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the episodes chosen as representative samples. Before proceeding to analysis,
descriptions of these programs should plant them in the tradition of news magazines,
such as 60 Minutes.
True Life
True Life is a documentary series that deals with issues important to today’s
youth. Topics have ranged from living in a brothel to being the youngest tycoon in the
world. True Life’s defining feature is the first-person perspective used to tell the story;
the subject(s) of the show tell their own story. Any other narrative injected is visual,
musical, or written word. Two installments of True Life are contrasted with the 60
Minutes model. True Life: “I Can’t Breathe” is the story of Pam Laffin, a single mother
of two diagnosed with emphysema, caused by a smoking habit picked up as a child.
Laffin attributes her cigarette habit to the final scene of the movie Grease, in which
Olivia Newton-John’s character, following her transformation from uncool to cool, is
smoking a cigarette. Laffin tells of how she started smoking at ten, was diagnosed with
emphysema at 24, survived a lung transplant, and is dependent on medications for the
rest of her life. At the end of the program, text informs the viewer of Pam’s death at age
31. True Life: “It Could Be You” is MTV’s documentary of the making of a
documentary by Jako and Rebecca, two young HIV+ women. The women tell of how
they were infected as teenagers, how they met, and why they decided to travel the
country interviewing HIV+ youth. Much of the footage is from their documentary.
Criminal
Criminal is part of MTV’s Fight For Your Rights: Take a Stand Against
Discrimination campaign, an umbrella for all of MTV’s programming that addresses
Convention