Remember the Louds who’s participation as America’s first guinea pigs of reality literally disintegrated on national TV? I don’t care how ground breaking it may have been, in contrast to what we have to put up with now, 1971’s reality show was tame in comparison. The Loud family did not get paid for their participation. What turned out to be a one time intriguing idea then has spiraled today into the quick fix for Hollywood's bankroll.
The concept in present day of a “reality star” represents itself as more of a buffoon who is willing to do anything to get paid. You know, “reality star” is the new whore. We have more people who seem to be dredged out of a social swamp who would never make it in TV much less the real world. They really believe that being seen on a reality based show has truly created a legacy for them.
The truth is that if there is a director, the show is not a reality show, but scripted life. It’s like a having a laugh track behind you at all times in real life and, well, that just doesn’t happen...Apparently, with each passing day there is a new genre of Cinema Verite: the bad girls show, the people with quirky fetishes show, the celebrities need a job and they're going to give their "fans" a glimpse of their lives show, the I had eight babies and I've got to support them show----Please stop the reality...Enough already...The reality show market is flooded and it's starting to look like a huge ant hill.
The truth is that if there is a director, the show is not a reality show, but scripted life. It’s like a having a laugh track behind you at all times in real life and, well, that just doesn’t happen...Apparently, with each passing day there is a new genre of Cinema Verite: the bad girls show, the people with quirky fetishes show, the celebrities need a job and they're going to give their "fans" a glimpse of their lives show, the I had eight babies and I've got to support them show----Please stop the reality...Enough already...The reality show market is flooded and it's starting to look like a huge ant hill.
In 1973, PBS allowed us to peak through the Loud keyhole in their comfortable upscale home in Santa Barbara. Was this the beginning of the end? There were 5 Loud children and their parents, Bill and Pat Loud. If you forgot the names of the Loud children you would always remember the oldest child, Lance, most remembered by TV viewers...The very likable, animated Lance“came out” during the show's tenure when the word gay was fairly new. Parents Bill and Pat, ended the filming separated and primed for divorce… So what are the differences between the reality of yesterday and today? Certainly the social mores of our times have become muddled where “bad behavior” is “good behavior” for the directors of reality television. Certainly, the pay is substantial today and less of a visual experiment than the Louds.
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| Lance Loud |
Everything we know today about Cineme Verite we learned from the experiment that was An American Family.. Sadly, Lance died in 2001, and the videographers filmed the documentary: Death in an American Family. Lance Loud left in his legacy, living his life and being himself on his own terms. He wanted to be seen more as a rebel and outsider rather than the first openly gay icon on television.
Unfortunately, HBO films, released "Cinema Verite" featuring Diane Lane as Pat Loud and Tim Robbins as Bill...I think the most successful part of that endeavor was getting the look of the family. The sad part about Hollywood is its obsession with remakes and this nauseating comfort zone of reality insanity instead of delving into new and creative uncharted television ventures. And really, who wants to see a bogus "mark up" when we can see the original?
Below is the 2 hour anniversary special of an American Family which aired on July 7th and seemed to be a little under the radar.
In full the two hour special Anniversary Special, condensed from the 12 hour original series.
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