These days, Jon & Kate Plus 8 adds up to one big pop culture controversy — entwined with at least 10 varying story lines, depending on whom you ask:
Kate Gosselin is a selfless and sympathetic mother struggling to raise eight children ages 8 and under. Kate Gosselin is self-centered, shrewish diva who is driving her husband away. Jon Gosselin is a devoted dad helplessly under the French-manicured thumb of his controlling wife. Jon Gosselin is a rarely-do-well who would rather salvage his white sports car than his now-crumbling marriage.
The couple signed on to the show in 2007 to create a charming record of their family's very unusual life. Or the couple signed on for a lifetime of hair plugs and highlights. The children, sextuplets and twins, are having a blast hamming it up for the cameras — and banking college tuition in the process. Or the children are miserable under the microscope and are being exploited for their parents' benefit.
Some contend the Gosselins are justified in slamming the increased scrutiny (the celebrity magazine covers, the stalking paparazzi). Others say they're hypocrites for inviting the nation into their house and then turning squeamish.
And then, most cynically of all, there's the thinking that they're faking the drama for the sake of ratings — and relevancy.
FIND MORE STORIES IN: California Los Angeles Britney Spears Beverly Hills University of Minnesota Santa Barbara Kevin Federline Aberdeen Chester Public Broadcasting Service America Jon & Kate Plus 8 Harvey Levin Marnie
Good for cover stories, too
The competing plotlines are what make the story compelling, says Larry Hackett, managing editor of People, which recently put Kate Gosselin on the cover (it sold "very, very well," among the best of the year so far, he says).
"There is a way into this story for everybody," Hackett says. "The authenticity of the story, however painful, is what's ringing through to people, and that's why they're paying attention," whether out of a sense of sympathy or schadenfreude.
The Gosselins' realness is both part of their appeal and their Achilles' heel, marriage and family experts say. The couple are not Britney Spears and Kevin Federline, whose reality show, Chaotic, felt about as genuine as a Spears first marriage. But they're not the Osbournes, either, who as professional — vs. accidental — celebrities were relatively well-prepared to have their personal problems become part of the public discourse.
When America gawks at the Gosselins, they're gawking at a real family that has begun to unravel, and psychologists and social scientists fear the consequences. In 1973, when PBS aired what's generally considered the first reality show, An American Family, about the Louds of Santa Barbara, Calif., "the whole country watched them fell apart," says William Doherty, a professor in the college of education and human development at the University of Minnesota. "We forgot that cultural lesson — this kind of putting a family under a microscope often destroys what we're looking at."
His advice? "Do what they can to try to save their marriage" by getting the third parties — viewers, producers, celebrity journalists — out of the picture.
If they can. Though she wouldn't discuss the Gosselins' contractual relationship with TLC, or their salary (reported to be five digits per episode), TLC president and general manager Eileen O'Neill says the family is "committed" to the series.
But as they continue with the show, their marriage is at risk, Doherty says. "Family therapists like to talk about triangulation: When a couple is having problems, each likes to bring in a third party to help take sides. Here, the whole nation is getting triangled, which is never good."
Says Geoffry White, a Los Angeles psychologist who has consulted on a couple of dozen reality shows: "There is also a lot of conforming pressure on Jon and Kate to give the audience what they believe the audience wants. That's not good for the kids."
'Implications are frightening'
"The implications for shows like Jon & Kate are frightening, and there is no university ethics committee providing oversight," White says. "They're amateurs in a professional activity. That's my big concern."
Still, some experts say the couple were doomed for discord from the start, cameras or not. "The dynamic between them has been pretty destructive for a long time," says Jenn Berman, a marriage, family and child therapist in Beverly Hills who has worked on reality TV shows as an expert. Kate Gosselin's overly critical treatment of her husband (she once scolded him for breathing too loudly), his passive-aggressive behavior toward her (epitomized by his photographed outings with a woman nearly a decade younger) — "they have a pretty bad cycle that just seems to be getting worse."
