The year was 1971. The typical American family was the Brady Bunch. So said one side of Hollywood. I beg to differ, said the other side. The typical American family is going through a divorce, and has a flamboyantly gay son who likes to go drag racing every now and then.
Thus were the American public presented with An American Family, And they were also presented with the birth of reality TV, for better or worse.
I'm not here to sit in judgment of reality TV. An argument could be made that Candid Camera was a prehistoric form of the genre. And I 'm heavily into The Deadliest Catch and Ice Road Truckers, two shows which seem to fit into the mold.
However, much of what constitutes reality TV homes in on the baser segments of human nature, and there are certainly some seriously low spots that can be tapped. An argument could be made that they are simply following the lead provided many years ago by PBS and the Louds.
The Louds were considered the typical American family by producer Craig Gilbert. In fact, they were well up the financial chain, and living in a very desirable area on the west coast, where summer and winter are differentiated largely by whether or not it was raining.
The deal was that they would agree to be filmed while they went about their day-to-day activities. The bonus to PBS was that those activities would include a marriage falling apart and a son coming out of the closet.
The result was a gut-wrenching presentation that would eventually make TV Guide's Top 100 all-time series list. And it would also be recalled when the extremely profitable genre of reality TV arose in the late 1990's.
The Louds agreed to be filmed in 1971, and some 300 hours of footage was shot. During the filming, husband and wife Bill and Pat decided to separate and get a divorce. It was all caught in living color.
Also, during the course of the twelve episodes, we deduced that son Lance was a homosexual. Hey, we're talking southern California, no need to be coy about it. But the American TV public were exposed to it on a straightforward basis for what for them was the first time.
And this was the family that PBS decided was a typical one.
This column is not a bash of PBS. I've enjoyed many of their offerings over the years. But the year was 1971. Just how mainstream were the Louds?
It really doesn't matter. They were fascinating. An American Family was one of the most-watched PBS offerings. It was a soap opera, but even better. The heartaches and anger were real.
The biggest tragedy about the show is that it's not available any more. The Louds came and went in 1973 without anyone hitting the record buttons on their Betamaxes. And PBS has thus far been loath to re-release the episodes.
Here's a suggestion: The next time it's fundraising time, why don't you PBS folks offer a nice boxed set of the travails that the Louds went through in front of your cameras? My guess is it could make for a nice haul, what with all those Jon and Kate fans out there ;-).
Comments (2)
I find TV (and movies) a fascinating topic. Some say TV reflects society while others suggest it influences and shapes society. I would say it’s a bit of both. The Brady Bunch is also fascinating to me since I marvel at how silly and unrealistic the characters and plots were, and yet, strangely appealing to kids even today, and still entertaining to revisit once in a while by me.
So there is a bit of a struggle on my part to understand it all, for my own sake, if nothing else. I agree with Ron that reality shows seem to pick the worst for “show” value and certainly do not reflect reality in that respect. The Bradys, like so many show families, were always so quick to finally see their errors and change, which seldom happens in real life, where it often ends in a stand off. Problems always seemed to resolve themselves so easy and nice. Is it just wishful thinking and fantasy that it happen that way, since it rarely does? Most entertainment is escapism and fantasy. I guess its better than drugs, right? I’m not sure yet, myself.
But I have always thought that lies were never good or healthy, no matter how small or silly. And TV (in the 60s and 70s) often suggests that everyone is reasonable, decent, trustworthy and everything works out in the end. They hide the real brutality that can often result in our lives. They die the truth because it is not pleasant.
I like variety. In an ideal world, I would like to see realistic stories because dealing with real life and truth is so vital. But I also think we need a goal, a high standard, to aim at and consider. It should still be realistic and reasonable but it does little good to consider reality or horror without a suggestion or two of how to do better.
The Bradys did fail to give us much truth but . . . despite the highly romanticized life of the Bradys, complete with a wonderful maid, they showed a much more pleasant world than we could ever show today. And though not completely honest, we who lived in that time can, without any hesitation or exaggeration, tell you it was a far better kinder gentler world back then than now. That does seem to come through in the show. Look how they dressed. Look at their behavior. It was a far better world to live in for kids in the show and for kids in real life. What happened to change all that?
And as a young man of about 13, watching good looking girls running around in miniskirts did not bother me either. And though the hem lines were high, it did not have the same sluttiness that we commonly see today. Even when TV is not real, it still reflects many things and I think many kids to day see a better world and are attracted to it. Maybe a little bit of escape, no?
I am not sure we were ready for reality TV in 71. It was not the right time. Reality TV has its faults. But I will say this in its defense. And really, some so called reality TV is perhaps closer to documentary TV such as the Deadliest Catch. But reality TV can teach us a lot about people and psychology if we want to ponder it. I welcome reality TV. I would like to see some improvements but that won’t happen.
It was a wonderful day and age for us boomers. But we would always do well to ponder and come to grips with what went by so quickly and maybe figure out a few things we can pass on, so that our lives were not lived completely in vain and without purpose.
Posted by Scott Irv | December 7, 2009 7:14 PM
Posted on December 7, 2009 19:14
Never heard of this..I remember how controversial the show SOAP was about certain issues. But sorry, this one passed me by?
Posted by Rivers End | January 31, 2010 7:49 PM
Posted on January 31, 2010 19:49