Think TV is sick now? Give it time.

[Guest]

I'm only glad I can still feel incredulous. - Perdita
--------------------------

Think TV is sick now? Give it time - Tim Goodman, March 31, 2004 - San Francisco Chronicle

Whenever a reality television series is so repulsive in its premise or execution that normally wise people believe that we, as a society, have hit bottom, there's only one thing to say in response if you know anything at all about television: Wait for it. Something far worse is around the corner.

You will be tested on this theory when Fox -- who else? -- unveils "The Swan" in one week. It is a reality series that takes women described as "ugly ducklings" and puts them under the cosmetic-surgery knife, fixes their teeth, lets them see a shrink, makes them work out, styles their hair, does their makeup and generally turns them into, you guessed it, swans.

Now, this is well-trod territory on television. Back when makeovers were quaint -- new hair, a better dress, some nice shoes -- the idea was surely hatched to take it up a notch. And so we did until ABC aired "Extreme Makeover, " and conventional wisdom at the time suggested that we'd hit bottom and covered ourselves in muck. Viewers of "Extreme Makeover" thought it was either extremely uplifting or extremely horrifying. If you fall into the latter camp, you might be particularly offended by Fox's little twist on this trend: The ugly ducklings who have had their faces rearranged by a plastic surgeon don't get to look in a mirror for three months.

Once they complete this "transformation process" -- where they go from ugly and useless, crazy and badly coiffed to swanlike -- they get to look in the mirror at "the reveal." Then, before they can fully grasp their Snow White moment, they are entered into a beauty contest. Yep. You're pretty now, but wait until you've seen what we've done to the others!

Now, there's a particular genius to this cruelty -- a former "ugly duckling" beauty contest, hosted by Fox, which gives the world "the ultimate swan." One would assume that psychiatrists -- separate from the ones used in the show -- will be standing by to prop up the faltering egos of these newly minted lovelies. In television, lessons are learned the hard way -- in prime time. You're either Jennifer Aniston or the pretty girl who gets slapped by Jennifer Aniston.

If the notion of "The Swan" doesn't make you fall to the ground and curl into a ball, try this blurb from Fox's press release: "After years of floating aimlessly and being thrown life's crumbs, a gaggle of self-proclaimed 'ugly ducklings' are being given the chance of a lifetime; to be transformed into beautiful and graceful swans, reborn into beauties lovely enough to take part in a pageant and have their moment in the spotlight."

Yes, ugly people of the world, Fox is going to give you something to live for.

full article

 

[NoJo]

In the U.S. I notice that people are told by the media they can buy themselves out of anything. Any problem? Simple, throw money at it till it goes away.

That's the sickest part of the show, I think.

Thank God most people can easily tell the difference between reality and reality tv.

 

[English Lady]

urgh.

Sick..sick..sick and more sick.


Bloody media. SO called bloody entertainment. Gets my bloody blood boiling.


Grrrrrrr

 

[Guest]

Wow, Lady, you are scary when angry. I understand it, though.

Joe, I'm just not so sure a majority really can distinguish 'realities'. I swear part of my depressive tendency is due to living in this country.

Perdita

 

[lewdandlicentious]

No offence meant anybody, but across the pond we have a saying: You may well have heard it before, it goes:

"ONLY IN AMERICA!!!"

The trouble with that is, as all Brits are already thinking, how long before it, or something similar gets over here???

 

[English Lady]

Perdita...and that is why i don't get angry often. But this makes me feel sick to my stomach. What a message to be sending out! Everyone is beautiful....Everyone is unique.....nobody should mess around with perfection...because you are the perfect you!


*growls a bit more as she still feels a bit on the angry side*

 

[lucky-E-leven]

This message, among many other bad messages, is pretty crummy if you ask me. The sad thing is, the viewership of such a show will be millions of women/girls who have a negative self-image for no apparent reason.

I once took my grandmother to a plastic surgeon's office to have some reconstructive work done on her elbow. Sitting in the waiting room for two hours allowed me to flip through the doctor's before/after shots of patients he'd done work on. I'd have to say 75% of the clients looked just fine, imo, before they went in. Some looked better, some looked worse and some didn't change much at all after the surgery. I wouldn't mind it so much if people sought alterations for the benefit of their own self-image, but I think most people do it for the 'benefit' of the world at large.

