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True Story: What Reality TV Says about Us
A sociological study of reality TV that explores its rise as a culture-dominating medium—and what the genre reveals about our attitudes toward race, gender, class, and sexuality
What do we see when we watch reality television?
In True Story: What Reality TV Says About Us, the sociologist and TV-lover Danielle J. Lindemann takes a long, hard look in the “funhouse mirror” of this genre. From the first episodes of The Real World to countless rose ceremonies to the White House, reality TV has not just remade our entertainment and cultural landscape (which it undeniably has). Reality TV, Lindemann argues, uniquely reflects our everyday experiences and social topography back to us. Applying scholarly research—including studies of inequality, culture, and deviance—to specific shows, Lindemann layers sharp insights with social theory, humor, pop cultural references, and anecdotes from her own life to show us who we really are.
By taking reality TV seriously, True Story argues, we can better understand key institutions (like families, schools, and prisons) and broad social constructs (such as gender, race, class, and sexuality). From The Bachelor to Real Housewives to COPS and more (so much more!), reality programming unveils the major circuits of power that organize our lives—and the extent to which our own realities are, in fact, socially constructed.
Whether we’re watching conniving Survivor contestants or three-year-old beauty queens, these “guilty pleasures” underscore how conservative our society remains, and how steadfastly we cling to our notions about who or what counts as legitimate or “real.” At once an entertaining chronicle of reality TV obsession and a pioneering work of sociology, True Story holds up a mirror to our society: the reflection may not always be pretty—but we can’t look away.
Includes Black-and-White Illustrations
What do we see when we watch reality television?
In True Story: What Reality TV Says About Us, the sociologist and TV-lover Danielle J. Lindemann takes a long, hard look in the “funhouse mirror” of this genre. From the first episodes of The Real World to countless rose ceremonies to the White House, reality TV has not just remade our entertainment and cultural landscape (which it undeniably has). Reality TV, Lindemann argues, uniquely reflects our everyday experiences and social topography back to us. Applying scholarly research—including studies of inequality, culture, and deviance—to specific shows, Lindemann layers sharp insights with social theory, humor, pop cultural references, and anecdotes from her own life to show us who we really are.
By taking reality TV seriously, True Story argues, we can better understand key institutions (like families, schools, and prisons) and broad social constructs (such as gender, race, class, and sexuality). From The Bachelor to Real Housewives to COPS and more (so much more!), reality programming unveils the major circuits of power that organize our lives—and the extent to which our own realities are, in fact, socially constructed.
Whether we’re watching conniving Survivor contestants or three-year-old beauty queens, these “guilty pleasures” underscore how conservative our society remains, and how steadfastly we cling to our notions about who or what counts as legitimate or “real.” At once an entertaining chronicle of reality TV obsession and a pioneering work of sociology, True Story holds up a mirror to our society: the reflection may not always be pretty—but we can’t look away.
Includes Black-and-White Illustrations
Audible Audio
First published February 15, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 177 reviews
May 16, 2022
This book is a survey of sociology using the medium of Reality TV to discuss topics like class and cultural norms. Id maybe compare it to taking soc101 with an entertaining professor.
I really wanted more. A deeper dive into the phenomenon of reality tv, some sort of synthesis to leave with. Most of it was just looking at surface level topics like race and gender, then giving examples from various reality tv shows.
I really wanted more. A deeper dive into the phenomenon of reality tv, some sort of synthesis to leave with. Most of it was just looking at surface level topics like race and gender, then giving examples from various reality tv shows.
May 23, 2022
This book was so so so disappointing. I expected some interesting analysis about what makes reality shows so addictive, about how we justify the exploitative nature of reality tv, and about the prominence of reality tv celebrities or people being “famous for being famous” means. Instead, this book stayed so surface level that the points made were so obvious they didn’t seem worth mentioning. Each section basically listed examples of how reality shows reflect social norms/constructs. Paraphrasing here, but each section read like “shows like Keeping Up With The Kardashians depict families, and in society, we also live in families” or “there are many dating/marriage reality shows like The Bachelor and in society marriage is celebrated”. I’m amazed that the author was able to stretch this for so long without really saying anything. I’d recommend skipping this one.
October 23, 2022
“These programs offer us things and people ostensibly in need of fixing… (and) also show us people who push back against society’s norms. The genre shows us how conservative we remain”. This paragraph very briefly sums up the detailed gist of this book- the latter half of which I admit to mostly skimming.
Reality TV is “a guilty pleasure” which 77% of respondents of a study had watched frequently or sometimes - yet perceived negatively.
