Extremely
disturbing makeovers
Annie
Stordahl
The
new trend in television today seems to be
men and women striving for perfection. Shows
and documentaries featuring plastic surgery
have flooded primetime TV slots. It’s
not celebrities going under the knife, but
average people who are insecure about their
appearance.
ABC’s
“Extreme Makeover” is a popular
new show where contestants are chosen for
a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to recreate
themselves. “These men and women are
given a truly Cinderella-like experience:
A real life fairy tale in which their wishes
come true, not just to change their looks,
but their lives and destinies,” it
states on the show’s Web site.
Several
networks have tailored their own versions
of makeover stories, consisting of multiple
surgical procedures per contestant. “Nip/Tuck,”
“The Swan” and “I Want
a Famous Face” are some of the additional
reality makeover shows on various networks.
They all show viewers the process of an
individual’s transformation, showing
them the surgery room, graphic images and
the recovery process.
Makeover
shows are in fact entertaining and most
of the time when the contestant is revealed
they look amazingly different. They have
been receiving high ratings, but what messages
are Americans receiving?
These
shows may promote plastic surgery as a hobby
and can lead to unrealistic expectations.
“I feel like Barbie,” exclaimed
the contestant of this week’s “The
Swan,” as she saw herself in the mirror
for the first time in months.
Society
make negative remarks about celebrities
who have had an excessive amount of plastic
surgery, but then make exceptions for the
“average” contestants of the
shows. “Extreme Makeover,” “Nip/Tuck”
and “The Swan” depict the great
lengths people will go to improve their
appearance. Yes, the shows may improve the
contestants’ confidence, but this
is suggesting that confidence merely comes
from one’s appearances.
We
have stooped so low that our evening entertainment
is watching “average” people
go under the knife and transform themselves.
Shows such as “Extreme Makeover,”
“Nip/Tuck,” “The Swan”
and “I Want a Famous Face” are
sending messages to society that people
can only be happy when they are satisfied
with their appearances. What ever happened
to a person’s character and personality?
Annie
Stordahl is a public relations major at
Cal State Long Beach.
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