Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Catholic
Religious Music & Entertainment
The Duggars and the High Price of Reality

The Duggars and the High Price of Reality

Last updated on: May 24, 2015 at 3:26 pm by Kate O'Hare

The Duggars and the High Price of Reality 2015-05-24T15:26:55-08:00 Kate O'Hare

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Why do TV reality-show families tend to have problems?

First, they’re families. Families have problems.

Second, they’re families that have chosen — or at least the parents did — to showcase themselves on reality TV. Some folks are drafted into fame, through circumstances beyond their control. Others volunteer for it.

From the Kardashians to the Chrisleys to Mama June’s brood to the Duggars, kids are growing up on TV, because their parents said yes.

I’ve never watched “19 Kids and Counting,” so I don’t have a specific opinion on the merits of the show itself. Also, I’m not very familiar with the Duggars’ corner of Christianity, so I’m not qualified to comment on their beliefs, except to say that, on brief observation, they seem very different from Catholicism.

The whole situation involving son Josh Duggar and molestation incidents from his teen years involving young girls (including sisters) is horrible, but, then, when you have 19 kids, the odds of one of them doing something horrible is inevitably higher.

On the other hand, the Dahmers had two kids, and one of them, Jeffrey, turned out to be a serial killer and a cannibal. So, there’s no rule about these things.

As to the question of whether one’s teenage actions doom one for life, successful crime-fiction author Anne Perry was revealed, decades after the fact, to have been Juliet Hulme, who, as a teen, partnered with a friend to murder the friend’s mother, for which she served five years in prison.

Obviously, Perry’s life took a different turn after that.

So those passing judgment on the Duggar situation from both sides may find themselves all equally right and equally wrong. But one thing’s for sure, the odds are at least a few of the harshest critics and most vehement defenders have one or two teen missteps (perhaps not even rising to the level of Duggar’s indefensible actions) in their own lives that, if splashed all over the headlines, could irreparably damage their reputations and careers.

Also, we’re in a place now in society where, if you like or approve of someone, their peccadilloes and even high crimes get a wink and a nod, whereas if you don’t like the person, the same things are cause for hanging.

But, getting back to my original point, which is, I have always been deeply uneasy about minors being used in reality television.

It’s rough enough when a minor is a successful athlete, actor, singer, etc., and thereby becomes famous. Look what happened to Justin Bieber.

The choice, though, to allow your children to grow up in the relentless eye of a weekly TV series is another matter.

The very first American family so exposed was the Louds, subject of the 1973 PBS documentary “An American Family,” re-examined in the 2011 HBO docudrama “Cinema Verite.”

Viewers got a front-row seat as this upper-middle-class family in Santa Barbara, California, disintegrated before their eyes.

Writing in The Daily Beast, Richard Rushfield noted:

But there’s a funny thing about watching An American Family from across the chasm of decades. For all the dishonesty of the filmmaker’s agenda, for all the outrage the family would spawn, what stands out is not the momentary skirmish in the culture wars, but the Louds’ affection for each other. Marred by infidelity and a breakdown in communication between the sexes and generation, the Loud family was anything but perfect and was unable to withstand the pressures the era place on them. But shining through, despite it all, is a household of charming, awkward people, stumbling to hold on to each other when everything on earth is pulling them apart. And that, in the end, is why 40 years later, it’s still impossible to ignore the Louds.

In conversation last summer with Todd Chrisley, the very particular patriarch of USA Network’s successful “Chrisley Knows Best,” I asked him about the wisdom of putting his family (he has young-adult children, teens and a grade-schooler) on TV.

Since the show premiered in 2014, Chrisley’s first marriage, and financial dealings and tax issues, have been widely discussed in the media, along with the drug and other personal problems involving his oldest son (whose illegitimate daughter is now in the custody of Todd and wife Julie).

He’s sanguine about it all, telling me:

We knew to a certain degree, because we’re very bright people, and we’re also voyeuristic. We read things about other families and things that are out there, so I don’t think we’ve been treated very differently than anyone else who has a show on television.

These are things that you would like to say, “Uh, I wish I wouldn’t have to address that,” but it’s out there. There is nothing else that you can find. It’s out there, and if I was trying to hide it, I certainly wouldn’t have signed up for reality television.

So, knowing Josh’s history — and especially that their own daughters were among the victims — and no doubt learning, over the 10 seasons that “19 Kids and Counting” has aired on TLC, how the reality-TV and news businesses work, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar chose to keep themselves, and their children and grandchildren, on television.

As I said, all families have problems, and sometimes they’re severe. But not every family has to live through the dissection of these tragedies in the worldwide media.

Josh Duggar has children, and now they’re in this, too.

I hope the fame was worth it.

Image: Wikimedia Commons

Previous Post

May 22, 2015

Will Kurt Sutter Go Medieval on the Church in 'The Bastard Executioner'?

Next Post

May 24, 2015 'Beyond A.D.': Michelle Williams Debates Dating an Apostle

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category books breaking news digital media Faith practice food interview jane the virgin media movies music NFL Pope Francis Showbiz 101 social media sports technology television Uncategorized video

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz