Previously on The Real World: Julie loooooved her brother. Julie teased her dad. Julie's dad was overprotective.
Julie is on the phone with her mom, discussing her family's upcoming visit to New Orleans. Her mom suggests that she talk to her brother, Alan. He gets on the phone, and Julie tells him that she can't have her family there for a whole week because it's too long. Then she channels Melissa, saying that she's going to "freak out." Just the way she said it sounded exactly like Melissa. Alan stutters ineffectually as Julie continues by saying that she can't be on the phone with her dad for ten minutes without wanting to kill him. In an interview, Julie says she's apprehensive about being around her family because they cause her to feel angry. Julie tells Alan she does want to see them all. What does she expect Alan to do? Isn't he, like, eighteen? And he's supposed to come up with some reason why the whole family should change their travel plans that doesn't involve saying, "Julie doesn't really want us there that long"?
Julie lies on her bed and starts writing in her journal. She voice-overs that her parents have this life they've picked out for her and they don't understand why she wants to do other things. Of course, the camera totally reads her journal, which seems really shitty and like an invasion of privacy, but I guess if the camera was close enough to read the writing, she knew it was there and didn't care. Anyway, I did a freeze-frame and got as much of the journal as I could for y'all. It says (and the whole thing is [sic], "I have for so long been controled. Wait -- forever someone is always in control -- dictating how I act how I feel how I think. I can't believe I came here and thought MTV was going to mak my life..." and then her hand is covering the rest. A new Julie voice-over says, "With my dad and I [sic], he's upset that I'm not fulfilling his image of an ideal daughter," which makes them both angry. She has now started scrawling on a new page, and her writing gets bigger and messier. The part I can read says, "My dad doesn't control me, my faith doesn't. I am in total control of myself. I am responsible for myself and have absolute control over everything in this life that I call..." and then the camera pulls back. What a tease that cameraperson is! Ooh, now she's on a new page, and the writing is even bigger and messier! I am such a voyeur. It says, "Integrity to myself. My friends will [something] and I will not be harrassed by them in any way. I am so FREE. I am liberated here." Julie finishes her interview by saying that she "can't be good enough, no matter what [she does]." I'm glad the scene ended here. If it had continued, she would have probably started writing one word per page with like a black crayon, the way she was going.
Back at Belfort, Danny is on the phone with Paul, who wants nude pictures of Danny for the wallpaper on his computer. Danny laughs, and they each say, "I love you!" and hang up. Aw. Kelley starts interviewing Danny with one of the video cameras. Danny tells her that Paul told one of his army friends that he's gay. All his friends assumed he was saying Danny in the sense of Danielle. But now Paul has told someone, and he's happy to have someone to talk to. Danny looks pretty happy too. He asks Kelley what she thinks it would be like to have two dads, if the kid would miss out on anything. Lest you think this whole conversation was apropos of nothing, there was obviously some stuff edited out in between -- suddenly, Danny is holding a pint of ice cream. Kelley says the kid would miss out, and it would be hard for the kid growing up. And also, she brings up that most people think that having two gay parents would mean that the kid was gay, because they don't understand that it's not learned behavior. Then they cut out a bunch more of the conversation, because suddenly Kelley is putting the lens cap on the camera and Danny is finished with his ice cream. Danny thinks it would be hard for a kid, but in the end it would "make a better product." What is he, in manufacturing? Then they use the cheesy "video cam" effect on Danny, even though in the shot Kelley was putting the camera away, as Kelley says it depends on the where the kid lives, and the people there. Suddenly, the camera is out and on again. Could this conversation be any more chopped up? Danny says it's not a "cut and dried issue" where it will always be one way. Kelley nods and says she'd like to think about it and then get back to him later. That seems like an odd response. I mean, it wasn't like he came to her and said, "Will you be a surrogate mother for Paul and me?" That is something that would require some thought. He just asked her opinion on two men raising a child in the hypothetical. Unless there was a lot more to the conversation that we didn't get to see.
