This American Life was born as a National Public Radio show reported and narrated by Ira Glass. For each episode, they choose a theme and then deliver two or three—often surprising—stories on that theme. I’ve always enjoyed listening to the radio show, but watching the episodes as realistic reality television is positively addicting.
In the second season, Ira Glass and his crew discuss “Escape,” “Going Down in History,” “Underdogs, “Two Wars,” and “Scenes from a Marriage.” The episodes come together as unconventional takes on ordinary life.
For example, in “Going Down in History,” Glass visits a high school on yearbook photo day to talk about the process of remembering and being remembered. Then he takes us to a man who records his life as a soldier in occupied Belgium—using posed figurines, homemade stage sets and a digital camera.
“Escape” tells the story of a man with a degenerative disease that has left him a prisoner in his own body, completely dependent on others for his very breath. We also see horses trot through a gang-infested inner city, opening a new world for tough kids.
“John Smith” is a fascinating look at 7 different men with the same name, at 7 different stages of life. From the 11-week-old whose parents were expecting a girl, to the 36-year-old who nursed his mother through cancer, to the 79-year-old with Alzheimer’s, this is a riveting look at people linked by the most common name in America. The summation is amazing and ironic.
Ira Glass recently received the 2009 Edward Murrow Award, which is the highest individual award for Public Radio because of the groundbreaking aesthetic he has made commonplace. This American Life tells stories of real people, some achingly normal and some just off the beaten path. Ira Glass is a folklorist in the truest sense of the term: capturing and preserving experiences of ordinary people, and presenting those experiences to the world. I can’t wait for Season 3!
Reviewed by Adrin Fisher
