- Paperback: 192 pages
- Publisher: Univ Of Minnesota Press; 1 edition (Dec 4 2001)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0816635617
- ISBN-13: 978-0816635610
- Product Dimensions: 24.9 x 18.8 x 1 cm
- Shipping Weight: 340 g
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #901,417 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
Book Description
Before 1973, the Loud family of Santa Barbara, California, lived in the privacy of their own home. With the airing of the documentary An American Family, that "privacy" extended to every American home that had a television in it-and there was no going back to the happy land of Beaver, Donna Reed, and Father Knows Best. This book is the first to offer a close, sustained look at An American Family-the documentary that blurred conventions, stirred passions among viewers and reviewers, revised impressions of family life and definitions of private and public, and began the breakdown of distinctions between reality and spectacle that culminated in cultural phenomena from The Oprah Winfrey Show to Survivor.
While placing Craig Gilbert's innovative series in the context of 1970s nonfiction film and television, Jeffrey Ruoff tells the story behind An American Family from conception to broadcast, from reception to long-term impact. He reintroduces us to the Louds as intimate details of their daily lives, from one child's dance recital to another's gay lifestyle to the parents' divorce proceedings, unfold first before the camera and then before American viewers, challenging audiences to think seriously about family, marital relations, sexuality, affluence, and the American dream. In the documentary's immediate impact-on both producers and viewers of media-Ruoff uncovers the roots of new nonfiction forms including confessional talk shows like Oprah, first-person documentary films like Ross McElwee's acclaimed Sherman's March, and reality TV programs such as The Real World, Survivor, and Big Brother.
A comprehensive production and reception study, Ruoff's work restores An American Family to its rightful, pioneering place in the history of American television.
Jeffrey Ruoff is a film historian, documentary filmmaker, and assistant professor of film and television studies at Dartmouth College. He is co-author (with Kenneth Ruoff) of The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On (1998). Visible Evidence Series, volume 11
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
The comprehensive guide to this groundbreaking series,
By A Customer
This review is from: American Family: A Televised Life (Paperback)
Now that "reality" television is a dominant format for mainstream television (from the fourth--and counting-- installment of "Survivor" to "The Bachelor" and on and on), it makes sense to go back to the original. "An American Family" was a surprise success when it was first broadcast in 1973: a 12-part series on PBS with very few voice-overs and what now seem like long shots of an affluent California family (two divorcing parents and five kids) doing things like playing guitar and discussing mundane topics and cleaning out their backyard pool (there were more engaging moments than that, but they were not the majority of shots). What accounted for this series' success? How did it get made? How was it edited, and what was kept in and left out? Why is it still so compelling despite the passage of time and the declining attention spans of Americans in the past 30 years? Could it get made today? I only wish the series itself was for sale somewhere! Unfortunately, WNET in New York no longer seems to own the rights.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
3.0 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews) 40 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The comprehensive guide to this groundbreaking series,
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: American Family: A Televised Life (Paperback)
Now that "reality" television is a dominant format for mainstream television (from the fourth--and counting-- installment of "Survivor" to "The Bachelor" and on and on), it makes sense to go back to the original. "An American Family" was a surprise success when it was first broadcast in 1973: a 12-part series on PBS with very few voice-overs and what now seem like long shots of an affluent California family (two divorcing parents and five kids) doing things like playing guitar and discussing mundane topics and cleaning out their backyard pool (there were more engaging moments than that, but they were not the majority of shots). What accounted for this series' success? How did it get made? How was it edited, and what was kept in and left out? Why is it still so compelling despite the passage of time and the declining attention spans of Americans in the past 30 years? Could it get made today? I only wish the series itself was for sale somewhere! Unfortunately, WNET in New York no longer seems to own the rights. 0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Too Technical,
By D. Warfield - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: American Family: A Televised Life (Paperback)
Unfortunately, I did not see the original series; caught clips on PBS and was hooked. I thought this book was going to give me more of an insight into the family personally and in the aspect of social sciences - but it was more of a film history tome. Yes, there were candid photos of the family but ones related to other "cinema verite" series outnumbered them. I can't say it was a "good or bad" book, just didn't interest me personally.
0 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Amazon censors reviews critical of this series,
By Love the 80's - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: American Family: A Televised Life (Hardcover)
Amazon censors reviews of this product as they may be critical of a perverted, deviant lifestyle championed by Liberals. This is a blatant attempt by those of a certain "community" to destroy the "values" of a majority of the populace.
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