Julie's family arrives at Belfort. In an interview, Matt says he used to think Julie was loud but "it's like a family thing. It's in the bloodline." Julie hugs some girls that I guess are her sisters, but without the Hip Squiggly Font of Character Introduction (tm djb), how the hell am I supposed to know? Then, she's lying on the floor, like, making out with some little girl and I get all uncomfortable. We get our first look at her scary dad. If this were a movie, Philip Seymour Hoffman would play him, I think. With gray hair. Julie gives her mom and sisters the tour of the house. Danny walks up and introduces himself to Julie's dad, which I thought showed class, since her dad was kind of awkwardly standing there. In an interview, Danny says he doesn't know if they "know about him or not" and if they do know, they're "probably biting their tongues." Then he kind of demonstrates how one would bite one's tongue, which was cute. Despite my own misgivings, I'm kind of on-board the Danny train. For now. Danny waves to Julie's mom as we hear him say that these are "two worlds that do not go together." Melissa hugs Julie's mom.
In an interview, Julie says her relationship with her mom is strong, and she can talk to her about most things. Finally -- like, twenty minutes later -- Julie just gets around to saying hello to her father. Okay, creepiness point number one -- after they hug, he looks at her and says, "Looking good." Julie gets all embarrassed and thanks him. Okay, I never, ever want my dad to tell me I'm "looking good." He can tell me I'm looking fit, or well-rested, or healthy, or...well, I'm not any of those things, so he would never say that, but you get the picture. It just had a creepy undercurrent, like he was checking her out or something. In an interview, Julie says that she loves her dad, but before she came there, they were at a rock bottom and not talking.
Julie takes them all into the confessional to show them how it works. It's a lot bigger than I imagined! She shows them the "happy" blue background, that you would put on to say, "My family's here today!" and then the "angry" flames background that you would put on to say, "I hate my father, he won't leave me alone!" Okay, first, I didn't know that they could control the background pattern. I thought it was just random. Interesting. And second, even if your dad is a jerk, and you were joking, that was kind of rude. The whole family laughs uproariously and her father says, "I'll bet you say that, too."
Julie continues her tour, showing her family the bedrooms. She continues the charade that she and Matt share a room. Her mom laughs but her dad gets all concerned. In an interview, Julie says she knows she's put a lot of undue stress on her dad. The whole family troop into the bedroom and probably like knock things over and yell at each other, before they realize that someone is sleeping in there. I'm guessing it's Kelley, since it's her room and we haven't seen her thus far. Mr. Mormon (that's what I'm calling Julie's dad now) asks if it was a girl or a boy. Julie evades the question to torture her father some more, which is really mature. But I don't know why I expect less from Julie. And yes, I understand that this is her way of acting out and exerting control over her relationship with her father, but that doesn't mean it's mature. In an interview, Julie says she's "probably digging him an early grave." Yeah, you and the junk food! When Mr. Mormon comes down the stairs, we see that he has acquired a fairly prodigious gut. Some of the books on the wall by the stairway flash on screen, and one of them says, "#1 Reason Why Danny is Gay" on it. Hmm, I wonder if Mr. and Mrs. Mormon saw that one. Julie tells her dad that she got a tattoo while she was there, but she can't show them where it is. Her father looks like he's about to have a heart attack -- there's like beads of sweat dripping down his brow. In an interview, she says that she and her father have "a ridiculous relationship" and "find a way to fight about nothing." Mr. Mormon tells Julie that her toe ring is going to cut off circulation and her toe will get gangrene and fall off. Hee! That sounds like something my dad would say. Except he would be kidding. Then, Mr. Mormon comments on Julie's choker, and she tells him it's a "bondage thing." Oh dear God, call an ambulance. She really is going to give her father a heart attack. I understand what she's doing, but I can't help but feel bad for her parents. That is how you know I am old -- when I empathize more with the parents than the kids. In an interview, Julie claims that her father does the "same thing to [her]" and that they "both abuse each other." Well, we haven't seen her father doing it, so we'll just have to take her word for it, I guess.
Melissa and Danny eat at a restaurant and discuss Julie's parents. Melissa brings up that someone told Danny to hug Julie's mom so that when her mom finds out Danny is gay, she'll have hugged him. Danny says that is a perfect example of what he can't stand about this, and that when they get ready to leave, they will probably tie Julie up and put her in the van and take her home.
