One part of the show is to put the couples in a glass box in the middle of a crowded place. The people who walk past then judge how young each person is. Then, at the end of the show, when they have had their 'transformation', they go back into the box to see how old the public now thinks they are.
This show is a perfect example of how society expects a person to look - whether they are male or female: beautiful, handsome and skinny. There is also another issue: humiliation and shame in relation to not being beautiful. It is as if the 'ugly' people who have 'let themselves go' should be punished by being displayed in a box for all the public to judge and criticise.
When I was watching this show, it made me think: when did it become okay to start judging everyone on how they look? Don't deny it, you do it as well. We all do. Just think of the number of times you have been sitting with your friends and judged how beautiful, fat or skinny the people who walk past are.
Here is an example of a before and after shot from a particular episode of the show:
When I saw this photo I went, 'wow they look old' and thought things like 'she should wear some makeup' or ' that guy should not be wearing that jumper'. Then, when viewing the after shot, I thought they looked fantastic. Not once did I think, 'I wonder if they are nice people' or 'how do they feel about how they look?' or even 'are they happy?' All I thought about was how they looked. This is my point: when did it become okay to think like this? I believe Hollywood has something to do with it. We all know how much power and influence the media has and it is all of the pictures and movies of the beautiful, skinny or muscly and handsome that make us think like this: that make us compare ourselves or others to photographs of people that have probably been retouched a few times.
Anyway, my media teacher is telling me to get on with my filming. So I will leave you with that for the moment.
X
Well said Millie! I agree.
ReplyDeleteShe actually looks like a completely different woman. Thats insane!
But I have a question, did the show ask the people how they felt about the way they looked?
Good question Bridget! In most of the episodes of this show that I have seen the host does ask how they feel. They don't appear to directly respond to this but they just look at each other and say they are speechless. They never reveal how they actually feel or maybe they feel that they cannot express how they feel on a television program. It would have been heavily edited too. You get the impression that they are embarrassed about their past and feel that they should feel better because this is the way society thinks they should look. At the end the host tells them how much younger the public thinks they look. They probably think well as look as everyone thinks they look good, then they should also believe that they do.
ReplyDeleteHey Millie!
ReplyDeleteWhat you wrote is brilliant, and completely true! I have been watching that show, and whilst I believe it is good to make an effort to look good to encourage self esteem and confidence, the extremes to which this show is encouraging people to go to is ridiculous. Some of it is beneficial to the person's health such as implementing exercise programs, but why encourage surgery? It is, as you say, enforcing societal expectations on how we should look. Why are they trying to squeeze us into stereotypes? The thing I find the most degrading and awful about this show is the glass boxes! They are treating the couples like animals, as if they are below the rest of society because they have 'let themselves go'. It is honestly ridiculous! I really love what you wrote! It's fantastic to remind people that this isn't the society we should be aiming for!
Love Amy :)
I haven't seen this show, so I can't comment on this one in particular, but these reality shows sicken me. The Biggest Loser and the Idol shows in particular. The shows delight in making the contestants look like blundering fools, The Biggest Loser makes the contestants lose weight for money, entirely the wrong reason, and deprecates them in the process, while the viewers sit at home laughing at how fat the poor sods are. By the same token the Idol shows seem to enjoy making the contestants cry on television, and showing the world how awful they are at singing, and the judges constantly break their self-esteem down. But what sickens me the most, is that these shows are successful. What does that say about the state of humanity? That we would rather laugh at people making fools of themselves than bond with our loved ones, or do something productive?
ReplyDeleteill agree on that Frazer. People are looking for entertainment on these shows, and the first seasons of these shows were good because people tried and took notice now its look at the fat slob..
ReplyDeleteYeah. I believe that the reason these shows are so successful is because society loves to judge people. We have been taught to judge people through these shows and through gossip magazines etc. Human beings don't like to admit that they are wrong and need to change. I know that I don't. Hopefully one day that will change.
ReplyDeleteX