Late Night Programming

Because I had to finish an assignment and can't sleep, I am now forced to watch very late night TV programming in order to keep myself awake. One show in particular I watch whenever this ends up happening, even though the entire premise of it bothers me. And what is this show, you ask?For those who don't know, this show takes ordinary people who are deeply unhappy with their physical appearance and carts them off to Hollywood (the irony that Hollywood is the looks-obsessed capital of the world is not lost) for a period of two to three months. While there, they undergo various surgeries (some of them go through so many surgeries I'm surprised they didn't just outfit them with a new body, fresh out of the packaging from Mattel), intense physical training, rigid dieting and complete hair, makeup and wardrobe overhauls. Then, they are flown back home and have a "BIG REVEAL!!!" in front of all their families and friends, of which there are always one or two that cry/scream/fall over. It's similar to the show The Swan.

For me, I am torn between understanding the allure of plastic surgery - because I would like some for myself - and believing that it should be only be used to correct birth defects (such as cleft-palate) and suchlike. Half of me fully believes that you are born with the body that God gave you and shouldn't change it - instead you should learn to accept and love your body, "warts and all" (when I'm not feeling quite so eloquent, it can be summed up as "Suck it up, princess") . The other half - the vain, selfish, materialistic half - totally understands the self-confidence issues that comes with not feeling attractive and the easy appeal/allure of 'fixing' it with plastic surgery.

Then why does this show bother me so much, exactly?

I've been reflecting on this for awhile now (many assignments to do lately), and I think I've pinpointed the reasons:

1. Deep down, I really DO believe plastic surgery should only be used for correcting birth defects, or things like breast reconstruction after surviving cancer, or after losing a major amount of weight (100 pounds or more). This was hard for me to actually admit to myself, because now it means I can't actually indulge in the process. But ultimately, your body is what you were given; we should all just learn to accept it and love it for what it is. I think we'd all be much happier as a society if we just took one iota of the energy we spend hating ourselves and turned it into loving ourselves instead.



2. If every single contestant didn't end up looking EXACTLY the same at the end of the episode. It's quite disconcerting to see them at their big reveal and they have shiny white teeth, layered, long, perfectly coiffed hair, a golden tan, and a fancy dress or suit (along with a new body, but that goes without saying). By doing this, they paint such a rigid ideal of beauty, as if to say this is the only acceptable form beauty can attain. It's subtle, but after a while you get the feeling they are just rolling out yet another cookie-cutter copy. For example, this episode they took a reasonably attractive, totally unique looking goth girl and turned her into yet another clone. Soon, there won't be any individuality left in this world, if Extreme Makeover has any say in the matter!
   
   
3. The techniques used - specifically the physical training and diet part - are highly unrealistic regimes to maintain over any period of time. Maybe I'm overly sensitive, but I really do feel that they are duping these people into believing they can keep the weight they lost off for any amount of time once they go back to their regular old lives. And the fact that they don't do any follow-ups makes me wonder how people look six months, a year, two years, after their surgeries.



4. The reactions of the friends and family at the end of the episode. Especially if the person who underwent the makeover has a significant other. They always exclaim, "SHE'S SO GORGEOUS!!!" (or something to that effect). Excuse me, but weren't they just as beautiful in your eyes before this? It seems as though their love for their partner has grown somehow because their partner has become more physically attractive. In fact, some of the comments made are so insensitive with regards to the way they looked before, which brings me to my next point:



5. The way the show feeds into the huge obsession that America has with physical attractiveness. As if, because you weren't born with a cute little nose or perfect skin, you are worth less as a person. Actually, it doesn't just feed it, Extreme Makeover practically starts, stokes and maintains the fire that is this obsession. And, just once, I would love to see a show that recognizes and (GASP!) celebrates the fact that people aren't perfect and beauty can be found in the most unlikely of places, and that place isn't at the end of a surgeon's knife.

Your thoughts?