Back at Belfort, Danny shares pizza with Julie's brother Alan and his bandmates. Does it really matter what their names are? Okay, the producers told us so I'll share it. John is the the red shirt one and Dan is the black shirt one. Mark is the Hawaiian shirt one. Danny asks if they all want to go to BYU. Alan says, "Yeah. Sorry." Why is he apologizing? I mean, at this point, Julie had not yet been suspended or whatever. Danny doesn't understand why someone would want to "spend their college years being controlled" and being told what time to go to bed and such. John wants to say something "deep and prophetic" but he believes that "obeying laws is what makes you really free." Whatever, Confucius. That's what your dad told you, isn't it? Danny says he likes to make his own laws and everyone laughs, but they keep cutting to black-shirt Dan, who looks really upset. Mark is on Danny's wavelength, and they discuss how you go to college for freedom, not more rules. Danny asks if they are curious to "step out and see what's on the outside." Wow, they all probably think that Danny is Satan, don't they? Instead of a box of pizza, he should be holding an apple or something. In an interview, Danny says it really it bothers him that they follow "what has been given to them." Black-shirt Dan finally speaks up, and basically says that he would rather go to an all-Mormon college than be the only Mormon at a regular college. Danny says, "Don't talk to me about being the only one there." Alan asks him if he would go to an all-gay college, given the opportunity. Um, it's called Vassar. Look into it. Danny says he wouldn't, because he likes diversity. God, enough with the shots of black-shirt Dan! Every other second there is a shot of him looking at the floor or something. We get it. He's uncomfortable. Alan asks if, when they first arrived at the house, everyone was looking for "the gay one" or if Danny volunteered the information. Danny says everyone, including him, thought it was Matt. Ha! Black-shirt Dan asks Danny when did he, and Julie fills in, "come out," but Dan goes with "decide you were gay?" Danny says he always knew. Danny is sitting to black-shirt Dan on the couch, and his hand creeps closer and closer to black-shirt Dan's thigh. Hee! Danny says it's always in the back of your mind, and you can spend all your life denying it if you want to, but you always know. Hmm, is he talking to one person in particular here? Like, I don't know, black-shirt Dan? Danny concludes the scene by saying in an interview that these boys are naïve, and rolling his eyes.
Everyone arrives at NOA-TV. Julie's dad interrogates her: "How do you like New Orleans? Why are you wearing a sweater?" Back off, Mr. Mormon! He asks Julie to tell him what she does from day to day. Julie says, "Um, go out?" Her dad's all "With who?" and Julie says, "People?" This is so excruciating to watch, because you can tell Julie thinks her dad wants to know so that he can tell her what not to do, but I think (in this instance, at least) her dad is just genuinely interested. Or maybe I'm giving Mr. Mormon too much credit. And the more Julie evades his questions, the harder he presses her. Julie tells him he looks stressed, and he says of course he is because his daughter is down there. Julie tells him not to worry about her, and he asks for a hug. Julie turns twelve and says, "Whyyyyy? You're getting all weeeeeird!" and squirms away. It was kind of creepiness moment #2 -- father trying to control daughter via use of affection. In an interview, Julie asks that her parents try to understand that she's "a big girl now and starting to form [her] own life." Mr. Mormon asks Julie what she wants to do when this is all over. Julie doesn't want to talk about it right now, as she removes her sweater. Her dad points out that there's nothing else to do. I really would love to watch this scene with a professional therapist or something, because there is obviously so much unspoken, and I think their body language speaks volumes.
