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To acknowledge this ongoing, hugely popular form of “entertainment” popularized by shows like The Osbournes and The Kardashians wherein some celebrity and/or family just shows off their life, Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn and Al are joined by returning guest Kayla Dryesse to discuss first few episodes of The Baldwins and talk about why this kind of show exists, what its appeal and audience is, and whether it indicates the decline of Western civilization.
Is The Baldwins basically just a lengthy Instagram post? Can such a show ever make its subject look good? How do the shows differ when its star vs. its producer is in charge? How do these shows differ from documentaries and from more overtly contrived shows like MTV’s The Real World, The Real Housewives shows, or the various dating shows that put people together to see how they interact?
Can these shows helpfully educate us about what it’s like to live a particular kind of unusual life (e.g. with a disability or unusual family situation)? Is there an advantage to seeing these situations occurring among real people over a fictionalized presentation? Is it required that all such shows be fun? (Especially since if they run long enough, inevitably someone gets seriously ill or undergoes some tragedy.)
We touch on many shows including Harry & Megan, Baylen Out Loud, Sister Wives, My 600 lb Life, The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, Jon & Kate Plus 8, and Toddlers & Tiaras.
Mark refers to the Andy Warhol film Sleep and the first family so depicted: the Loud Family. Also, see the article “Why Reality TV Doesn’t Suck, and May Even Make Us Smarter” by Grant McCracken (2012).
Follow us @law_writes, @sarahlynbruck, @MarkLinsenmayer.
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