EDITOR'S LETTER
Reality TV and Our Inner Moth
his month's cover depicts a
typical-looking American fam-
ily doing something typically
American: gathering around to
watch television (although I'm not
sure how many families still do that).
The twist, of course, is the camera
filming them — as they watch
themselves watching themselves,
and so on.
Reality television is more pervasive than ever. Accord-
ing to a recent Neilsen study, the genre is both the fastest
growing and most widely offered type of programming
across the spectrum; it should be no surprise when some
of our own make their way into the spotlight's glare.
Writer Julie Edgar sat down with Amy and Todd Franklin
of Huntington Woods to hear how their lives changed after
the couple, along with their two daughters, stepped onto
the small screen — and their issues stepped into our living
rooms.
In 2010, the Franklins appeared on Losing It With Jillian,
a Biggest Loser spin-off on NBC whose star, Jillian Michaels,
seeks to imbue healthy eating habits into that week's
family through yelling, embarrassment, threats and — as
the story arc goes — redemption; all while peeling away
any vestige of privacy the family may have enjoyed prior
to airing.
I recently rewatched the episode (thanks, YouTube), and
had the same reaction I did after it first aired: I could never
do that. This column is "out there" enough for me.
And yet, whatever ugly truths or unseemly traits came to
light about the Franklins during filming, anyone who has
seen either Amy or Todd in the last 13 months — knowing
where they started versus where they are today — can
attest to the impact Michaels had on the couple. Todd told
me he and Amy have lost a combined 120 lbs.
Whether you're a fan of reality programming — or think
its soda pop for the brain — it's not going anywhere; it's
actually been a part of commercial programming since
the medium's inception.
(Although, in television's vanguard, said offerings were
called talent or game shows.)
In the late 1980s, when a little show
called Cops made its debut on a then-
fledgling FOX network, the reality show
genre we have come to know took its
familiar shape.
You can actually blame the writers of
TV's then-predominant offerings — sit-
corns, dramas, etc. — for Cops and, by exten-
sion, the prevailing look of much of today's reality pro-
gramming. A Writers Guild of America strike in 1988 forced
the networks to scramble and find inexpensive, union-free
content. Cops, with its gritty camcorder perspective and
cinema verite feel, set the template many shows still use.
In the vein of full disclosure, I have known the Franklins
for several years and think highly of them both. Todd and
I traveled to Ukraine together — twice — as members of
a Federation-sponsored leadership exchange program. (If
traveling to and around Ukraine together — twice — can't
cement a friendship, I'm not sure what can.)
Amy, co-owner of the now-shuttered Sprout children's
clothing shop in Royal Oak, was actually the Franklin I
knew first. I would occasionally go into her shop and ad-
mire the kick-ass kid's T-shirts while she shmoozed about
the Grateful Dead. She and then-partner Lauren Slutsky
had a great little place that I still miss.
(Slutsky, along with sisters Michelle Bone and Erica
Hunt, later reopened under the name Love Child.)
Whether or not you embrace your inner moth — find-
ing attraction in fame's flame — reality television seems
poised to continue finding ever darker, cornier and voyeur-
friendly corners to cast its light upon.
field, the event will also have
area vendors showcasing their
New Age-ish offerings. Details
will appear in September's edi-
tion.
Conceived as a way to both raise
money for a worthwhile charity and give the
community another choice of activity, Yoga in the
Greenhouse should be a good time; and will hopefully
raise much-needed money for Michigan's only kosher food
pantry.
TAKING MEASURE ...
We are entering the dog days of summer, when escap-
ing the oppressive heat is top of mind. But take a moment
to drink in the sunshine and embrace the sticky air —
autumn's crisp, crimson-inspiring winds will soon visit our
succahs.
OM FOR A CAUSE
Next month, Red Thread magazine will
be hosting Yoga in the Greenhouse, a
three-hour event bringing together
some of Detroit's best yoga instruc-
tors to help raise money for Yad Ezra,
the kosher food bank.
Planned for Sunday, Sept. 18, at
the sprawling Planterra greenhouse
complex on Drake Road in West Bloom-
Bryan S. Gottlieb
bgottlieb@redthreadmagazine.com
*Why are the waning days of summer known
as the "dog days"? Go to RTs Facebook page
and tell us your answer.
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August 2011 5