is. “While conservative

groups would be unlikely to en-

dorse most of these shows, they’re

havens for some of the most

old-fashioned values that pulse

through contemporary American

society,” she writes. “They show

us how steadfastly we cling to

conventional ideas about, for in-

stance, families, marriages, sex,

women’s roles, Black bodies, and

queer people.” While that may not

be shocking, she remarks, “What

is surprising, perhaps, is that

these often outrageous programs

would serve as beacons of our

retrograde values.”

For example, shows like “Sister

Wives” illustrate how uncomfort-

able some viewers still are with

anything beyond a nuclear fam-

ily; and the eighth season of “Are

You the One?,” featuring all sexu-

ally fluid cast members, was still

considered groundbreaking in

2019.

Lindemann peppers the book

with such outrageousness, keep-

ing it from feeling too much like a

textbook — especially with fa-

mous scenes that fans would re-

member, such as Shereé Whit-

field’s legendary “Who gon check

me, boo?” on “The Real House-

wives of Atlanta.” Each chapter

kicks off with an anecdote that

supports its overall theme. Exam-

ples include Alana Thompson’s

appearance on “Toddlers & Tiar-

as” (and how the spinoff, “Here

Comes Honey Boo Boo,” can serve

as an examination of class struc-

TRUE STORY

What Reality

TV Says

A bout Us

By Danielle J.

Lindemann

Farrar, Straus

and Giroux.

352 pp. $30

BY EMILY YAHR

S

top us if this scene sounds

familiar: You’re at a gather-

ing and you bring up a

reality show you enjoy —

“Real Housewives,” perhaps, or

“Keeping Up With the Kar-

dashians” or “90 Day Fiancé.” All

of a sudden, a smug onlooker cuts

in. “You actually watch that gar-

bage?” they might say, rolling

their eyes, before going on to tell

you about their superior taste in

pop culture — or maybe boast

that they don’t even watch televi-

sion, and really prefer to read.

On one hand, it’s hard to be-

lieve that these kinds of conversa-

tions still occur, especially after a

reality competition show paved a

path to the presidency. On the

other, it is a genre associated with

female viewers, and we know how

society treats things that women

enjoy.

Danielle J. Lindemann, an as-

sociate professor of sociology at

Lehigh University, has heard it all

before, particularly when she

shares with new acquaintances

that she teaches a class on the

sociology of reality TV. In her new

book, “True Story: What Reality

TV Says About Us,” she explains

that people will frequently tell

her that they don’t watch reality

TV, even if they sure seem to know

a lot about the shows and the

stars. Others are mortified if their

spouse spills that they watch “The

Bachelor.” And a common ques-

tion when she mentions her col-

lege course: “Is it about how the

shows are all fake?”

But Lindemann argues quite

convincingly that despite people’s

knee-jerk mockery of reality TV

or reflexive embarrassment at be-

ing “caught” as a viewer, studying

the genre gives us a better under-

standing of our world and our-

selves. The book takes a deep dive

into reality TV through a socio-

logical lens, looking at how the

genre reveals American thinking

on gender, race, sex, families and

more, repeatedly reinforcing Lin-

demann’s point with evidence

from social scientists, anthropol-

ogists, philosophers and media

psychologists.

“An often ridiculed form of

entertainment, seemingly mar-

ginal to the serious business of

life, reality TV is in fact a pop-cul-

tural touchstone that illuminates

our everyday experiences and can

help us to make sense of complex

social forces,” she writes. “The

genre is a fun-house mirror, to be

sure, but one that powerfully

reflects the contours of our social

world. It takes the elements that

are central to our culture — our

collective preferences, our norms

and taboos, and the jagged edges

of our social inequalities — and

beams them out to us in frenetic

detail.”

Lindemann is quick to ac-

knowledge that experts and re-

searchers have long discussed the

impact that TV has on our lives

and that some of her points may

seem obvious: Reality shows like

“The Bachelor” are hyper-focused

on gender roles, for instance, and

racial stereotypes proliferate on

shows from Bravo to VH1. But

Lindemann’s academic expertise,

as well as her enormous amount

of research (including many

hours of watching reality shows,

of which she is a fan), gives

readers a more thorough under-

standing of what this genre ex-

poses about society.

“While I personally like reality

TV, this book is not a love letter to

the genre. And while I recognize

that many of these programs are

deeply problematic, neither is it a

critique,” she adds. “If anything,

ture) and the woman on “My

Strange Addiction” who ate

couch cushions (for an explora-

tion of “deviants,” defined as

those who fall outside the norms

of society).

And, of course, Lindemann

knows you can’t have a book

about reality TV without the most

consequential star of all. Former

president Donald Trump is only

mentioned in a few asides — such

as how he was a caricature of the

classic “mean judge” on “The

Apprentice,” a trope carrying on

in ways that audiences generally

tolerate only from White men —

until the end, when Lindemann

ties many of her conclusions to-

gether.

“The thick intergrowth of fic-

tion and truth confronts us every-

where. Although we can’t lay this

development at the feet of Trump

or reality TV writ large, the fact

that a reality star was installed in

the Oval Office is crucial evidence

of our continued synthesis of art

and life,” she writes. “Indeed,

Trump’s ability to blur the two

may have been buffered by our

decades of watching reality TV.”

While this may be the most

famous example of reality TV’s

impact, Lindemann brings up

many more. At times, the tone

almost feels defensive as she reit-

erates, over and over, the lessons

of the genre — which makes sense

coming from someone who teach-

es a class about a subject that

causes many to scoff. Fans of

reality TV can relate. And now,

when confronted with such snob-

bery, they can say that if the

person likes reading so much,

they have the perfect book to

recommend.

[email protected]

Emily Yahr is an entertainment

reporter for The Washington Post.

An unflinching look at truth in the antic mirror of reality TV

CYNDI SHATTUCK

Author Danielle J.

Lindemann is an

associate professor of

sociology at Lehigh

University, where she

teaches a class on reality

TV. She is also a fan of

the genre, which she

describes in her book as

“a pop-cultural

touchstone that

illuminates our everyday

experiences and can help

us to make sense of

complex social forces.”

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