First off, I'm pleasantly surprised with the response from my first philosophy post. It spurred some very interesting discussion and insight. Who knew weeds would stir up such varied and interesting thoughts? I hope the discussion continues, and I hope to post some more ideas over the next little while.
I came across an ad the other day for a new reality series by FOX called More to Love. Apparently, it is basically "The Bachelor" with the exciting twist that everyone on the show (including the bachelor and all the contestents) is substantially overweight. The advertisement kept using the phrase "real women" as it showed generic show clips of talking heads, romantic moments, drama, etc.
It really bothered me, and it took me a minute to figure out why. I don't have anything against people who are overweight, but there was something fundamentally wrong with the message. They were attempting to confront superficiality while being completely superficial. For a show that's trying to play the "beauty lies within" card, why would the first requirement of any contestant be body type? Because someone eats too much and doesn't exercise enough, they are a more genuine and "real" person than someone who takes good care of their body? What does that say about me? I am underweight according to doctor's height and weight charts, does that mean I am an exceptionally fake person? (Don't answer.)
FOX, you got this dead wrong. The show may turn out to be a hit (it probably will), but it is clearly sending the wrong message. I wonder if the producers at FOX are really that naive to miss the huge flaws in the show's concept. I tend to think there is a target audience they are feeding with the kind of things they want to hear. Despite their pretensions, I don't think the producers really care what they are conveying as long as people watch. What do you think? Am I wrong here? Am I overly sensitive as an underweight person?
11 comments:
I can't tell you how much I hate "The Bachelor." And I will hate "More to Love" as much.
I have an idea. Let's have a show called "The Plantation" that features a southern white farmer with a bunch of overworked, underfed, abused black slaves who compete in silly games for their freedom.
I mean, if we're pushing progression back 300 years, why stop with women's rights?
P.S. I will help you fight for the rights of the underweight. And I will also donate weight to you, if needed. We are probably a match.
I think you're right, Jesse. I'm sure the execs at Fox are well aware that they're confronting superficiality with superficiality. They also know that the vast majority of people either won't pick up on it or won't care. Either way, people will tune in. And I hope that being overweight doesn't make you more real, but if it does I'm teetering on being a very real man. Dang.
Dude, you hit this right on.
Everytime I see an ad for this show I freak out. I get so mad and you pointed out EXACTLY why I feel so angry. It is so idiotic. Almost as idiotic as the "kiss-in," people not understanding what property ownership means...that's a whole other topic, but both irritate the heck out of me as of late.
For some reason all I can think of after reading this is a quote from Elder Ballard when he visited USU and spoke in the spectrum. He told the girls to start taking care of themselves because "some of you look like death warmed over."
This is, after all, FOX, the network who also brought us "Paradise Hotel" where a bunch of people had to keep from being eliminated by pairing up with someone else and sharing a hotel room together each night. The person who "got around" the most, won $250,000. So I can't say I'm surprised.
What I can say is, Thank you, FOX, for keeping America shallow.
Amanda and I have been saying the same thing. If they want it to be "real" they should have a variety of contestants as diverse as our fair country (a little patriotism since it's July).
For you:
http://www.wayodd.com/funny-pictures2/funny-pictures-i-beat-anorexia-0yp.jpg
Not saying it relates to you at all, but all this overweight, underweight talk made me think of it. haha
dang, that link didn't work at all. sorry, i'll show you the picture sometime.
Josh, that picture is amazing. He looks so proud.
To top it off, they post the contestant's weight next to her name.
I couldn't agree more!
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