If you haven’t watched 30 Days on FX, you should. Spawned from Morgan Spurlock's Oscar-nominated film Super Size Me, the show asks folks to walk in someone else’s shoes for 30 days. It’s like reality TV for smarties.
The show is planning on doing an episode on the abortion debate and they’re looking for a pro-choice woman to go live in a faith-based center for young pregnant women in California. Seems really interesting, but of course brimming with controversy.
Check out the full casting call after the jump.
SEEKING PRO-CHOICE FEMINIST 20 to 40 years old for "30 DAYS"
Actual Reality Pictures is currently seeking an assertive and articulate woman who at one time in her life had an unplanned pregnancy and chose to exercise her right to an abortion. We are looking for someone who has mature and positive feelings about her choice and is willing to share it with the world. This is for the critically acclaimed TV series 30 Days. The chosen candidate will receive considerable monetary compensation for their participation.
Each episode of 30 Days places an individual in a living environment that is antithetical to their upbringing, beliefs, religion or profession. One of the episodes we are developing this season will tackle the subject of women's reproductive rights. We are interested in having a young feminist who describes herself as pro-choice live in a home for young pregnant women. This promises to be a wonderful opportunity to bring a compassionate debate on this supremely sensitive issue to a national television audience while also sharing your beliefs with someone from the opposite side of a supremely polarizing issue.
Our show aims to be neither exploitative nor mean-spirited. Our main purpose is to show what happens when someone gets the opportunity to walk a mile in another person's shoes. Our perfect candidate would be willing to participate in an explorative journey, and be open to befriending someone with markedly different beliefs. A woman's right to choose is a touchy subject in today's political climate, and the lack of productive dialogue is something that harms everyone, no matter what side they are on. We are hoping that our episode will provoke people from opposite sides of this issue to embark on a rewarding discussion about what it truly means for women to have the right to choose.
INTERESTED PARTIES should contact ASAP:
Michael Sutton or Maria Luisa Gambale.
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No matter what they say, what they are actually looking for is somebody to make an ass of herself and provide "entertainment".
Why am I so tempted?
I don't know, the show seems on the up and up to me and sincere in their desire to provide something thought-provoking.
Personally, I can't even deal with an anti-choicer for five minutes, let alone 30 days.
Spurlock may be sincere in trying to create meaningful debate, but there's no meaningful debate to be had. Most people have some kind of "mushy middle" position on abortion, but not activists on either side, who tend to be very polarized. I could no more have a productive conversation about abortion with someone who does not support a woman's right to choose than I could have a productive conversation about evolution with a creationist.
Living in a different country, until recently, I was oblivious to the extent that violent arguement continues over this issue in the US.
I agree with Thomas, Anti-choice is simply a front for another agenda ... erroding your laws article by article; clause by clause ... seriously it's frightening.
How could one survive even 1 day, let alone 30 in an environment devoid of logic, reason and where the sum of knowledge has been obliterated.
I'd rather see the reverse, where a pro-life woman is recruited to work at an abortion clinic for a month. Course, they probably couldn't get anyone to do that.
This seems incredibly fishy to me. All the other shows have done basically the opposite (in terms of the lefty politics). The meat-eater and beauty queen living off the grid with the hippies (in Missouri of all places); the southern bigot moving in to gayville, San Francisco; the good Christian shacking up with Muslims. And the point is always for those people to "learn" about the others. So what exactly is a pro-choice feminist supposed to learn from some "faith-based" group home? That faith is just a peachy keen kind of way to dress up sexism? Maybe I'm just really cynical.
Jennifer-- the straight man living among gay people and the Christian guy living among Muslims showed that you can learn even from people whose beliefs you oppose. Neither of them "converted" their way of thinking, but they did learn that rational, kind people can have beliefs different from theirs.
Rational, kind people can be pro-life, you know. Perhaps that is what a particularly vociferous pro-choice feminist might need to learn.