Compared to what Twitter's been telling me, both of tonight's guests seem a bit... lame less than fascinating. But I dug up a couple points worth sharing, I think.
Jon's got [http://en.wikipedia.org/... Lisa Ling, who I'm sure earned this high-profile interview spot entirely on her own merit and in no way has Oprah's generosity re: the "rally for sanity" to thank. The show is Our America ("with lisa Ling" in teeny-tiny letters), and I guess it premiered last week on Oprah's network. Here's one article/press release:
You know your TV show is in good shape when Oprah Winfrey drops you an email just to let you know that it made her cry. That's exactly what happened to Lisa Ling when Winfrey checked out her new original series, Our America with Lisa Ling...
At a press event to promote the show, Ling told reporters that the queen of talk emailed her to say that she was "bawling" after watching the debut episode about faith healers...
Uh-oh. To continue:
The first season of Our America features six episodes: "Faith Healers," "Transgender Lives," "State of Sex Offenders," "Pray the Gay Away?," "Heroin in the Heartland" and "Online Brides." In each episode, Ling gives viewers an in-depth look at some of the most controversial issues in the United States. The result is an hour-long special that Ling hopes will make people "feel differently and think differently."
Though Ling travels abroad frequently, she says that during filming she felt like she "was in a foreign country, because the worlds were so different from my own." ...However, unlike many TV hosts today, Ling doesn't want to impose her feelings and beliefs on her viewers. "I'm not going to tell you what to think," Ling says of the topics discussed on Our America. "I'm just here to provide you with an experience. It's up to you to come to your own conclusion."
Ling does, however, admit that she went into each situation with some amount of judgement. "I went into 'Faith Healers' very critically and skeptically," Ling confesses of the premiere episode, about people who claim to cure ailments through faith. "But I walked away feeling so moved," she says...
Um. Well, here's her, well, mission statement:
“Even though I’ve been working in this business for over 20 years, I’ve never gotten a chance to do some really provocative programming,” Ling said. “OWN has really let me work on stories in a way that I wouldn’t be able to do anywhere else.”
She cautions, though, that there is no agenda to what she presents in the documentary anthology.
“I really want people to think differently about these topics or these issues or these people -- differently than they thought about before,” she added. “And to recognize -- to really sort of expand -- what the whole idea of what being an American is.”
But amid the “Teen Moms” and “The Real Housewives” -- the show’s cable competitors for its premiere episode-- is such a task feasible?
“I think that given what else is on television, there’s a need for this on TV,” Ling said. “I don’t think audiences are offered the opportunity to have these experiences that are not sensationalized and are not being directed to the lowest common denominator. By the same token, every one of the episodes included in ‘Our America’ is as shocking and -- I keep using this word -- provocative as anything you’ll see on any other network.”
And that’s something that Winfrey said she strove for in creating her own network. During her appearance at the Television Critics Assn. press tour in January, Winfrey made it clear that ratings were secondary to the “new kind of television” she was presenting to viewers.
“A new kind of television where people would respond to the idea of something meaningful and positive in their lives,” Winfrey said. “Not just feeding them sweetness, but feeding them something that could be nurturing."..
One review (at the WaPo) was somewhat mixed:
...At present, she has been sent on an empathetic, coast-to-coast quest by OWN, the Oprah Winfrey Network, in search of the marginal and more baffling and ambivalent mysteries of modern life. Find the sexual hang-ups and abuse victims; find the Jesus of billboards and megachurches; find the saints and sinners, the hated and the haters.
"Our America With Lisa Ling," debuting Tuesday night, is an intelligent, ruminative affirmation on the ways life might resemble a daytime talk show. Ling comes across as a sympathetic seeker of true stories about who we really are and all that. Whereas Charles Kuralt, in his reportorial road-trip heyday, was on the hunt for artisanal glass-blowing and community fish fries, Ling exits the interstates to locate faith healers babbling in tongues...
OWN has rolled out several shows since its January debut, but so far, "Our America" seems best suited to Winfrey's overriding concept for an educational network. "Our America" asks a lot of questions without requiring an ultimate answer; in tone and intent, it reminds me of the quality TV magazine journalism that predated the infotainment glut.
Only now, objectivity has become Oprahtivity, and each assignment leaves Ling in a bit of an emotional lurch. She is deeply moved by her subjects but none the wiser. She discovers all sorts of darkness, sadness, guilt - and the best she can offer is an understanding nod, a hug and, of course, a camera.
I suspect that it'll cover more or less the same stories that that pre-infotainment tv journalism covered, once upon a time -- sex, drugs, religion. This next reminds me of the tv talk shows I saw as a kid, way back then:
I caught up with Ling to hear more about this week's, 'Transgender Lives,' where we meet some incredibly brave transgender Americans of all ages and from all walks of life. For most viewers, the most surprising part of the episode will be how inconspicuous most of them are.
Even Ling had to keep reminding herself about Hailey, a seven-year-old girl who was born as Harry: "I would have to like pinch myself and recall that Hailey has male parts, because she's so girly girl."
Then there's Ton, a transitioning ladies man who used to be known as Tonya: "I was so attracted to Ton!," Ling laughs. "I actually asked Ton about having a vagina, because Ton says he's only attracted to straight women. 'How?' And he said, 'I'm a professional at things.' [Laughs] It was such a guy response too! And he didn't even miss a beat."
There's also a middle-aged couple, Deb and Mitchell. They have two grown sons and are happily married -- except Mitchell now goes by Michelle. They're still together, as two women now, and they honestly seem like they couldn't be happier...
I suppose someone should watch that, to see if it's as trans-friendly as it appears. Since it'll be tomorrow's show, this might be tonight's topic (though there're more sensationalist interview-tidbits out there). Be warned, those of you who don't enjoy being the focus of "look how normal These People are!" attention...
|