I think it's sad that so many people are willing to change for others. I had terrible acne when I was a very young teenager and there wasn't a darn thing I could do about it. Some avoided me because of it, while others were completely able to look past it. The point it, I think individual flaws are tiny tools of Darwinism. Weeding out the weak and characterless people that will only taint your life. Shallow folks have no place in my life and while I'm glad my complexion has improved, it was a surefire way to see whether or not people actually liked me for me.

~lucky

p.s. Those women that think pumping up their bra cup size is a good idea, don't have a clue what they're getting themselves into.

 

[ABSTRUSE]

This is a fine example to show young women today. I tell my daughter, who is 6, she is beautiiful everyday. I tell her she can be anything she wants when she grows up. I want her to like who she is and how she looks.
Maybe then should do a reality show about people learning to be self confident and teaching others to look beyond into the real person.
It's sad that we've become so shallow and that we can be dictated by the media in such a way.

~A~

 

[Svenskaflicka]

I fear for my future now. Swedish TV always copycat American TV.

 

[Svenskaflicka]

It's sad that we've become so shallow and that we can be dictated by the media in such a way.

As always, there's only way to deal with this problem.


DON'T WATCH IT!

 

[NoJo]

In spite of havng been born and raised in Britain , I'm no patriot -- I prefer France, Italy, and the U.S. for example over Britain in many ways. But one thing that's made me proud to be British is how un "beauty" obsessed we are. Which is why there's a steretype of bad teeth, pasty-faced, scrawny British men, frumpy, un-glamorous women. We just don't really care that much.

I would imagine that most women, even the "really ugly" ducklings here, would prefer to spend the $50,000 it probably cost for the full make-over on something else, like a year's vacation in the sun.

Jean-Paul Gaultier (who knows a thing or two about image) said he loved the fact that the Brits don't seem to care that much about looking beautiful. We spend far less than the rest of Europe on beauty products.

This woman was consistently voted the sexiest woman in England, Year after year, not too long ago:

http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/K/htmlK/kendalfelic/kendalfelicIMAGE/kendalfelic.jpg

I mean the sexiest, not just "most plain and wholesome".

I think it's very healthy not to be too image conscious. (London, unfortunately, which is where I live, is not typical. We're very image conscious here).

 

[Boxlicker101]

No offence meant anybody, but across the pond we have a saying: You may well have heard it before, it goes:

"ONLY IN AMERICA!!!"

The trouble with that is, as all Brits are already thinking, how long before it, or something similar gets over here???

That expression has been here in the USA for close to 100 years, long before TV. Only then, it was a prideful thing, and it usually meant something like: "Only in America can somebody be born into poverty and achieve fame and success." That was always something of an exaggeration but there was some truth to it, especially compared to the rest of the world.

 

[pop_54]

pops, ugly bastard, British, and proud of it, teeth aint too bad though Joe

Reality TV is being taken far too seriously over here at times though, but not the let's all be beautiful progs, it's mainly the sexually oriented ones we tend to get into, or the torturous kind like that outfit in the jungle. Mind you there is a fair bit of innuendo in that. It's all about dating and making it with the other gender, we seem to have sex on the brain, just don't seem to get much of it.

 

[Guest]

Joe, I'm so glad for what you say above. I've learned from a couple other blokes what you speak of. I think I learned about human beauty due to being an 'exotic' among anglos. Yeah, I went through wishing I were blond and had a perky nose, but somehow I chose to grow into my own beauty (quite a hard-won battle that still trips me up).

When I was only sixteen I saw a photograph of the Russian ballerina assoluta, Maya Plisetskaya. It was taken by Richard Avedon (I would much later learn) for Vogue magazine. She looked nothing like the movie and teen stars I'd thought beautiful, yet her artistry and 'Russian soul' came through in the B&W picture. It was a great revelation to know one could be different and beautiful.

It was never an option for me but I never fantasized about getting my nose changed after that.

Perdita

 

[NoJo]

Yeah, box. It's a shame how the ideals of equal opportunity have become so perverted into make-over programs. But in a way, they're a sick distortion of the same bullshit -- "You can get it if you want" -- why should everyone want fame and success? What's so damn good about it? The concept of being satisfied with your lot has been abused by the powerful to keep people from becoming dissatisfied, but there's something important about that concept, for anybody who really wants to be happy, I think.

