So there are apparently are a bunch of television shows about "real" housewives??? My understanding is that these shows are the realty TV version of Desperate Housewives. Since our class just finished its discussion on television, I felt these programs would make a fitting topic for my blog!
One of these shows is on right now. It's in Atlanta...for the those of you who watch and want to know what I'm referencing. Apparently there are also versions for Orange County, New York, New Jersey, D.C., and Beverly Hills. Wow. After walking in on one of these shows the other day, I decided to discuss the messages that were being sent to me, the viewer.
One of the main focuses of the episode was the plastic surgery one the housewives had gotten. She got a nose job and some kind of breast surgery. The most interesting part of the situation was the way the other housewives reacted. When the son of the woman who got the surgery saw her in her bandages, he seemed upset. She said she just wanted to make parts of her look better. He said those parts weren't really hers anymore after surgery, though. When the other housewives were interviewed about his reaction, they were sort of upset with him. They said he should support her decision, and that they're her body parts so she should be able to do whatever she wants.
There is a lot of controversy over plastic surgery. If there wasn't, it wouldn't be so common to keep it a secret. If there wasn't controversy over plastic surgery there wouldn't be headline after headline on celebrity gossip magazines reading "Did she or didn't she?" I happen to be pretty indifferent. I can't see myself ever getting it, but to each his or her own. So don't mistake what I say next to be an anti-plastic surgery rant. That's not my intention whatsoever.
Then point I'd like to make is simply this: there is version upon version of this show, each of them with viewer upon viewer upon viewer. That means all those people are constantly being exposed to media that won't allow them to stop thinking about appearances. These shows are constantly about appearances. Looks are constantly the focus. The body is presented as something that should be molded and modified to fit someone else's idea of perfect. Even when the women on these shows are talking about how great they look, they're still talking about how they look. And the reason I got so worked up, is that this is one of those shows that doesn't overtly say it's about looks, but it is. Think of all the people who watch things like What Not to Wear or America's Next Top Model. Everybody Loves Raymond was on at Applebee's last night, and even that whole episode was about whether or not Ray's wife should get a boob job.
I think media audiences just need a break. I seriously think a big part of why so many people are so unhappy with the way they look is that they are constantly, constantly, constantly told to think about their physical appearance. Whether they're told to love it, change it, embrace it, hate it, etc., they should be able to go through a day without being reminded to think about how they look. The Physical Appearance is like a media created God that it forces everyone to worship by not allowing them to look away. Maybe I'm being dramatic, but I for one would love to open up the Internet or turn on the TV without being bombarded with these messages.
Back off media. Just let me be me.
That's all...
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