Whether the Gosselins' woes end in divorce or reconciliation, Berman predicts that people will continue to watch.
Others say that, depending on what direction the story takes, the future of Jon & Kate the show could look as bleak as the future of Jon and Kate the couple. "Conflict equals ratings," says Harvey Levin, managing editor of gossip site TMZ.com and host and executive producer of TMZ the show.
So if the Gosselins go their separate ways, "then you're watching a struggling (single) mother, and that isn't that interesting. There's a crescendo right now in their little life symphony, and the trick is, what do you do to keep that crescendo vibrant?"
If the couple do split, longtime watcher Ron Brabson of Chester, Pa., expects the show to be canceled. Continuing on as a fractured family would be like "when Sonny and Cher got divorced but did the show anyway" and America yawned. "People are going to get tired if every episode is just showing (Jon Gosselin) coming in from the garage," where he's reportedly living.
'Enough sadness in real life'
Some fans already are turned off. Last week's Season 5 premiere was Carolyn Blanchard's last glimpse of Jon & Kate. "I see enough sadness in real life. Why do I have to see it on TV?" says Blanchard, 49, who works in a library and lives in Aberdeen, S.D.
Amanda Sheptak isn't sure she'll continue following the friction. On the premiere, "you could tell (Kate Gosselin) was in over her head," says Sheptak, 33, a trust administrator at a bank, of Forest City, Pa. "Isn't it ironic? (During the sextuplets' 5th birthday party) Kate commented on how she thinks it's weird that you pick your favorite characters for piñatas and then beat them to a pulp, yet she puts her kids on display to the world and can't understand why everyone is swinging at them."
Still, some feel for the family's private-cum-public plight. "The Gosselins are growing as a family just like everyone else does. They're encountering problems just like everyone else does," says Marnie Schultz, 28, a software engineer from Sherrill, N.Y.
"Being married is hard enough," says Ryan Kees, 33, an operations manager from Laytonsville, Md. "Much less doing it in front of the world."
from usa today
Kate Gosselin is a selfless and sympathetic mother struggling to raise eight children ages 8 and under. Kate Gosselin is self-centered, shrewish diva who is driving her husband away. Jon Gosselin is a devoted dad helplessly under the French-manicured thumb of his controlling wife. Jon Gosselin is a rarely-do-well who would rather salvage his white sports car than his now-crumbling marriage.
The couple signed on to the show in 2007 to create a charming record of their family's very unusual life. Or the couple signed on for a lifetime of hair plugs and highlights. The children, sextuplets and twins, are having a blast hamming it up for the cameras — and banking college tuition in the process. Or the children are miserable under the microscope and are being exploited for their parents' benefit.
Some contend the Gosselins are justified in slamming the increased scrutiny (the celebrity magazine covers, the stalking paparazzi). Others say they're hypocrites for inviting the nation into their house and then turning squeamish.
And then, most cynically of all, there's the thinking that they're faking the drama for the sake of ratings — and relevancy.
FIND MORE STORIES IN: California Los Angeles Britney Spears Beverly Hills University of Minnesota Santa Barbara Kevin Federline Aberdeen Chester Public Broadcasting Service America Jon & Kate Plus 8 Harvey Levin Marnie
Good for cover stories, too
The competing plotlines are what make the story compelling, says Larry Hackett, managing editor of People, which recently put Kate Gosselin on the cover (it sold "very, very well," among the best of the year so far, he says).
"There is a way into this story for everybody," Hackett says. "The authenticity of the story, however painful, is what's ringing through to people, and that's why they're paying attention," whether out of a sense of sympathy or schadenfreude.
The Gosselins' realness is both part of their appeal and their Achilles' heel, marriage and family experts say. The couple are not Britney Spears and Kevin Federline, whose reality show, Chaotic, felt about as genuine as a Spears first marriage. But they're not the Osbournes, either, who as professional — vs. accidental — celebrities were relatively well-prepared to have their personal problems become part of the public discourse.
