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sleepingsaha's review
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.75
I've loved Emily Nussbaum's journalism so I was so excited to see she was writing a book! I really enjoyed reading this; the threads that Nussbaum draws out through so different kinds of shows and across many decades. The ethics of reality TV is, for me, the central topic animating this work, and Nussbaum tackled it with nuance and from a variety of perspectives. She also paints detailed, specific pictures of all the people mentioned in the book, which I also admired. My one suggestion would be to include a list of who's who and what shows they were affiliated with, since I did sometimes need a reminder. Overall, would highly recommend this as an engaging cultural history! Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
bxtskr's review
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Emily Nussbaum knocks it out of the park (again) with this incredible history of everyone’s favorite (and sometimes guilty) lowbrow pleasure, Reality TV.
As a child of the (late) 90s, I found this history to be grounding and familiar, while filling in gaps I didn’t know my knowledge was missing. I have a deep interest in the ways that media changed during and after the 9/11 so I personally enjoyed and appreciated that Nussbaum takes care to ground the history and evolution of reality TV within the political and social climate and context.
This read is equally valuable to academics, nerds, and genre fanatics alike — you could give this to your sister in law or discuss it with your Cultured frienemies.
The length of this book can be intimidating but Nussbaum is uniquely talented at making 400+ pages feel like a dear friend is telling you a story.
Thank you to the author and publisher for access to this titled in exchange for my honest opinion.
As a child of the (late) 90s, I found this history to be grounding and familiar, while filling in gaps I didn’t know my knowledge was missing. I have a deep interest in the ways that media changed during and after the 9/11 so I personally enjoyed and appreciated that Nussbaum takes care to ground the history and evolution of reality TV within the political and social climate and context.
This read is equally valuable to academics, nerds, and genre fanatics alike — you could give this to your sister in law or discuss it with your Cultured frienemies.
The length of this book can be intimidating but Nussbaum is uniquely talented at making 400+ pages feel like a dear friend is telling you a story.
Thank you to the author and publisher for access to this titled in exchange for my honest opinion.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Biphobia, Body shaming, Misogyny, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Grief, Incest, Medical content, Drug use, Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Toxic friendship, Alcoholism, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Racism, Alcohol, Confinement, Mental illness, and Torture
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