How Staged is Reality TV? - Duggars

[xDreamerx]

I'm surprised they never got divorced. It seemed like Matt and Amy were always fighting, and not just about small things either.

Does anyone remember what Jeremy said? I'm kind of surprised. I mean I believe it, but I just assumed since it's Oregon they might be more progressive. Then again they sent their kids to a Christian school, it might have been conservative.

I liked that their house was never clean. It made my house look immaculate by comparison.

[homeschoolmomma1]

I liked that their house was never clean. It made my house look immaculate by comparison.

haha I never thought of it that way :)

[lilwriter85]

I'm surprised they never got divorced. It seemed like Matt and Amy were always fighting, and not just about small things either.

Does anyone remember what Jeremy said? I'm kind of surprised. I mean I believe it, but I just assumed since it's Oregon they might be more progressive. Then again they sent their kids to a Christian school, it might have been conservative.

I liked that their house was never clean. It made my house look immaculate by comparison.

On Jeremy's MySpace account, he made gay bashing comments and on his friend's MySpace he made the comment about the friend visiting Mexico and he said that the country was a beaner or wetback country. I remember reading that Amy was raised in a very conservative home and she was the one who wanted the kids in that Christian school. Some people said that Matt stated that he would have been fine if the kids attended public school.

I sort of liked that Amy and Matt were a bit open with their flaws such as the dirty house and Matt's bossy attitude. I'm surprised they also never divorced some people on other sites used to make bets about them divorcing after the show ended.

[tehgoobster]

Reality shows are definitely fake and staged. As some of you have pointed out, even the Duggars' show is staged and misleading to some extent. For example, I remember one of the boys said that they'd be taking their first trip in the new bus to the fish fry in October, but they'd had that bus for months prior to that. He was probably lead to say that because it fit with the storyline. Reality shows tend to be interesting the first season only. It genuinely was interesting at first to see how a family with nineteen kids functioned, just as it was interesting at first to see the daily lives of little people and parents with sextuplets. The kicker is that there's only so much that's interesting about people's daily lives, and that's when networks start to stage things. They all follow a formula, which is why I'm not the least bit surprised that the Duggars are going on an international trip. This could be the beginning of the end for their show unless something really big happens.

And don't even get me started about kids on reality TV. Not a fan. It just seems kind of ... exploitative. Even if the Duggar kids are generally okay with being filmed, there's always the chance that one (or more) of them isn't too fond of the idea but is afraid to say something. I mean, their parents think that the show is their ministry and that they're honestly spreading God's word by being on TV, and I can see how a Duggar kid could feel like they'd be ruining their family's ministry if they voiced their displeasure. Plus, it's got to be kind of daunting to be held up as an example of the Perfect, Shiny, Happy Christian Family . I'm not saying that the Duggar kids are unhappy, but I feel very uncomfortable with children being featured on reality TV series.

[doggie]

I watched this show where they filmed groups of people talking then showed how just editing made the drama happen where everything was just normal talk. It's sad so many people think what they are watching is real.

[xDreamerx]

On Jeremy's MySpace account, he made gay bashing comments and on his friend's MySpace he made the comment about the friend visiting Mexico and he said that the country was a beaner or wetback country. I remember reading that Amy was raised in a very conservative home and she was the one who wanted the kids in that Christian school. Some people said that Matt stated that he would have been fine if the kids attended public school.

Oh dear. Can't say I'm that surprised though. I mean if they were conservative and they only had friends who were like them it could foster racist attitudes. I don't remember seeing a friend on the show who wasn't white. Maybe there wasn't much diversity in their peer group.

I don't know, I suppose I just find these kinds of attitudes more disturbing when I see them in young people.

[Childless]

I think it's pretty pathetic that the Roloffs have racist tendencies. Especially considering that they probably encounter discrimination themselves. So, I guess its bad for people to discriminate against them, but ok for them to discriminate against others. Hypocrites.

[lilwriter85]

I think it's pretty pathetic that the Roloffs have racist tendencies. Especially considering that they probably encounter discrimination themselves. So, I guess its bad for people to discriminate against them, but ok for them to discriminate against others. Hypocrites.

I agree and it did make me wonder about the family when the myspace scandal happened. I think that incident made the Roloffs lose fans/admirers. People knew that the family wasn't perfect for awhile some people liked the show but once certain things came out people really got turned off by the Roloffs. Even some of their contacts/friends in the LP community got turned off by them. I remember an LP woman who was close with Zack admitted on her blog that she stop associating with the family and that she said that Matt tried the show to get certain positions in LP organizations.

[homeschoolmomma1]

ummm what did Jeremy say?

[Patsy]

I watched this show where they filmed groups of people talking then showed how just editing made the drama happen where everything was just normal talk. It's sad so many people think what they are watching is real.

Can you remember what it was called, or any other details? Sounds really interesting.

[mirele]

Shades of the old Loud family.

Apropos of that, it's worth quoting the late Lance Loud regarding reality TV: "Television ate my family."

It's kind of shocking to realize now that "An American Family" was originally broadcast on PBS, you know, the same channel with Sesame Street. Now it's off on cable shows and stuffed with commercials every eight minutes.

[Guest Anonymous]

Can you remember what it was called, or any other details? Sounds really interesting.

I really want to watch whatever this was!

[chaotic life]

I know someone who did House Hunters and said to even apply for the show, you had to be in contract and within a certain timeframe of closing on a house. TLC finds the other 2 properities and stages all 3 viewings.

Now, whenever I watch the show, I try to look for a tell that clues me into which property they actually already bought. Usually, women will show a stronger emotional response to the house they purchased versus the 2 dummy properties.

[JenniferJuniper]

I know someone who did House Hunters and said to even apply for the show, you had to be in contract and within a certain timeframe of closing on a house. TLC finds the other 2 properities and stages all 3 viewings.

Now, whenever I watch the show, I try to look for a tell that clues me into which property they actually already bought. Usually, women will show a stronger emotional response to the house they purchased versus the 2 dummy properties.

One of my favorite shows (although it's HGTV, not TLC) just because I love trying to figure out which house they really bought. It isn't too hard. I guess right about 80% of the time, when I should only have a 33% chance of getting it right. My daughter's softball coach was on the show about a year ago, and you're right, word has it it's mostly staged. Any real house hunter knows it never comes down to three equally attractive properties.

Apropos of that, it's worth quoting the late Lance Loud regarding reality TV: "Television ate my family."

Lance Loud rocked in so many ways. Not only was he probably the first totally openly gay character to be seen on American TV, he understood the nature of reality TV long before the phrase "Reality TV" was even coined. If he were alive today, I suspect he'd be out here with us, snarking and sympathizing in equal parts.