Roots of Reality: Entertainment
MTV Promo: People Really Win 1982
MTV not only often promoted contests; they regularly produced promos “naming names” of winners of past contests. This early example from 1982 shows VJs Mark Goodman and JJ Jackson appearing at the doors of winners. MTV branded itself as the channel where everyday people could get the chance to live like rock stars; the channel with the power to transform the lives of everyday people. In later years, the fantasy became couched in reality show transformations.
MTV Flow: Club MTV Interview 1988
Club MTV frequently included short interviews between the host Downtown Julie Brown and dancers. Often she asked personal questions about taste related to the band or subject of the video. But many times she asked other kinds of lifestyle questions about fashion or going-out. In this clip, we see how fashion is discussed not as simply about consuming the latest brand and keeping up with trends, but a way of assembling identity.
MTV Flow: Beastie Boys - Spring Break Body Snatchers – 1987
In 1987, MTV returned to Daytona Beach for its second Spring Break coverage and there was a coordinating contest with the Beastie Boys, who kidnapped the winner and then shared subsequent escapades on MTV. This included A) getting the winner and his friends drunk and 2) getting them in a hot tub with a number of women—an historical antecent to many hot-water encounters to occur in the future on The Real World, Jersey Shore, and more.
MTV Flow: Totally Pauly on the Set of Encino Man
In this clip from Totally Pauly in 1992, Shore welcomes the camera into his trailer and talks about how his career has progressed, referring to how the MTV viewer gets to see his real life, and how this has gotten him the kind of “heat” studios want in order to put him in a movie. An interesting moment occurs when Shore begins to explain the plot of the film, then interrupts himself as if he realizes the MTV viewer does not care about that contrived version of “The Weasel.”
MTV Flow: Teary Goodbye to Totally Pauly (Sort of) 1992
In the final segment of Totally Pauly that aired on June 22, 1992, Pauly gives thanks to viewers and MTV, and tears up. This is a fitting end to Totally Pauly's intimate relationship with the MTV viewer. It aired a month after the opening of his first movie, Encino Man. The intimacy which Pauly had cultivated with the MTV audience is on display here, and stands in stark contrast to his packaging in MTV specials such as "Chillin' with the Wiez" and future endeavors including his failed Fox sitcom in 1997.
MTV Flow: Bette Midler and Tina Turner at the First VMAs 1984
MTV’s first Video Music Awards, which were broadcast live from Radio Music Hall, celebrated the power of video to construct images, in conversation with the tradition of authenticity tied to live performance. In this segment, co-host Bette Midler recalls going to see Tina Turner open for the Rolling Stones before introducing her. The screen shows her the opening shots and titles for her video “What’s Love Got to Do With It?” before she appears live to sing.
MTV Flow: Totally Pauly with Sammy Shore
One of the last episodes to air prior to Pauly Shore leaving MTV temporarily in 1992 featured him talking to his father, comedian Sammy Shore. In this clip, you can how the format of Totally Pauly facilitates an emotional conversation between father and son, as well as how unscripted discussion is disrupted by the need to cut to a commercial or music video.
MTV Flow: First episode of Totally Different Pauly
his clip is from the first episode of Totally Different Pauly, Pauly Shore's return to MTV in October 1992. In it, he discusses how "the Weasel" has alienated people, that he has matured, and doesn't want to cater to the four year olds who like the old obnoxious version of himself. In the clip, we see Shore return to the format which made him successful: first person address to the camera, and an intimacy with the audience. He vows to take them along with him and his real life.
MTV Flow: 120 Minutes the week of the Real World Premiere 1992
This clip comes from the episode of MTV's 120 Minutes that aired the week of the premiere of The Real World. Immediately after a video from The Replacements, a promo for show airs. "Real people," the narrator says, before a short emotional clip of a cast member. "The Real World, MTV's real life soap opera" and mentions premiering on May 21. There’s also an ad for Colt 45 Malt Liquor, which is set up as Yo! MTV Raps host Fab 5 Freddy interviewing Billy Dee Williams.
MTV Flow: Real World Promo May 1992
This clip of commercial flow from MTV in May 1992 features a promo for the Real World noting it airs immediately after Beverly Hills, 90210 ends on the Fox Network. The promo suggests that after watching "the fantasy" of that show, viewers then tune to MTV to "get real". This shows how MTV scheduled and promoted in conjunction with content on more traditional TV networks. (After that, an ad for the Hair Club for Men!)
MTV Flow: News from a Ramones Tour Shot on Home Video 1989
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, tabloid news shows began featuring home movie footage as an alternative to more polished professional reportage. This has been cited as an important step in the evolution of reality programming. In this segment, MTV news edits together home movie footage of a Ramones European tour shot by a member of the band.