Julie shows Alan and his bandmates to the set. Danny and Melissa are in an office or something, and Danny says the kids are annoying him, because they asked if he was looking at a gay website. I'm immature like Julie, so I probably would have answered, "Yeah, and there were pictures of you on there," because it would have freaked the little Mormons out. I should explain that I have some residual bitterness towards Mormons because my -door neighbors are Mormon and they are really, really annoying and loud, and they don't take good care of their dogs. In an interview, Danny says the kids have never been "exposed to gay people" and they "definitely believe the stereotypes." Danny doesn't want them to say they are cool with him, but not his sexuality. Also, one of the boys (and we see a shot of black-shirt Dan, so I guess it was him) wanted to know how Danny's parents felt about it, and said that he might disown a gay child. Melissa says that you can't preface every statement with, "No offense against you, but homosexuality is..." True. Really, if you're going to start a sentence with "No offense, but...", you're probably going to offend someone. So either decide that you don't care, or just don't say the sentence at all. Starting it that way isn't going to make it less offensive. Melissa says she knows what Danny is talking about, like "You're pretty cool...for a black girl." Danny shares, "You're pretty normal...for a gay guy." See, that's the problem with these kids going to BYU: they'll never have the opportunity to be a minority, and thus perhaps empathize with how it feels. Melissa thinks it's sad that one kid thought it would be normal to be disowned. In an interview, Danny says that he wants to come off as a strong person, but at the same time, he finds himself wanting to "strangle them." Then, he demonstrates a strangling motion. Hee! Yeah, definitely on the Danny train this week.
Scenes of New Orleans at night. A patented B/M subtle shot of a sticker that says, "Jesus Saves From Hell." Julie and Danny go to 735 and sit on a couch. Julie mentions that the guys are homophobic. You think? Danny says he is trying to change their opinions by setting a good example. In an interview, Julie says that just because you were brought up to think things about people doesn't make it right. I bet they cut that clip from the "racism is bad" episode and just inserted it here. Julie reveals that the boys were saying that they feel sorry for Danny and she told them he's happy. Then they said that people can change their sexuality. This frustrates Danny. In an interview, Julie says she hasn't "been around many homosexual people" and she's been "intolerant of the whole lifestyle" and that Danny has changed that. She has grown, y'all. Remember on the casting special, when she was all "gays are bad!"? Julie and Danny discuss how you can't change anyone's mind for them -- you can only set an example and hope that they change their mind themselves.
Danny is in the control room at NOA-TV. Dan (he's not wearing a black shirt anymore, but I'm sure you get it by now) knocks on the door. In an interview, Danny says he hopes that people in society will become more open-minded and accepting. So, given what we know about B/M subtlety, this scene will probably feature Dan calling Danny a fag and running away giggling, right? Wrong. Dan walks in and tells Danny he didn't mean to offend him, and he's sorry, and then leaves. Yeah, he's definitely gay. Kidding! I'm just kidding. Except not really. In an interview, Danny says it's weird to hear because he feels like that kid has been judging him all week, more than the rest.
It's time for Julie's show. Her whole family is in the studio audience. Dr. Peter is there too. Julie opens the show. For some reason, some guy is standing behind them, with a paper bag on his head, holding the "Real 7" sign. I think it's Alan, Julie's brother. What's up with that? Melissa starts her fashion segment, and holds up Jamie's red underwear, and his mom wrote his name in them. Everyone laughs. In an interview, Melissa says that she thinks a lot of it is funny because they think it's funny. Well, that's one sign, I guess. Julie introduces "Matt the Mullet Hunter." He's trying to do an imitation of Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter, Australian accent and all. It's actually not bad, and his segment is kind of funny. He didn't use my favorite Crocodile Hunter line, "She's fat as mud!" In an interview, Julie says that her show let them show their personalities, and they're just starting to get comfortable with being themselves on camera.
morning, Julie oversleeps because she got in at 7 AM. Why did she even bother going to bed? I swear, these people don't think sometimes. She should have just drunk some...oh, I forgot. She's not allowed to have caffiene. Julie goes in the bathroom to try to fix her hair, and she's acting really hung over. I'm not casting aspersions, but the slow movements and the green skin tone really say "hangover" to me. Plus, her hands are shaking as she reaches for something. Yeah. Totally hung over. Anyway, she is already late for church, and her dad is going to kill her, "butcher style." Ooh, it's a two-parter.
week: Julie and her dad fight. A lot. Then Julie cries. A lot. Her dad thinks she's "just being emotional."
Over the credits, Danny does a gay PSA. He wants to break down stereotypes by being on the show, which he knows isn't really possible, but he's going to try.