True Story: What Reality TV Says about Us

"Exhaustively researched . . . Lindemann is instructive on the power differential between men and women in reality TV, how differently they're regarded and rewarded for their antics and facial calisthenics."
--James Wolcott, The New York Times

"Lindemann makes a compelling case for the seriousness of reality television, which she considers 'a fun house mirror of our dominant, heteronormative culture' and also the site of that culture's potential subversion . . . [she] marshals a great deal of evidence that to treat these shows as mere guilty pleasures is to understate their utility as agents of harmful or, alternatively, progressive ideas."
--Jake Nevins, The Nation

"Lindemann argues quite convincingly that despite people's knee-jerk mockery of reality TV or reflexive embarrassment at being 'caught' as a viewer, studying the genre gives us a better understanding of our world and ourselves . . . [her] academic expertise, as well as her enormous amount of research . . . gives readers a more thorough understanding of what this genre exposes about society."--Emily Yahr, The Washington Post

"Fascinating . . . [Lindemann] brings an analytic eye to the guilty pleasure of reality TV."--The National Book Review

"Lindemann breaks down concepts deftly and lightly . . . [She] combines foundational sociology texts with pop-culture references, and there's a visceral delight to seeing Émile Durkheim paired with My Strange Addiction."--The Chicago Review of Books

"[An] insightful study . . . [Lindemann] makes astute points by tracing the history of the genre all the way back to MTV's The Real World in 1992, and offering analysis of popular shows such as Survivor, Keeping Up with the Kardashians, and the Real Housewives franchise . . . [True Story] takes the guilt out of a popular guilty pleasure."
--Publishers Weekly

"True Story is not only an amazing dissection of the true meaning of the reality TV genre, it's also an adept exploration of sociology through the accessible lens of all of our favorite shows. A must read for any true fan of the reality television arts and sciences."
--Brian Moylan, author of The Housewives: The Real Story Behind the Real Housewives

"Danielle Lindemann writes with deep curiosity about reality TV -- both its faults and its promises -- and what it says about our social world. She moves expertly between the Kardashians and Honey Boo Boo as well as social constructs like the family, class, and gender, showing how the genre poses fundamental theoretical questions about ourselves and authenticity. True Story is an important guide for both pop culture enthusiasts and readers who want to learn more about sociology. There is surprising wisdom here, and sharp insights into the reality of social life."
--Ashley Mears, author of Pricing Beauty: The Making of a Fashion Model

"Don't be all, like, uncool. Be sure you read True Story. Lindemann has written the definitive sociological interpretation of reality television, using a variety of shows to define major concepts and our field. After reading this book you will know how to defend your favorite 'guilty pleasure' to friends and family."
--Hilary Levey Friedman, sociologist and author of Here She Is and Playing to Win