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30 Days airing on FX

August 18, 2006 at 9:21 am · Filed under News Events

“30 Days is a reality television show on FX Networks, created and hosted by Morgan Spurlock. In each episode, the host (or someone else) will spend 30 days immersing him or herself in a subject (e.g.. working for mininum wage, being in prison, living as a Muslim, etc.) while discussing related social issues. As in Spurlock’s film Super Size Me, there are a number of rules that are followed.”

I only caught two episodes of this last season, and really enjoyed the documentary/format. It looks like the first season is now on DVD, so I’ll have to keep my eyes open at the video store. The second season is currently airing and is up to the 4th episode. I just realized this was on, so I haven’t seen any yet, but I’m working on it. If you have cable, I think it’s on Wednesdays and I recommend giving it a try. Here’s a list of the issues they’re tackling this season.

  1. “Immigration” a man who has staunch anti-illegal immigration views and is a member of the Minutemen lives with a family of illegal immigrants.
  2. “Outsourcing” a man who lost his job to outsourcing travels to India, where he witnesses how the outsourcing of US jobs has affected that country’s culture.
  3. “Atheist/Christian” a woman who is an atheist lives with a fundamentalist Christian family.
  4. “New Age” a man who is over-worked and over-stressed attempts to find inner peace through unconventional means.
  5. “Pro-choice/Pro-Life” a woman who had an abortion 6 years ago and is pro-choice resides in a pro-life group home for pregnant women.
  6. “Jail” Morgan Spurlock experiences life as an inmate inside a county jail.

clear :) said,

August 20, 2006 @ 7:36 pm

I’m going to have to hear about these vicariously through others. They all sound interesting though I think I most want to hear the outcomes of immigration, outsourcing and new age.

I saw parts of the episode of Living as a Muslim through an Oprah show. She had the guy he lived as a muslim on and he related his experience to the audience. I think we all could stand to walk in someone else’s shoes before we make judgments about how they live their lives.

~Mers said,

August 21, 2006 @ 10:59 am

In the immigration episode, they asked Frank, a minuteman, to live with a family of illegal Mexican immigrants. What was unique about the situation was that Frank was a Puerto Rican immigrant. However, he has been legal for nearly 30 years or so. On the weekends, he would get together with other minutemen and help reinforce the border. The Mexican family has 5 kids. 3 snuck across the border with the parents and two were born in the US. They shared a small one bedroom apartment with everyone living in close quarters. Their yearly income was roughly 15k per year.

Much of the focus was on the two parents and one of the daughters. She was a talented golfer and awaiting acceptance into college. They carried out much of the immigration debates. The debates centered around the bill to criminalize the illegal immigrants. The daughter was very vocal about giving amnesty to the immigrants already in the country, while Frank believed that everyone should be shipped back to Mexico. There wasn’t any leeway/progress in Frank’s eyes until the father said that many of the families have nothing to go back to in Mexico. He suggested that Frank go to Mexico and see how his brother and the rest of his family lives.

This is really where Frank takes a turn. He remembered when his own mother couldn’t return to Cuba when her mother died. He took the lone ride to Mexico. The father couldn’t take the chance of crossing back across the border. Frank saw the poverty and homes that the family had grown up in. The house was basically 4 walls. They got water from a well and much of the living conditions were unsanitary. There was no work for his brother and family and that’s why they left.

Frank returned with photos and video of the families’ relatives. Frank spoke with the father again about his brother. He wanted the best for the rest of his family and wanted to bring them to the US. Frank was now conficted, because he was still opposed to this, but he saw the living conditions of his family firsthand and felt sympathetic.

After 30 days, Frank left with a neutral perspective. He was empathetic to the deporting of illegal immigrants. Should the family ever get deported, he said he would sponsor them to become legal. They never touched on the subject of illegal immigrants becoming a burdan on the American tax payers. The focus was on humanizing the illegal immigrants and their persuit of the “American Dream” and wanting a better life for their families.

clear :) said,

August 21, 2006 @ 12:54 pm

Thanks for the rundown, kimmers. Can’t wait to hear about outsourcing and new age when the time comes.

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