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greatguthsby 's review for:
Cue the Sun!: The Invention of Reality TV
by Emily Nussbaum
informative
reflective
medium-paced
I didn't how much of a reality TV junkie I had been as an adolescent in the early 2000s until I listened to this as an audiobook on Spotify. Casual mentions of long forgotten shows like "Joe Millionaire" and "My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiancé" instantly took me back to watching these show religiously with my Mom. While many would cite Survivor as the big catalyst for reality television as we know it, or maybe The Real World, Emily takes us WAY back to radio shows in the 1940s to chart the rise of this genre across decades. I enjoyed the whole journey learning about content well before my time and how it led us to where we are today - not just on television, but as the thesis of the final chapters reveal, even politically. A fascinating read that made my commute all the more enjoyable.