Ice Road Truckers - Truth or Manufactured Television?

[Sukerkin]

When Ice Road Truckers was first broadcast, I really enjoyed it. It showed me an insight into a job that I had previously not known existed and filled me with respect for the men that did it.

Several seasons on and I start to have my suspicions that. altho' it might be rooted in the truth, the continued prescence of camera crews is having an impact.

http://www.history.com/shows/ice-road-truckers/photos/lisa-kelly-photos

It is by no means my intent to say that this woman is not all that she is presented to be but when glamour shows up where none was before, it raises questions as to whether art is depicting life or whether it is 'amending' life to ensure better ratings.

 

[elder999]

It is by no means my intent to say that this woman is not all that she is presented to be but when glamour shows up where none was before, it raises questions as to whether art is depicting life or whether it is 'amending' life to ensure better ratings.

Dude.

They looked for "hot chick," who was qualified, and willing (and, from what I've seen, able) to do the job.

I mean, have you seen the dudes that do that job? :lfao:

After this:



WHo wouldn't be ready for a little of this:

:lfao:

 

[Sukerkin]

That's pretty much what I meant.

The blurring of the lines between fantasy and reality is a dangerous playground in my book.

As I said, I don't mean to imply that she doesn't do the job and just shows up to do glamour shots for promotions - but it tastes of, as you phrased it, bringing in the hot chick trucker to keep the ratings up.

 

[granfire]

Checking the oil was never so sexy.

The pictures are stupid. But hey, can't blame them.
The dude with the beard would not look nearly as good in that little black number....

 

[Sukerkin]

I don't want to give the impression that I don't think it's a good idea to put role models that break the traditional moulds on the TV. After all, my missus wanted to be a truck driver when she was at school and was dissuaded by the careers officer as it just was not a job that girls did.

Nowadays we have series like Eddie Stobart: Trucks and Trailers on the television and one of the drivers that gets a lot of attention is:

Again, it's not hard to guess that ratings is behind it but she really is a truck driver and a mum. So, in the end, it can be a positive thing to spotlight the glamour; the trick is not to make it feel like the glamour is shoehorned in to get the viewers.

 

[granfire]

That's pretty much what I meant.

The blurring of the lines between fantasy and reality is a dangerous playground in my book.

As I said, I don't mean to imply that she doesn't do the job and just shows up to do glamour shots for promotions - but it tastes of, as you phrased it, bringing in the hot chick trucker to keep the ratings up.

On the other hand, being a hot chick should not keep one from getting a real job like trucking.

There are a lot of ladies in the US who know their way around the machinery pretty darn well. Some are truckers, others just have jobs that include trucks.

(though Ice trucker....when nature calls on the road, guys still have the advantage....)

 

[Scott T]

As someone whose mother and stepfather owned a truck stop in the Northwest Territories (a little town called Enterprise, an hour north of the Alberta border. And yes, I was living with them) I can say that there's fewer things manufactured in IRT, including regarding women like Lisa, than you might imagine.

My first crush (at the age of 12) was a trucker chick. Sadly it wouldn't have worked as she had a husband in Calgary.

 

[Sukerkin]

Aaah, Calgary ...

... I once spent three weeks there and became convinced that they had an immigration policy that only allowed beautiful women to stay :lol:.

Joey Tomatoes - the only restaurant I've walked into, seen the waitresses and forgot what I went in for {to my pleasure, I also found out that an English accent gets you a lot of very welcome attention there }.

 

[granfire]

Aaah, Calgary ...

... I once spent three weeks there and became convinced that they had an immigration policy that only allowed beautiful women to stay :lol:.

Joey Tomatoes - the only restaurant I've walked into, seen the waitresses and forgot what I went in for {to my pleasure, I also found out that an English accent gets you a lot of very welcome attention there }.

LOL, you crack me up when you have one of your rare 'Guy Moments'!

:lol:

 

[jks9199]

Is some of it manufactured? Absolutely. Is some of the drama created by the camera, directors, or editors? Even more absolutely. Has it all been intentional? No. I think, for example, Hugh (the guy with the beard), has let the cameras and the TV competition aspect push him out of being a professional into stupidity. I suspect he's going to have problems getting work if he doesn't straighten out -- because I damn sure wouldn't hire him to drive my kid's toy truck after what I've seen. And I'm pretty confident that he is being who he is, and is being fairly portrayed.

Any of these shows are kind of the proof of the way that an observer effects what they observe.

And are some of them willing to sex it up a little? Sure.

 

[punisher73]

Here is a quick wiki bio on her
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_Kelly_(Ice_Road_Trucker)

Sounds like she was a trucker prior to the show while she lived in Alaska.

 

[Empty Hands]

I was just thinking about this when I watched a few episodes of "To Catch A Predator". Every single one of those dudes got the full force take down when they walked out of the house. The only one to avoid that fate was a 61 year old with heart trouble (good thinking, there). This was despite the fact that they all had their hands fully up or out. In one case, a guy in a ghillie suit came charging out of the bushes. You can't tell me most or all of that wasn't for the benefit of the cameras. After all, if these men were so dangerous, why the unimpeded access to Chris Hansen and his crew for 10 minutes first?

There has also been some question about unnecessary police raids for the benefit of shadowing cameras and reality TV shows. One was for "The First 48" where a girl was killed, and I think Steven Seagal's show may have had questions too. It does make you wonder that if the situation is dangerous and volatile enough to warrant a dynamic entry raid how it could ever be safe for camera crews, or that the crews didn't have the potential to make it even worse?

Observers always change the behavior, as JKS pointed out. Always something to keep in mind with "reality" shows. After all, does actual reality have editors and writers?

 

[Xue Sheng]

Here is a quick wiki bio on her
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_Kelly_(Ice_Road_Trucker)

Sounds like she was a trucker prior to the show while she lived in Alaska.

Yup, she was she was also in IRT most dangerous roads and seemed to be doing the job.


As to to original lquestion from the OP; Truth or Manufactured? I'm betting it is a bit of both all the way around

 

[punisher73]

Yup, she was she was also in IRT most dangerous roads and seemed to be doing the job.


As to to original lquestion from the OP; Truth or Manufactured? I'm betting it is a bit of both all the way around

That's kind of how I felt about it. a "directed truth". They found somebody that did the job and would help create ratings. Not a complete manufacture as in, they found a pretty face and then trained her to do the job and then put her in place.

 

[Sukerkin]

Aye, that is what I was driving at {Yeah! Haulage based pun attack! }.