I was curious to read this book- what insight would this sociologist author provide? Unfortunately, half of the programs were unfamiliar to me- but the patterns she found were familiar. Reality tv reinforces the status quo, even while it “exposes” what Lindemann describes as deviancy- the hoarders, the grossly obese - and it tells us who we should be. Yes, we should have plastic surgery, but not bad plastic surgery so we need a reality TV show to fix it. Women are defined by homemaker roles, by beauty and men by muscles and wealth.
Lindemann explores the roles of African Americans in reality shows and relates them to the slave trade and then later minstrel shows. She writes about the intelligent robot persona assigned to Asians; white men hold power everywhere.
I’ve watched quite a lot of reality tv since COVID shut me in; I then dealt with limitations which meant that “watching” others do while I was flattened took my mind off my unfortunate situation- if I couldn’t cook, I could binge on Top Chef and Chopped! Netflix entertained me with a few trashy real estate shows; the houses and people were beautiful but I didn’t believe anything! And sometimes the shows were just white noise while I read. Good “crap and bad crap” - none of it asked much of me, I thought.
I’ve revised my opinion a bit since reading this book; basically most media sets us up to digest a common mindset. Whew.
The first half of the book is very interesting. The last needed tighter editing as there was a great deal of repetition.
Three stars- a steady first half and good ideas.
Reality TV is “a guilty pleasure” which 77% of respondents of a study had watched frequently or sometimes - yet perceived negatively.
I was curious to read this book- what insight would this sociologist author provide? Unfortunately, half of the programs were unfamiliar to me- but the patterns she found were familiar. Reality tv reinforces the status quo, even while it “exposes” what Lindemann describes as deviancy- the hoarders, the grossly obese - and it tells us who we should be. Yes, we should have plastic surgery, but not bad plastic surgery so we need a reality TV show to fix it. Women are defined by homemaker roles, by beauty and men by muscles and wealth.
Lindemann explores the roles of African Americans in reality shows and relates them to the slave trade and then later minstrel shows. She writes about the intelligent robot persona assigned to Asians; white men hold power everywhere.
I’ve watched quite a lot of reality tv since COVID shut me in; I then dealt with limitations which meant that “watching” others do while I was flattened took my mind off my unfortunate situation- if I couldn’t cook, I could binge on Top Chef and Chopped! Netflix entertained me with a few trashy real estate shows; the houses and people were beautiful but I didn’t believe anything! And sometimes the shows were just white noise while I read. Good “crap and bad crap” - none of it asked much of me, I thought.
I’ve revised my opinion a bit since reading this book; basically most media sets us up to digest a common mindset. Whew.
The first half of the book is very interesting. The last needed tighter editing as there was a great deal of repetition.
Three stars- a steady first half and good ideas.
January 6, 2022
Interesting book on reality television and how it influences/has influenced people. Racism, sexuality & other things like not conforming to stereotypes are discussed with plenty of examples. I have no background in sociology, I just like to watch "easy entertainment" like The Hills or other reality TV shows sometimes. A background is not needed, the book is clear, easy to read and entertaining. I learned something from this book about why watching reality TV is so attractive to people, but can also be a source of the spread of hate and misinformation.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC to read. Opinions are my honest thoughts.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC to read. Opinions are my honest thoughts.
October 11, 2022
I feel kind of bad giving this rating because this was well written but the sociology was very 101 so as a sociology major, not much was new or interesting for me.
June 13, 2023
4.5 Stars Rounded up
Despite the title this is a book for folks who understand and are interested in sociology.
I see many reviews complaining that this doesn't address the reasons why individuals watch but the study of individuals and why they do what they do is psychology.
Sociology addresses group behaviors.
I think this book also puts folks off because this book addresses race & racism directly.
The author doesn't understand some of the nuances of racism and how it intersects with success.
I say this is reference to Cardi B. Who is mentioned often in this text for her ability to break class, race and gender boundaries. Yet the main reason this path was open to Cardi B is because she's light skin and obviously a POC but reads as ambiguous.
Meg Thee Stallion would not be allowed that same access to success, even though she's arguably more talented.
I'm a fan of both stars but Meg is definitely more talented.
At the same time Meg was blamed for being shot in the foot by a much less well known and status rapper.
That does not relate to reality TV bur it is a part of sociology which would understand why Meg is treated differently than Cardi.
None the less well done and informative.
Despite the title this is a book for folks who understand and are interested in sociology.
I see many reviews complaining that this doesn't address the reasons why individuals watch but the study of individuals and why they do what they do is psychology.
Sociology addresses group behaviors.
I think this book also puts folks off because this book addresses race & racism directly.
The author doesn't understand some of the nuances of racism and how it intersects with success.
