According to Judd Apatow, one of the reasons his show Freaks and Geeks failed is because NBC refused to allow a website to be created. It was 30 years ago when I first saw a http link used in an advertisement for the digitally remastered VHS boxed set of the Star Wars trilogy.
The Internet had been gaining traction through the 1990s but it was still something just for extreme computer nerds until Windows 95 more or less proved you didn’t need to have a degree from M.I.T or CalTech to operate one. I remember the Tandy computer we had in the 1980s you had to load a floppy disk to set it up and then load another floppy disk to run programs.
The fact that a popular show like Friends hardly ever addressed the Internet is that many people saw it as a fad. When the “Dot Com Bubble” burst in 2000 as many went under, The Daily Mail actually printed a headline using a quote from writer Seth Godin that the Internet “may just be a passing fad.”
About a quarter of a century later, it’s hard to imagine a world without it. A county commissioner who worked in a local bank said he didn’t know how they got by without fax machines which became popular in the 1980s. The was around for a long time before it became very popular. Remember those dial-up machines in WarGames and Weird Science? I mean the whole basis of Jumpin’ Jack Flash is Whoopi Goldberg playing a computer operator at First National Bank who discovers an open network where she communicates with a CIA Agent (Jonathan Pryce) trapped in Eastern Europe and being hunted by the KGB. It was the first time we had seen someone fall in love with another online.
But it seemed Hollywood was helping lead the notion that the Internet was dangerous with movies like The Net and .com for Murder. But with all things invented, it has its benefits and dangers. Look out the bush people in The Gods Must Be Crazy think a Coca-Cola glass bottle from a plane is a gift from the gods. But when people get jealous over who gets to use it, they resort to violence only to see it as a curse instead of a blessing.
Shari Franke wasn’t even a glimmer in the eyes of her parents when Windows 95 flew off the shelves. Her biological mother, Ruby, was just 13 herself. I write “biological mother” because Shari doesn’t refer to Ruby as her mother anymore and I want to respect that. Shari is the oldest of six kids born to Ruby and Kevin Franke. She recounts her upbringing in a memoir, The House of My Mother: A Daughter’s Quest for Freedom.
For a time, they were the picture of the All-American Mormon family through Ruby’s vlog 8 Passengers. But it was all a facade. Ruby had gotten greedy wanting endorsements, free stuff and especially money from her YouTube channel. Once it exploded with views and subscribers, much of the Franke’s family life was videotaped, edited and uploaded. And just like all of “reality TV,” it was mostly fake.
Ruby presented herself as the perfect mother. But she’s an awful abusive, narcissistic person who saw her family as an extension of herself. She controlled Kevin and especially the kids. Shari keeps the names of the four youngest kids a secret and only discusses her brother, Chad, by name.
She looks a lot like a young Brie Larson or even Freaks and Geeks actress Linda Cardinelli. So it’s only natural she would become an Internet celebrity. But she really didn’t want to be. In a world where her peers are constantly online, Shari just wanted some privacy as most people do. It’s mostly because they were always expect to behave like they’re on camera. Therefore, they were being forced to be what their parents wanted.
This is ironic because that’s what parents expect of their kids all the time. “Don’t you want to please me?” they’ll say. Or they’ll throw down the “You owe us for what we sacrificed.” I’m sure Britney Spears knows a lot of her family’s “sacrifices.” Ruby wanted Shari to learn to play the piano but Shari didn’t want it.
I will never understand why people want their kids to have musical talent. Some just don’t. And we should respect that. My grandfather played guitar and sang. My dad played the drums. My brother played the trumpet and sings. My mom sang at church choir. I played the drums in high school. We’re a musical family.
But some aren’t. They have other talents or skills. I think it’s because Ruby wanted to parade her kids around as exceptional. And it’s this tyrannical “I’m older; you’re younger” mentality Ruby would use on people like Shari. That’s why she lived her teenage years scared and worried, walking on egg shells.
The question of 8 Passengers and other parents who are constantly showcasing their kids online is where do you draw the line. There was also DaddyOFive of which Michael Christopher “Mike” Martin was pulling pranks on his child that were actually extreme and abusive. And there are allegations that June Thompson (Mama June) has stolen the money her children make.
Most are just looking for cheap ways to make money off their kids. Laws are being passed to help protect children but unfortunately it’s because of people like Shari and her siblings, these laws are being passed. Shari says that when she formed her own YouTube account, Ruby took a percentage. And she probably took more than that.
Living in the Mormon community, Shari talks a lot about how she was constantly criticized for her ways and how it wouldn’t attract a husband. Ruby married Kevin when she was 18. And in 2000, that was still a young age to get married. Kevin is less than a month younger than I.
But with both being Mormons, I can see priorities are different. And that might explain why Ruby was so adamant about embracing the Internet personality life. She had been expected to be a wife and mother but why not get a side hustle. Shari does offer some empathy for Ruby who suffered three miscarriages but she seemed to take her grief and depression and turned into into a way to control others.
I’ve often felt people who suffered trauma or serious problems like three miscarriages should focus on being a better person. Yet, Ruby like too many decided she wanted to control everyone. As morbid as it sounds, just think of all the torment and cruelty those young children would’ve endured? So, I have no sympathy for Ruby or even Kevin and what they did to their children.
When Ruby met Jodi Hildebrandt, things went from bad to worse as Jodi allegedly fed Ruby’s mind with outrageous and biased views toward men. It’s also alleged that Ruby and Hildebrandt might have had a more intimate sexual relationship. Shari herself talks dealing with an older man “Derek” who was a sexual predator who kept her in an emotional abusive relationship. The thing is, he saw that Shari was weak and was ripe to be taken advantage of.
Poor Shari didn’t know any better because of her upbringing. But she eventually got out of that relationship and severed ties with Kevin and Ruby as she started college. It’s a story of a young woman finally growing up and seeing the world through different eyes. Ruby and Hildebrandt have since been convicted on aggravated child abuse charges for their treatments of the four younger kids.
Prior to the publication of her book, Shari said she’s going to live a more private life as she’s gotten engaged. It’s rare to see a woman Shari’s age realizing that not everything has to be shown on the Internet. I often think of posting something only to second guess it. Does everything have to be on the Internet? Of course not.
The Internet was the perfect tool for Ruby to show off. If she didn’t have it, she’d be the type of parent who always calls the local newspaper about her kids and wants to the take the reigns on community events because it’s her way or the highway.
Shari is a wonderful young woman and she admits that she’s not perfect. There’s a lot of humility in the way she recalls her life. I would recommend listening to the audiobook because she does have a great voice.
What do you think? Please comment.
Zane Says 