 

[CharleyH]

Reality tv - lol - thinking all of our lives are a HELL of a lot more exciting - um - judging from some stories, if they aren't they sure wanna be . . . .

How dull is the American public? As dull as needing anything called reality TV to offset - well - fill in the blank . . . .lol - oh YAWN.

 

[ABSTRUSE]

As the old saying goes....."Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."

I think I've learned from my years of studying Art and Advertising how to really see people. I find my self fascinated with eyes, so much that the person around them may blur out, or the beauty of a non "perfect" nose, I love to look at faces in general and try to see the person behind them. I often wished that the world could see from the eyes of an artist.

~A~

 

[Svenskaflicka]

A person I admire when it comes to looks, is my mum. She'll be 60 this autumn, and she looks 60, too. Her hair is white, she's plump, and she's got a few wrinkles.

The thing that makes her look good is that she's never trying to look younger than she really is. Instead, she just focus on wearing colors that suit her, clothes that make the best of her figure, and when she DOES wear make-up, it's discrete and flattering.

My mum's beauty comes from her warmth and charm and kindness.

 

[ABSTRUSE]

A person I admire when it comes to looks, is my mum. She'll be 60 this autumn, and she looks 60, too. Her hair is white, she's plump, and she's got a few wrinkles.

The thing that makes her look good is that she's never trying to look younger than she really is. Instead, she just focus on wearing colors that suit her, clothes that make the best of her figure, and when she DOES wear make-up, it's discrete and flattering.

My mum's beauty comes from her warmth and charm and kindness.

Your mother raised a beautiful daughter, give her a hug from the rest of us.

~A~

 

[rgraham666]

Another facet of what I call "The North American disease", the belief that not only is perfection attainable, but necessary.

This myth causes two problems. First, many people are very unhappy because they think if it's not perfect it doesn't matter what else it is.

And perfection would be really fucking boring, since everybody would be exactly alike.

Being perfect would, however, relieve us of the burden of thinking.

 

[Guest]

Svenska, I already loved your mom, now it's nice to have a better impression of her, as of you.

I'm conscious of women my age (late 50s) and older. I see women of 70+, the ones without makeup who shine from within and simply look as they've attained a true youth. I say something like a quick prayer, "Please, god, let me look like that in 10 or 20 years."

Gauche introduced me to The Beautiful South, a Yorkshire band (he's mentioned them in several posts). Lately I've been listening to one song everyday, and singing it to myself a lot. My favourite lyrics are:

Now I'm older and I look at your face
Every wrinkle is so easy to trace
And I write them all down just in case
You should die...

The music is perfect for the song and beautifully combined with the words. So now I wonder if there will be someone who will want to write my face some day.

Perdita

 

[Couture]

Speaking of which....

MTV's True Life is filming an upcoming documentary about going under the knife to look like your favorite celebrity. MTV's award winning True Life documentary series features documentary style reports on the lives and concerns of young adults. The series covers a diverse mix of stories relevant to young people, ranging from pop culture trends to breaking news.

MTV is looking for several people to feature in this documentary. An on-location film crew will follow these people at their job and home (personal life), before, during and after the surgery.

The ideal people for this project must be:

„h Getting surgery during the summer of 2003
„h Between the ages of 18 and 28
„h Having one or more procedures to match specific
features of a celebrity.
„h Willing to share their transformation with millions of viewers.

If you know of someone that would fit this description please have them send us their photo and the answers to the following questions:

1. Who is your favorite celebrity and why are you going under the knife to look like him/her?

2. What specific features of your favorite celebrity are you getting cosmetic surgery to match?

3. In what ways has your physical appearance affected your life?

4. After the surgery in what ways would your life be altered?

5. Besides altering your appearance, what is your biggest dream?

6. Have you ever had any type of plastic or cosmetic surgery before? If so, please list specific surgeries and the reasons for those procedures.

7. Why should you be featured on this show, over anyone else?


Please have them email their answers and photos to:

plastic@mtvstaff.com

 

[McKenna]

.

 

[dr_mabeuse]

I don't know why TV keeps on pussyfooting around. Why don't they just give us what we want, which is a show in which they throw handfuls of cash into a pool of shit and let naked people fight for it. Just like in The Magic Christian.

Now that's entertainment!

---dr.M.

 

[McKenna]

.