I say this is reference to Cardi B. Who is mentioned often in this text for her ability to break class, race and gender boundaries. Yet the main reason this path was open to Cardi B is because she's light skin and obviously a POC but reads as ambiguous.
Meg Thee Stallion would not be allowed that same access to success, even though she's arguably more talented.
I'm a fan of both stars but Meg is definitely more talented.
At the same time Meg was blamed for being shot in the foot by a much less well known and status rapper.
That does not relate to reality TV bur it is a part of sociology which would understand why Meg is treated differently than Cardi.
None the less well done and informative.
March 14, 2022
The science of ”I know, because I believe that to be true”. And some guilt tripping thrown in for good measure.
August 19, 2022
Generally interesting, but pretty surface level and repetitive.
March 31, 2022
SNL did a sketch on UK's Love Island where the narrator says - you will watch 50 hours of this. You think you won't but you will. And when I tuned into my very first reality show - Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, I realized how right that narrator in the sketch was. There are tiny nuggets of useless information about housewives that's found permanent residence in my brain.
The author digs down and deep and explores the sociology of reality TV. What's the allure, what's the appeal to unlikable people with incredible privilege, why the attraction towards petty drama between people when there are genuine problems around us? Its perhaps another form of escapist television since majority of the time the "real" people seem incredibly scripted and putting on a show for a dime. But once in a while, the realness comes out unwittingly exposing an echelon of people clinging on to archaic definitions of classism, elitism, corruption of thoughts, racism, sexism, making a caricature and stereotyping minorities and often fetishization of queers.
Being non-American, non-western, the author's exploration of the cultural impact both domestically and internationally made for an interesting read.
Thank you to Netgalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for providing me with a free copy of this e-book in exchange for an honest review.
The author digs down and deep and explores the sociology of reality TV. What's the allure, what's the appeal to unlikable people with incredible privilege, why the attraction towards petty drama between people when there are genuine problems around us? Its perhaps another form of escapist television since majority of the time the "real" people seem incredibly scripted and putting on a show for a dime. But once in a while, the realness comes out unwittingly exposing an echelon of people clinging on to archaic definitions of classism, elitism, corruption of thoughts, racism, sexism, making a caricature and stereotyping minorities and often fetishization of queers.
Being non-American, non-western, the author's exploration of the cultural impact both domestically and internationally made for an interesting read.
Thank you to Netgalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for providing me with a free copy of this e-book in exchange for an honest review.
June 30, 2022
Danielle Lindemann is a sociology professor at Lehigh University. In True Story she explores what reality TV says about us as a culture and our values. The first section of the book looked at how to view reality TV shows through a sociological lens and the second section focuses on what reality TV says about different aspects of our culture - class, race, gender, sexuality, and deviance. It's an interesting book and it definitely made me think more about some of these shows that I often write off as trashy or dumb (any Real Housewives or Kardashian shows). I definitely watch reality TV and Lindemann does a good job of really exploring what these shows say about our overall culture/values and why we are drawn to them. It was really interesting when she talked about why people watch reality TV - whether lower class people aspiring or dreaming of being rich like the Kardashians or Real Housewives or upper class people watching more as a "train wreck" to reinforce their own views and position in society as right/better. The chapter on deviance was really interesting too because Lindemann doesn't mean deviant like kinky or criminal, but more in outside the norm - so shows like My Strange Addiction or Hoarders fit into this category. Overall, a really interesting and unique book.
Also, as a side bar, if you don't hear Jon from Real World season 2 singing "true story" from the intro to the show when you read this title did you even live through the 90's?!
