>3/19/98 3:35 PM [log in to unmask] wrote: >Bethany Ogdon asked >>Can anybody direct me to an article that discusses >>this? I can't remember when exactly the writer's strike occurred, but >>am thinking maybe shows like The People's Court are more directly linked >>to the strike than shows like Cops and America's Most Wanted. > >That would have been in the late 1970s and early 1980s, so that >would be just prior to the Reagan era. I wonder, then, why "reality tv" is >associated with the Reagan era? Just some thoughts. > >Lisa :-) Perhaps it's due more to the influence of "direct cinema" documentary work which emerged in the late 60's and early 70's...e.g., Craig Gilbert's "An American Family" came out in 1973 -- it made such a huge splash on PBS that the Loud family was voted the family of the year. Erika ---- Online resources for film/TV studies may be found at ScreenSite http://www.tcf.ua.edu/screensite