Reality Television's Retaining Wall at the Extreme Periphery of the U.S.

Eastport, Maine. A statue at the easternmost point of the U.S. (far North as well: the islands in the photograph's background are part of Canada). The plaque reads,

"This statue was built in 2001 for Fox Television's filming of its reality mini-series, Murder in Small Town X. Restored in 2005 with donated funds and services, the statue is now a tribute to Angel Juarbe, Jr., the New York City fireman who won the $250,000 grand prize in the mini-series and soon after lost his life as one of the first responders to the World Trade Center attack on September 11, 2001."

One might think that if vérité were the goal of reality television, constructing anything would have a corruptive effect. Dziga Vertov took the risk of arranging the real in hopes of accentuating its truth; here, the image of the town is materially impressed on the actual town, but here there is no feeling of representational responsibility at work; the risk is null. The statue was a monument to a (an imaginary) town; with the act of its refurbishment it was dedicated to the corresponding act of best clarifying that ideal, for which a performer (from New York) won the "grand prize". If it could be called a revision of intention, it might be quite an insult.


The statue has engendered considerable controversy among Eastport residents, but as a member of the Chamber of Commerce cheerfully summarized, "I wouldn't compare it to serious sculpture, but it has an economic value to the town. Tourists love it."¹

Detractors of the statue have observed that the fisherman (besides having disproportionately short legs) is holding a Pacific rather than an Atlantic salmon.² However, if we are to read him as a kind of televisual ambassador, he appears to be bearing an offering to the formerly prosperous port from the birthplace of his own industry on the opposite coast (perhaps his legs have simply worn away from the long walk; his refurbishment furthermore took place in Nebraska).

One might guess that the re-dedication was motivated by the performer's death in September 11th, an event widely received as having its precedent in television and film. It seems reasonable to say that for many readers, the phrase "won the $250,000 grand prize in the mini-series and soon after lost his life" has a cinematic "before he could even spend it" in the negative space. The death is uncannily appropriate, as the hero of merging the image and reality of the town goes on to become a 'hero' in the event that merged the country with its image, nobly sacrificing (again to use the vocabulary of that event) an American dream of enjoying his large, fortuitous prize.

Besides a few docks the statue may be the easternmost thing in the U.S. It is in part apparent in the photograph above that Eastport is not doing terribly well; the statue's cheery absurdity makes a noticeable contrast with the town's melancholy.

1. Esposito, Susan. "Fisherman Statue in Eastport Maine Focus of Restoration Efforts". http://www.remyc.com/eastport_fisherman.html. Accessed 5.29.2008.
2. ibid.

Comments

[The Red Son]

I was so happy to see an update to this marvelous blog, but then so sadden, so terribly saddened that the statue actually exists. God Bless AMERICA?!? GOSH DARN america!¡¡¡!

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