Some quotes I liked:
"Like our controlling images of poor and working-class people, or the racial stereotypes that have their roots in minstrelsy, our long-standing beliefs about women and men as 'naturally' different helps to justify the unequal roles we play in the home, the workplace, politics, and the economy." (p. 197)
"The presence of deviance doesn't mean that society is breaking down; it means its working correctly. For [Emile] Durkheim, deviance shores up our notions of what's normal and, in doing so, reinforces our social cohesiveness. Like townspeople in an old horror film chasing after a monster with their torches, we are bonded in our collective rejection of the ones who do not belong. This has always happened, Durkheim suggests, and will always happen. If fact, if we were a society of saints, we would simply redraw the boundaries of acceptability so that some of our members might still be cast as deviant." (p. 247)
"Even if the acceptability of these programs does vary, there's a reason people refer to the genre, writ large, as 'guilty pleasure' TV. We reserve that label for a particular range of cultural pursuits. We likely wouldn't call attending a Shakespearean play or reading Proust a 'guilty pleasure,' so why are we guilty about this?...aside from the occasional educational nugget, we don't 'get' anything from these programs. Yet professional sports don't have intellectual value either, and we don't regularly refer to them as 'guilty pleasures.'...unlike sports, it's a genre associated with more female viewership than male and we tend to devalue cultural products geared toward women (e.g., 'chick flicks,' 'chick lit')...There's a stink to reality TV that has never quite worn off, no matter how many people watch or how much the genre becomes a part of contemporary life. And maybe we're reticent to admit we watch these shows because we think their participants' behavior reflects on us - and maybe because we know that it does." (p. 251-53)
[On Donald Trump as reality TV star turned President of the United States] "As the communications theorist Dana Cloud points out, Trump's devotees took him 'seriously' but not 'literally': 'His language is keyed to produce a feeling rather than make a convincing argument....Part of being credible is resonating with the lives and struggles of one's audience.' Along similar lines, the media scholar Misha Kavka has pointed out that reality TV 'works at the level of feeling rather than cognitive content.'" (p. 260-61)
"Americans have long been concerned with the erosion of 'traditional' values, and one might expect reality TV's outrageous misfits to be at the leading edge of that erosion. But while conservative groups would be unlikely to endorse most of these shows, they've havens for some of the most old-fashioned values that pulse through contemporary American society. They show us how steadfastly we cling to conventional ideas about, for instance, families, marriages, sex, women's roles, Black bodies, and queer people. And here, too, reality TV and Donald Trump align. Both have relied on conservatism repackaged as outlandishness." (p. 262-63)
Also, as a side bar, if you don't hear Jon from Real World season 2 singing "true story" from the intro to the show when you read this title did you even live through the 90's?!
Some quotes I liked:
"Like our controlling images of poor and working-class people, or the racial stereotypes that have their roots in minstrelsy, our long-standing beliefs about women and men as 'naturally' different helps to justify the unequal roles we play in the home, the workplace, politics, and the economy." (p. 197)
"The presence of deviance doesn't mean that society is breaking down; it means its working correctly. For [Emile] Durkheim, deviance shores up our notions of what's normal and, in doing so, reinforces our social cohesiveness. Like townspeople in an old horror film chasing after a monster with their torches, we are bonded in our collective rejection of the ones who do not belong. This has always happened, Durkheim suggests, and will always happen. If fact, if we were a society of saints, we would simply redraw the boundaries of acceptability so that some of our members might still be cast as deviant." (p. 247)
"Even if the acceptability of these programs does vary, there's a reason people refer to the genre, writ large, as 'guilty pleasure' TV. We reserve that label for a particular range of cultural pursuits. We likely wouldn't call attending a Shakespearean play or reading Proust a 'guilty pleasure,' so why are we guilty about this?...aside from the occasional educational nugget, we don't 'get' anything from these programs. Yet professional sports don't have intellectual value either, and we don't regularly refer to them as 'guilty pleasures.'...unlike sports, it's a genre associated with more female viewership than male and we tend to devalue cultural products geared toward women (e.g., 'chick flicks,' 'chick lit')...There's a stink to reality TV that has never quite worn off, no matter how many people watch or how much the genre becomes a part of contemporary life. And maybe we're reticent to admit we watch these shows because we think their participants' behavior reflects on us - and maybe because we know that it does." (p. 251-53)
[On Donald Trump as reality TV star turned President of the United States] "As the communications theorist Dana Cloud points out, Trump's devotees took him 'seriously' but not 'literally': 'His language is keyed to produce a feeling rather than make a convincing argument....Part of being credible is resonating with the lives and struggles of one's audience.' Along similar lines, the media scholar Misha Kavka has pointed out that reality TV 'works at the level of feeling rather than cognitive content.'" (p. 260-61)
"Americans have long been concerned with the erosion of 'traditional' values, and one might expect reality TV's outrageous misfits to be at the leading edge of that erosion. But while conservative groups would be unlikely to endorse most of these shows, they've havens for some of the most old-fashioned values that pulse through contemporary American society. They show us how steadfastly we cling to conventional ideas about, for instance, families, marriages, sex, women's roles, Black bodies, and queer people. And here, too, reality TV and Donald Trump align. Both have relied on conservatism repackaged as outlandishness." (p. 262-63)
December 9, 2023
This might have been interesting if one had never had any exposure to any level of cultural criticism/critical theory or media/pop culture analysis before. A basic, introductory primer that doesn’t probe deeply enough. Sample unsurprising conclusion: Shows like The Bachelor perpetuate traditional gender roles and heteronormativity.
September 9, 2022
Some nice topics, most of them on the second part of the book, but I honestly expected more.
