The UnREAL Reality of Reality TV

Posted September 10, 2015 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Film & Television / 0 Comments

A new TV show discovery for me is the Lifetime show UnREAL, which chronicles a dating reality show (similar to The Bachelor) called “Everlasting”. This is told mostly from the perspective of Rachel Goldberg (Shiri Appleby), a producer of the show who was brought back by the executive producer (Constance Zimmer) after an epic breakdown during the previous season. Rachel has to find the balance between rebuilding her reputation, the high demands of producing the show and her own mental health.

Let’s face it, Shiri Appleby will always be Liz Parker (Roswell) in my eyes, but it was good to see her back acting. I had a quick look and it seems like she never stopped acting, with a main role in Life Unexpected and in a few episodes of Girls. Also does anyone remember her web series Dating Rules from My Future Self? Anyway, despite the lack of alien love interests, UnREAL is a dark comedy that really dives into the psychological manipulation of reality TV.

I can honestly say I have never thought about reality TV as much as I had while watching UnREAL. I have never watched The Bachelor but from what I have seen in advertising, it seems to be a horrible distorted concept of romance and love. Essentially you have one bachelor dating twelve woman at once, and the show documents all the melodrama that happens between the contestants. However if you think about it, there is a lot of manipulation and distortion of people’s lives all in the name of trying to make good (this work is subjective) TV. UnREAL plays a lot with this behind the scenes look at a show called Everlasting and the way producers force these intense displays of emotions in the hope to capture it on screen.

However the show focuses on producer Rachel Goldberg, who had an emotional breakdown in the last season of Everlasting. The show starts at this new season of Everlasting and Rachel has been brought back because she is very good at her job. Despite the fact she is good at her job, it becomes quickly evident that the show is not good for her and UnREAL documents this struggle between career and mental stability.

I am excited that UnREAL will be returning for a second season; I was not sure if it was possible but I hope that it will be another satirical look at the state of reality TV. I do not know how I discovered this show, I think it was because of Shiri Appleby but my wife and I binge-watched this too quickly. Binge-watching is a lot of fun but when it is over it leaves you wanting more. Have you seen UnREAL, and if so what do you think it says about the Television industry? Let me know in the comments below.

How to Build a Girl by Caitlin Moran

Posted September 24, 2014 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Young Adult / 0 Comments

Title: How to Build a Girl (Goodreads)
Author: Caitlin Moran
Published: Harper Collins, 2014
Pages: 352
Genres: Young Adult
My Copy: ARC from Edelweiss

Buy: Amazon, Book Depository, Kindle (or visit your local Indie bookstore)

Take to trip back to the 1990s, a time I am all too familiar with; the music was great but being a teenager was not all that it was cracked up to be. Johanna Morrigan is a fourteen year old who is unhappy with her life. That was until she decided to reinvent herself. By sixteen she was a sharp tongued goth, aspiring music journalist who went by the name Dolly Wilde (named after the socialite). How to Build a Girl is the debut novel by Caitlin Moran who is more popularly known for her views towards feminism in books like Moranthology and How to Be a Woman.

I will be honest; the only reason I picked up this book was because it was often described as The Bell Jar if it was written by Rizzo from Grease. I’m a fan of The Bell Jar and this was enough to get me curious about this novel. I can’t say I have ever been a fan of Caitlin Moran or her view points but I think her underlying message that no one should be judged for being who they are is something I can get behind.

Moran has made it clear that this is far from an autobiographical novel; her parents were never like Morrigan’s parents. However there is an element of this novel that probably reflects her teenage years. I think the teenage years are often a journey of self-discovery and reinvention and this was the main reason I wanted to read this novel.

It doesn’t matter if I agree with Johanna Morrigan’s choices and decisions; this was about her finding herself. The whole notion of self-discovery being similar to reinventing yourself is an interesting one and I enjoyed watching Dolly Wilde evolve into the person she wanted to be. Her parents and family often got in the way and tried to unintentionally (or maybe it was intentional) mould her personality. This was just an interesting journey to watch evolve.

I’m not going to talk about the feminist views within this book, it is not my place to agree or disagree. How to Build a Girl reminds me of the TV show Girls (or what I have seen of it) and if you are a fan of this show then maybe you will enjoy the novel. My biggest problem with the book was not with the feminist themes but with the writing itself; it never seemed to work for me and I felt like the intent was to shock rather than tell a good story. It is a shame, the premise is excellent and I could have enjoyed the book if more time was spent improving the proses and editing.

I wanted to love this book; the whole coming of age, self-discovery, and sexual awakening topic has always been an interesting one to me. This book started off with the best intentions but it lost its way, both in plot and writing. The rise and fall of Dolly Wilde (the character in this book, not Oscar Wilde’s niece) was worth reading but there is so much in the middle that could have been taken out and the novel would have ended up being less than a hundred pages. But these are my opinions; there are people that loved this book, I wasn’t one of them.

Tag: Girls