Dishing on Television

30 Days

Created by Morgan Spurlock

FX (2005)

A-

An experiment with much the same spirit as Supersize Me (2004), 30 Days confronts modern social issues enigmatic enough to make its host a twenty-first century Spurlock Holmes. What’s discovered each episode – with themes like ‘Muslims and America,’ ‘Straight Man in a Gay World’ and ‘Off the Grid’ – is that the overarching concept of otherness separates Americans more than any race, religion or lifestyle. Spurlock and other volunteers expose these manmade contrivances and also gain newfound acceptance or respect for that previously foreign to them in their own home country.

The first season opens with Spurlock committing himself and his surely beleaguered Watson – his vegan fiancé also seen in Supersize – to live for a month on minimum wage. The situation itself is carefully composed to best suit the challenge – surviving at or even below the poverty line as many in America do. Spurlock selects Columbus, Ohio’s capitol and one of the hardest hit in terms of job losses over recent years. The couple quickly finds that as part of the working poor, day to day life is as disciplined as it is uncertain. Their relationship is challenged by meager living conditions and ever-debilitating monetary constraints. Unexpected health concerns and the temporary inheritance of children nearly break the bank – a tin can more or less vacant in the Spurlock household.

The two persevere in the end at least in principle, managing to keep their love intact. More so, uneasy truths are exhumed co concerning stagnant wage legislation and the unmistakably divisive issue of health care reform. Imparted above all else though is that this was not a life lived but an experience had. There are thousands for whom this quality of life is not just a walk in someone else’s shoes without strings attached but the truth they have to live each day.

As somber as things may seem, Spurlock injects knowledge and humor into each of his and others’ thirty days that juxtapose a seriousness American TV audiences may find off-putting. Culture shock also has surprising entertainment value as each pairing breeds jovial awkwardness or micro-calamity. All this is delivered in a kind of enlightened layman’s terms, appealing to any of a vast audience willing to listen, enjoy and ultimately learn.

All in all, this is reality programming audiences should want on their TV. 30 Days calls into question assumptions that mainstream America has about subcultures they may in fact know nothing about or take for granted without a second thought. Discussions shared are far more than simply coherent – they have a logistic and emotional impact that likewise furthers understanding in those either televised or tele-viewing. Imagine if each U.S. household could become its own address on Baker Street – sheltering careful consideration for all things, however subjectively bizarre.