February 16, 2024
Read: February 2024
I really liked the premise of this book but I didn't really enjoy reading it. It read like someone's sociology dissertation that they'd gone on to get published, so while it was well written I found it quite dry and serious despite the topic. It was also very focused on American reality TV and I haven't watched enough of it to really understand the characters or shows mentioned in the book.
I really liked the premise of this book but I didn't really enjoy reading it. It read like someone's sociology dissertation that they'd gone on to get published, so while it was well written I found it quite dry and serious despite the topic. It was also very focused on American reality TV and I haven't watched enough of it to really understand the characters or shows mentioned in the book.
Read
July 3, 2024as a reality tv lover, i found this an interesting read! i liked the deep analysis on reality tv shows and how they tend to reflect the culture and society we live in. i also liked learning about different reality tv shows i hadn’t heard of or didn’t know much about, and it impacted certain groups. the author also deep dives race, gender and sexuality and how those topics are portrayed on screen. i also learned a lot about sociology which was pretty fascinating. overall a very niche but enjoyable read!
August 4, 2022
I was interested to read this based on the blurb: a sociologist's analysis of reality TV, exploring what it says about class and other aspects of society. Disappointingly, it was far more shallow than I'd hoped, clearly written by a fan of the genre and relatively uncritical of it, despite the author's credentials (a PhD from Columbia no less). Perhaps she dumbed it down for a general audience, but it seemed written for her undergraduate students, who might be surprised that class affects judgements of taste. The text has many digressions explaining the work of various thinkers in sociology:
You don't say.
For a better take on American classes and tastes, I still prefer Paul Fussell's book "Class: A Guide Through the American Status System," from 1983. It may be dated, but it's both more entertaining and far more insightful.
...while we tend to think taste is random and highly individualized, it has a socialized component. Indeed, [Pierre Bourdieu] found that our preferences in things such as music and cuisine are highly aligned with socioeconomic class; in particular, there is lowbrow culture and there is highbrow culture, and elites are socialized to enjoy the latter.
You don't say.
For a better take on American classes and tastes, I still prefer Paul Fussell's book "Class: A Guide Through the American Status System," from 1983. It may be dated, but it's both more entertaining and far more insightful.
June 25, 2022
This non-fiction book is a sociological work about, as the subtitle says, what reality tv says about our society. It’s neither for or against reality tv as a genre - although you can tell the author is a big fan! Rather, it explores how reality television shows illuminate, and occasionally subvert, various societal ideals and social constructs about everything from dating and marriage, family, race, class, gender, sexuality, and more.
I am a big fan of reality tv myself, and was also a sociology major in college, so it definitely was an interesting read for me and reminded me of various theories and sociologists I learned about in college - though that was so long ago that reality tv barely existed back then. 😂 But I’d say overall this book is probably too much on the academic side to appeal to most casual readers. Even I was very engaged in it to start, but then kind of lost steam in my reading as it went on. But if you too were a sociology major, or if you’re a fan of reality tv interested in thinking about it in a more academic way, it’s worth a read.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
I am a big fan of reality tv myself, and was also a sociology major in college, so it definitely was an interesting read for me and reminded me of various theories and sociologists I learned about in college - though that was so long ago that reality tv barely existed back then. 😂 But I’d say overall this book is probably too much on the academic side to appeal to most casual readers. Even I was very engaged in it to start, but then kind of lost steam in my reading as it went on. But if you too were a sociology major, or if you’re a fan of reality tv interested in thinking about it in a more academic way, it’s worth a read.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
July 6, 2023
Like many other reviewers, I went into this book believing it was going to be about one thing, and it ended up going in a bit of different direction. I don't think that's Danielle J. Lindemann's "fault"; that sounds like a bit of mismatch in terms of book marketing.
True Story is an excellent (and academic) introductory sociological analysis of reality TV's multifaceted impacts on society. It really helps if you're a reality TV obsessive beforehand, because she pulls from a number of different shows where a little context goes a long way. (What does it say about me that I've watched every single show she's mentioned at some point or another in my life, even if it was just an episode or two?!)
One other small note: The term "asexual" was thrown around several times, and the definition wasn't given until the very end of the book (where it was then described using outdated lingo that has been replaced in the past several years). That was a bit of a personal bummer. However, I'm not sure of the exact timeframe this book was written, so it's understandable that perhaps Lindemann was using the old working definition before it was revamped.
True Story is an excellent (and academic) introductory sociological analysis of reality TV's multifaceted impacts on society. It really helps if you're a reality TV obsessive beforehand, because she pulls from a number of different shows where a little context goes a long way. (What does it say about me that I've watched every single show she's mentioned at some point or another in my life, even if it was just an episode or two?!)
