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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
funny
informative
medium-paced
5 stars for the survivor chapters
challenging
informative
slow-paced
Very well written book - the only reason I didn’t rate it higher is that I was frankly only interested in the piece about Survivor and just skimmed the rest. I understand the genre much better now, and don’t like Jeff Probst at all
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
fast-paced
informative
reflective
medium-paced
I liked this! Later chapters that were more relevant to my life were easier to follow/more engaging. Emily Nussbaum is a good writer, but I wish there had been some synthesis at the end and the last chapters felt rushed since all of the others were so meticulously researched. Shout out her for putting in all this work!
As someone who doesn’t really watch tv, especially reality tv, I’m not sure that I was the right audience for this book. That said, it was still fascinating and informative. Reality tv junkies who know far more than I do about the genre and are interested in the historical background may find this worth a read/listen. Glad I made the time, but only walking away with a handful of takeaways. Well researched and all-encompassing (I think).
Pretty good and comprehensive history of reality TV. I think the later chapters lacked a critical depth I found in the beginning. I would have been interested to read more about the communication infrastructures and the RTV economy. While this was glossed over, I think a stronger argument could be made about the way RTV shifted our media landscape and ways of watching. The parts about lack of labor laws and unions in RTV was fascinating but lacked analysis from the author. Though reading her chapter on Trump makes me think that she has a very liberal sociopolitical understanding and perhaps this is the beginning and end of her discussion on labor.
Also, Zionist jump scare.
Also, Zionist jump scare.
informative
medium-paced
as someone who is terminally annoying about reality tv, i absolutely LOVED this book. it's incredibly informative about the shows that influenced and built the reality television programs of today and provides a lot of illuminating information about the behind-the-scenes production of reality shows. even as someone who has followed reality tv her whole life and has seen some of the foundational seasons mentioned, i walked away with so much extra information. i also think it's very approachable, and i could comfortably recommend this to anyone who is interested in the book but isn't as well versed in reality tv. it's very comprehensive and 1000% worth the read!