Cue The Sun!: The Invention Of Reality Tv,New

The rollicking saga of reality televisionan ambitious cultural history of Americas most influential, most divisive artistic phenomenon, from the Pulitzer Prize winning New Yorker writerWho invented reality TV, the worlds most dangerous pop culture genre? And why cant we look away from it? In this revelatory, deeply reported account of the rise of dirty documentaryfrom its controversial radio roots to the birth of Bravo and the emergence of a reality television PresidentEmily Nussbaum unearths the surprising origin story of the genre that ate the world, as told through the lively voices of the people who created it. At once gimleteyed and empathetic, Cue The Sun! explores the morally charged, funny and sometimes tragic consequences of the hunt for something real inside something fake.In sharp, absorbing prose, Nussbaum traces four paths of reality innovationgame shows, prank shows, soap operas, and clip showsthat united in the Survivor format, sparking a tumultuous Hollywood goldrush. Along the way, we meet tricksters and innovators, from the icy Allen Funt to the shambolic Chuck Barris; Cops auteur John Langley, Bachelor mastermind Mike Fleiss and Jon Murray, the visionary behind The Real Worldalong with dozens of crew members and ordinary people whose lives became fodder for the reality revolution. We learn about the tools of the tradelike Candid Cameras brilliant reveal and the notorious Frankenbite, a deceptive editors best friendand the moral outrage reality shows provoked. But Cue The Sun! also celebrates what made the genre so powerful: a jolt of authentic emotion that could never have come from a script.What happened to the worlds first reality stars, the Loudsand why wont they speak to the people who filmed them? Which serial killer won on The Dating Game? Through broadranging reporting, Nussbaum traces seven tumultuous decades, exploring the celebreality boom, reality TV as a strikebreaker, the queer roots of Bravo and the dark truth behind The Apprentice. A shrewd observer who cares about television, Nussbaum is the ideal voice for the first substantive cultural history of the genre that has, for better or worse, made America what it is today.