One other small note: The term "asexual" was thrown around several times, and the definition wasn't given until the very end of the book (where it was then described using outdated lingo that has been replaced in the past several years). That was a bit of a personal bummer. However, I'm not sure of the exact timeframe this book was written, so it's understandable that perhaps Lindemann was using the old working definition before it was revamped.
March 23, 2023
This book basically scratches the surface of a sociology survey course using reality tv examples. Didn’t go in detail or insightful analysis about reality tv (what I came here for!) and too much time was spent breaking down the basic ideas of Foucault and Durkheim. Felt lecture-y and repetitive. I found myself counting down the pages. Honestly….for a book about an entertaining topic it was a total snooze fest to read
December 22, 2023
This was one of the most disappointing books I've ever read. It started off SO good. Exciting, interesting, and full of promise about what reality TV says about us.
It ended in trope after trope followed by Marxist quote after Marxist quote. Not every single human relationship interaction is about power. And to view life that way is not only wildly inaccurate, but truly sad. In spite of that Lindemann does her damnedest to view everything in that lens. And after several hundred pages of watching her struggle to put that round peg in a square hole, I gave up with about 50 pages to go. At no point did she ever try to imagine anything else or expound her analysis. I'm sorry but cutting a 19th century, whole cloth, and draping it over 21st century culture is not only moronic, it's lazy.
Still, the first part was awesome and I loved it. The idea of analyzing our reality TV as a snapshot of culture is a great idea. I just wish the author cared as much about exploring it, rather than foisting an ideology on it, as I did. She got an extra star for the idea. Otherwise, this was a one star book.
Do not waste your time.
It ended in trope after trope followed by Marxist quote after Marxist quote. Not every single human relationship interaction is about power. And to view life that way is not only wildly inaccurate, but truly sad. In spite of that Lindemann does her damnedest to view everything in that lens. And after several hundred pages of watching her struggle to put that round peg in a square hole, I gave up with about 50 pages to go. At no point did she ever try to imagine anything else or expound her analysis. I'm sorry but cutting a 19th century, whole cloth, and draping it over 21st century culture is not only moronic, it's lazy.
Still, the first part was awesome and I loved it. The idea of analyzing our reality TV as a snapshot of culture is a great idea. I just wish the author cared as much about exploring it, rather than foisting an ideology on it, as I did. She got an extra star for the idea. Otherwise, this was a one star book.
Do not waste your time.
April 15, 2024
My late wife was a big fan of reality television and I was (and am), shall we say, “hostile” (?) to them. I nonetheless have listened to an ungodly amount of Teen Mom and whatever godforsaken sequels or spinoffs there in addition to some of Sister Wives, Hoarders, and a more recent one whose name I forget where some religious fundamentalist family’s daughter gets married to a nice, albeit dorky, guy. My coworkers watch Love Island so I hear bits of that. I have some friends who are big fans of The Bachelor so I can sort of piece together the gist of that show. Even still a lot of this book was unintelligible to me. The author throws out so many references to so many different shows that I couldn’t and have absolutely no interest in decoding. The stuff that didn’t have those references, or was something I was familiar with was pretty good but a little too superficial.
Read
March 4, 2022the book did what it set out to do and convinced me that there's more merit in reality tv than i originally thought. i still think it's trash with a net-negative effect on the world, but i'll concede that the writer's correct in that it's exposed us to people living more socially "unacceptable" lifestyles and has given representation to groups which haven't had it yet.
that being said, there are two things the author alludes to which i wish she discussed more: 1) the gendered viewership of reality tv, or at least the shows she discusses. i'd guess that all of the shows she highlights are more viewed by women than men. more discussion on what that's so (or more discussion on the reality tv that men watch) and what we can learn from that would've been interesting. (i'm not the first to point this out, but there's something to be said about pro sports, wrestling, and other entertainment popular with men having strong reality tv vibes.) and 2) i wish she reckoned with the fact that minority groups make up a disproportionate amount of the viewership of the shows she said have negative and stereotypical portrayals of their groups. she discusses it briefly, but it deserves more a place in a discussion about race and media.
that being said, there are two things the author alludes to which i wish she discussed more: 1) the gendered viewership of reality tv, or at least the shows she discusses. i'd guess that all of the shows she highlights are more viewed by women than men. more discussion on what that's so (or more discussion on the reality tv that men watch) and what we can learn from that would've been interesting. (i'm not the first to point this out, but there's something to be said about pro sports, wrestling, and other entertainment popular with men having strong reality tv vibes.) and 2) i wish she reckoned with the fact that minority groups make up a disproportionate amount of the viewership of the shows she said have negative and stereotypical portrayals of their groups. she discusses it briefly, but it deserves more a place in a discussion about race and media.
