| An American Family | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Documentary/Reality |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 12 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Craig Gilbert |
| Editor(s) | Pat Cook Eleanor Hamerow David Hanser Ken Werner |
| Production company(s) | WNET New York |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | PBS |
| Picture format | 16mm film[1] |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original run | January 11, 1973 – March 29, 1973 |
| Chronology | |
| Followed by | An American Family Revisited: The Louds 10 Years Later Lance Loud!: A Death in an American Family |
An American Family is an American television documentary filmed from May 30 through December 31, 1971[2] and first aired in the United States on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in early 1973. After being edited down from about 300 hours of raw footage, the series ran 12 episodes and one season Thursday nights at 9:00 p.m. Originally intended to be a chronicle of the daily life of an American family, the groundbreaking program documented the break-up of the Loud family via the separation and subsequent divorce of parents Bill and Pat Loud.[3]
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In 2011, The New York Times reflected on some of the controversy the series engendered:
For the viewing public, the controversy surrounding An American Family doubled as a crash course in media literacy. The Louds, in claiming that the material had been edited to emphasize the negative, called attention to how nonfiction narratives are fashioned. Some critics argued that the camera’s presence encouraged the subjects to perform. Some even said it invalidated the project. That line of reasoning, as Mr. Gilbert has pointed out, would invalidate all documentaries. It also discounts the role of performance in everyday life, and the potential function of the camera as a catalyst, not simply an observer.[4]
In 2002, An American Family was listed at #32 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time list. It is one of the earliest examples of the reality television genre.
The Loud family members profiled were:
Controversial at the time, the Louds' eldest son, Lance, came out to his family as openly gay during the course of the series.[7] He is credited as the first openly gay character on television[8] and subsequently became an icon within the LGBT community.[9]
One of the more notable moments of the series was when, after 21 years of marriage, Pat asked Bill for a divorce and to leave the house. Pat saying to her husband "You know there's a problem", with Bill's response, "What's your problem?" was chosen as one of the Top 100 Television Moments by TV Guide.
The series drew over 10 million viewers and considerable controversy. The family was featured in Newsweek on March 12, 1973. The article was titled "The Broken Family".[10]
( Source: An American Family episode nine end-credits; rerun airdate April 24, 2011, 7 a.m., WNET-TV )
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In 1979, Albert Brooks spoofed the series in his film Real Life.[11]
In 1983, HBO broadcast An American Family Revisited: The Louds 10 Years Later.[12]
The series inspired the MTV reality television series The Real World.[11]
In 2003, PBS broadcast the show Lance Loud!: A Death in an American Family, shot in 2001, visiting the family again at the invitation of Lance before his death.[12] The same family members participated in the documentary, with the exception of Grant. Lance was 50 years old, had gone through 20 years of addiction to crystal meth, and was HIV positive. He died of liver failure caused by a hepatitis C and HIV co-infection that year.[13] The show was billed by PBS as the final episode of An American Family.[14]
Subsequent to the showing of A Death in an American Family, Pat and Bill Loud moved back in together,[15] granting one of Lance's last wishes. They live very close to three of their surviving children, Grant, Michelle and Delilah, and keep in close contact with Kevin and his family, who live in Arizona.[16]
In April 2011, PBS rebroadcast the entire original series in a marathon format on many of its member stations, also coinciding with the then upcoming release of the HBO film Cinema Verite, based on the series.[17][18]
On July 7, 2011, most PBS stations presented An American Family: Anniversary Edition, a two-hour film by Alan and Susan Raymond that featured selected moments from the documentary series, in tribute to the 40 years since the series began filming in 1971. It was subsequently released on DVD.[19]
HBO premiered Cinema Verite on April 23, 2011, a fictionalized examination of the process of making An American Family. With a script by David Seltzer[20] and under the direction of Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini, the cast includes Tim Robbins as Bill, Diane Lane as Pat, Thomas Dekker as Lance and James Gandolfini as Craig Gilbert.[21]