When America gawks at the Gosselins, they're gawking at a real family that has begun to unravel, and psychologists and social scientists fear the consequences. In 1973, when PBS aired what's generally considered the first reality show, An American Family, about the Louds of Santa Barbara, Calif., "the whole country watched them fell apart," says William Doherty, a professor in the college of education and human development at the University of Minnesota. "We forgot that cultural lesson — this kind of putting a family under a microscope often destroys what we're looking at."
His advice? "Do what they can to try to save their marriage" by getting the third parties — viewers, producers, celebrity journalists — out of the picture.
If they can. Though she wouldn't discuss the Gosselins' contractual relationship with TLC, or their salary (reported to be five digits per episode), TLC president and general manager Eileen O'Neill says the family is "committed" to the series.
But as they continue with the show, their marriage is at risk, Doherty says. "Family therapists like to talk about triangulation: When a couple is having problems, each likes to bring in a third party to help take sides. Here, the whole nation is getting triangled, which is never good."
Says Geoffry White, a Los Angeles psychologist who has consulted on a couple of dozen reality shows: "There is also a lot of conforming pressure on Jon and Kate to give the audience what they believe the audience wants. That's not good for the kids."
'Implications are frightening'
"The implications for shows like Jon & Kate are frightening, and there is no university ethics committee providing oversight," White says. "They're amateurs in a professional activity. That's my big concern."
Still, some experts say the couple were doomed for discord from the start, cameras or not. "The dynamic between them has been pretty destructive for a long time," says Jenn Berman, a marriage, family and child therapist in Beverly Hills who has worked on reality TV shows as an expert. Kate Gosselin's overly critical treatment of her husband (she once scolded him for breathing too loudly), his passive-aggressive behavior toward her (epitomized by his photographed outings with a woman nearly a decade younger) — "they have a pretty bad cycle that just seems to be getting worse."
Whether the Gosselins' woes end in divorce or reconciliation, Berman predicts that people will continue to watch.
Others say that, depending on what direction the story takes, the future of Jon & Kate the show could look as bleak as the future of Jon and Kate the couple. "Conflict equals ratings," says Harvey Levin, managing editor of gossip site TMZ.com and host and executive producer of TMZ the show.
So if the Gosselins go their separate ways, "then you're watching a struggling (single) mother, and that isn't that interesting. There's a crescendo right now in their little life symphony, and the trick is, what do you do to keep that crescendo vibrant?"
If the couple do split, longtime watcher Ron Brabson of Chester, Pa., expects the show to be canceled. Continuing on as a fractured family would be like "when Sonny and Cher got divorced but did the show anyway" and America yawned. "People are going to get tired if every episode is just showing (Jon Gosselin) coming in from the garage," where he's reportedly living.
'Enough sadness in real life'
Some fans already are turned off. Last week's Season 5 premiere was Carolyn Blanchard's last glimpse of Jon & Kate. "I see enough sadness in real life. Why do I have to see it on TV?" says Blanchard, 49, who works in a library and lives in Aberdeen, S.D.
Amanda Sheptak isn't sure she'll continue following the friction. On the premiere, "you could tell (Kate Gosselin) was in over her head," says Sheptak, 33, a trust administrator at a bank, of Forest City, Pa. "Isn't it ironic? (During the sextuplets' 5th birthday party) Kate commented on how she thinks it's weird that you pick your favorite characters for piñatas and then beat them to a pulp, yet she puts her kids on display to the world and can't understand why everyone is swinging at them."
Still, some feel for the family's private-cum-public plight. "The Gosselins are growing as a family just like everyone else does. They're encountering problems just like everyone else does," says Marnie Schultz, 28, a software engineer from Sherrill, N.Y.
"Being married is hard enough," says Ryan Kees, 33, an operations manager from Laytonsville, Md. "Much less doing it in front of the world."
from usa today
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