May 24, 2022
I have been watching a lot of reality television over the last few years as escapism, and it’s really interesting to view it through the lens of sociology to see how reality TV reinforces social norms. The first half of the book lays out sociology concepts and relationships, and the second half delved into more complex concepts like gender, race, and class.
I wish there had been more covered in the second section but overall, I really liked this one because reality tv is a “guilty pleasure” for a lot of people, including myself, and this book gives good context to discuss not only the dynamics in the shows but also the perception of reality tv in our society and the impacts it has.
I wish there had been more covered in the second section but overall, I really liked this one because reality tv is a “guilty pleasure” for a lot of people, including myself, and this book gives good context to discuss not only the dynamics in the shows but also the perception of reality tv in our society and the impacts it has.
July 17, 2023
if you've ever been so unfortunate to innocently mention sociology in front of me you know how much i loathe the topic!! but this was truly so good and interesting and makes me think MAYBE it was just my stupid bald intro to sociology professor who i loathed all along. hmm. a delight! perfect amount of countess luann references, could have used more sister wives.
December 3, 2023
This book wasn’t what I was expecting. I thought it would be more about reality tv by itself (the history and its impact), but it was more of a sociological observance why people are so attracted to it. It was very interesting to read overall, but it did feel like a shlog.
July 17, 2023
Awesome non fiction book! I especially loved that it didn’t focus so much on reality tv being “bad” 😀 it was very eye opening!!
August 2, 2023
like every other review for this: repetitive and somewhat surface level. as a lover of reality tv it was so fun to reminisce about crazy moments in the 2010s!
June 11, 2021
Danielle J. Lindemann, True Story What Television Says About Us, Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, 2021
Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me with this uncorrected proof for review.
True Story is an amusing, as well as academic, romp through American reality television programs. Some of the programs will be familiar to readers from other countries: Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Big Brother and Survivor; make over programs; televised cooking competitions; The Apprentice; modelling, singing, and dancing competitive shows; The Real Housewives. Some are American programs televised worldwide, others are home grown along the same modelling as the American programs. Some are entirely new to me, and possibly other readers will find the same. However, unfamiliar in their particulars they may be, but all reality television watchers will recognise the ‘rules’; the catch cries that belong to the genre – the television ‘characters’ and their audience; and, although we may need Danielle J. Lindemann to alert us, the way in which the shows play into the audiences’ lives while teaching new ways of looking at other people.
This is such as well written book, with its clarity, lack of jargon, attention to detail and comic as well as serious touches. Because I am recommending the writing style, I must acknowledge that I found the ample use of the phrase ‘off of’ jarring, but am assured that it is acceptable, and was so pleased at the lack of jargon thought of it as a tradeoff. To find an accessible, yet professional, book about television and not to have to wade through language that hides rather than illuminates the ideas is, in my view, the work of a thoughtful academic. Danielle J. Lindemann has written in a style to appeal to a wide range of readers so that they can understand reality television, think about what it means for its audiences and wider society. Her ideas are made powerfully through clarity and visibility.
True Story includes an index, a bibliography, endnotes, and information about the author in a section at the end of the book, and within the book. The latter is an important part of understanding Danielle J. Lindemann’s commitment to her propositions and their part in the world outside the real story enacted for an audience. As an inveterate watcher of various of the programs she describes and analyses, and an audience at times for the others covered in this book, Lindemann demonstrates her commitment to the audiences’ as well as the academic’s points of view, ways of understanding and recognition that the programs provide enjoyment as well as a source of learning.
The chapters cover topics which illustrate the contributions made to the genre by individuals, couples, and families; and cover childhood, class, race, gender, sexuality, and deviance. Programs such as Candid Camera, Queen For A Day, and An American Family are seen as forerunners to The Real World which Lindemann suggests was the first of the reality TV shows. She bases this on the characteristics that have moved over into more recent examples of reality television. Programs that are covered in some depth include Survivor, The Real Housewives of New York City/ Atlanta/ Beverly Hills/Orange County, The Bachelor, The Millionaire Matchmaker, Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Supernanny, Toddlers and Tiaras, Here Comes Honey Boo Boo and The Apprentice (with reference to former President Donald Trump and the role of reality television images in his Presidency). However, it is not suggested that this is the full repertoire. There are references to many programs. In addition, programs are chosen to identify the impacts on their audiences and wider society, therefore providing frameworks which can be applied to programs not covered by Lindemann. What is learnt from this research can be easily translated to more well-known local reality programs by audiences unfamiliar with some of the American examples.
Danielle J. Lindemann makes a strong argument that reality television reaches a wide audience; that characters from the programs are well known, in some cases, beyond important public figures; that reality television shows are a huge proportion of television programming; and that even those who do not watch know their ‘stars’ and are influenced by them. She suggests that regardless of reality television being disparaged, it is part of commonplace understandings which impact on how people see complex social forces. Some of these influences are glaringly apparent when social issues become a conscious part of programming. Also profoundly influential is the unconscious way in which people on the programs provide information about their lifestyles, beliefs, and behaviour. The popularity and pervasiveness of the programs and the ideas they engender make this book a valuable tool in understanding reality television, its audiences and the ideas that both propel into the society in which audiences and non-audiences interact, impacting on personal interaction, policies and eventually, possibly the choice of governments.
Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me with this uncorrected proof for review.
True Story is an amusing, as well as academic, romp through American reality television programs. Some of the programs will be familiar to readers from other countries: Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Big Brother and Survivor; make over programs; televised cooking competitions; The Apprentice; modelling, singing, and dancing competitive shows; The Real Housewives. Some are American programs televised worldwide, others are home grown along the same modelling as the American programs. Some are entirely new to me, and possibly other readers will find the same. However, unfamiliar in their particulars they may be, but all reality television watchers will recognise the ‘rules’; the catch cries that belong to the genre – the television ‘characters’ and their audience; and, although we may need Danielle J. Lindemann to alert us, the way in which the shows play into the audiences’ lives while teaching new ways of looking at other people.
This is such as well written book, with its clarity, lack of jargon, attention to detail and comic as well as serious touches. Because I am recommending the writing style, I must acknowledge that I found the ample use of the phrase ‘off of’ jarring, but am assured that it is acceptable, and was so pleased at the lack of jargon thought of it as a tradeoff. To find an accessible, yet professional, book about television and not to have to wade through language that hides rather than illuminates the ideas is, in my view, the work of a thoughtful academic. Danielle J. Lindemann has written in a style to appeal to a wide range of readers so that they can understand reality television, think about what it means for its audiences and wider society. Her ideas are made powerfully through clarity and visibility.
True Story includes an index, a bibliography, endnotes, and information about the author in a section at the end of the book, and within the book. The latter is an important part of understanding Danielle J. Lindemann’s commitment to her propositions and their part in the world outside the real story enacted for an audience. As an inveterate watcher of various of the programs she describes and analyses, and an audience at times for the others covered in this book, Lindemann demonstrates her commitment to the audiences’ as well as the academic’s points of view, ways of understanding and recognition that the programs provide enjoyment as well as a source of learning.
The chapters cover topics which illustrate the contributions made to the genre by individuals, couples, and families; and cover childhood, class, race, gender, sexuality, and deviance. Programs such as Candid Camera, Queen For A Day, and An American Family are seen as forerunners to The Real World which Lindemann suggests was the first of the reality TV shows. She bases this on the characteristics that have moved over into more recent examples of reality television. Programs that are covered in some depth include Survivor, The Real Housewives of New York City/ Atlanta/ Beverly Hills/Orange County, The Bachelor, The Millionaire Matchmaker, Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Supernanny, Toddlers and Tiaras, Here Comes Honey Boo Boo and The Apprentice (with reference to former President Donald Trump and the role of reality television images in his Presidency). However, it is not suggested that this is the full repertoire. There are references to many programs. In addition, programs are chosen to identify the impacts on their audiences and wider society, therefore providing frameworks which can be applied to programs not covered by Lindemann. What is learnt from this research can be easily translated to more well-known local reality programs by audiences unfamiliar with some of the American examples.
Danielle J. Lindemann makes a strong argument that reality television reaches a wide audience; that characters from the programs are well known, in some cases, beyond important public figures; that reality television shows are a huge proportion of television programming; and that even those who do not watch know their ‘stars’ and are influenced by them. She suggests that regardless of reality television being disparaged, it is part of commonplace understandings which impact on how people see complex social forces. Some of these influences are glaringly apparent when social issues become a conscious part of programming. Also profoundly influential is the unconscious way in which people on the programs provide information about their lifestyles, beliefs, and behaviour. The popularity and pervasiveness of the programs and the ideas they engender make this book a valuable tool in understanding reality television, its audiences and the ideas that both propel into the society in which audiences and non-audiences interact, impacting on personal interaction, policies and eventually, possibly the choice of governments.
April 30, 2023
Informative and interesting, though repetitive, especially towards the end.
June 13, 2023
This booked fucked me up. Just like I thought it would. 10/10 would recommend
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