Today I'm going to stand on my soapbox and vent a bit. I'm somewhat of a reality tv fan, but the other night I got really bummed at a particular episode of the show 'What Not to Wear'. For those of you who haven't heard of this one, the premise of the show is to find people that dress bad or have poor sense of style and revamp their wardrobe giving them a new & fresh image. We started watching it and immediately I got sad for our state of entertainment in America. This episode featured a family that obviously dressed poorly. The mom wore outdated, long dresses with white tube socks and the kids wore hand-me-downs. The producers of the show then made sure to point out they could not afford nicer clothes. In the interview with the family, the two hosts went one by one through the family members talking with them about how they did not look good and wouldn't they be so much happier if they could wear nice, new clothes. The mom and kids were brought to tears.
So the questions that came to mind are...Since when is our value and worth based on what we wear? Since when do we have the right to degrade a family for what they wear when they can't afford to purchase anything better? On top of this...be entertained by it. What message does that send to the young kids in that family?
We turned the show off, so we no doubt missed the part where the family got $20K worth of new clothes and jumped around in joy about the hip, new style they possessed. I also understand that this family voluntarily signed up to be on the show. But that to me doesn't matter.
Tanya & I talked about it and she assured me the show was not that bad. Apparently, it usually involves one guy or lady that get the clothing makeover and not families. She too was upset that kids were involved.
Sorry Woody, I'll give you the kid part, no need to toy with their already fragile insecurities...but that show is awesome!
ReplyDeleteafter our weekend visiting the outlets in palm springs, we discovered that karen has a hidden talent and she could certainly be the host for that show...of course, she would leave the kids out of the picture!
ReplyDeleteYa, Martha...after I re-read my post I realize I'm pretty harsh on the show. After all it's on TLC, so there must be some learning/educational aspect?
ReplyDeleteIs that the show where they put them in the glass box and people guess how old they are ????? and most of them guess like 15-20 years older than they actually are???
ReplyDeletei only make fun of peoples shoes . . . . .
i hear ya woodrow. however. one, you need to watch the real what not to wear. it's on bbc america. they rip people up way more. no kids though. two, its tv. it's not real. even if they call it a reality show. they make it all up just yank you around. i totally understand what you are getting at. and yes, today i wore lime green, white and beige arylge socks. and tonight i wore them with camo shorts.
ReplyDeleteTrev, can I nominate you for the show? I remember vividly those arglye socks ON THE BASKETBALL COURT!!
ReplyDeletePete, this was my only experience with the show...but I don't think it involves any glass boxes. Could be wrong though.
Confession... a few weeks ago I was watching the show and the candidate dressed just like me, similar hair too. She wore a lot of capris and solid colored shirts. She also was a school teacher. It was very erie. I would be the first to say I could freshen up my look, but not enough to be in the same category as long dresses and tube socks! Needless to say i have bought a few hundred dollars worth of clothes since!
ReplyDeletebeautiful picture by the way. We'll have to check it out once we are back in the state!
ReplyDeleteWoody and Tanya - I am aloways in appreciation and awe of your sensitivity and depth of understanding. I wish we had a society that would not judge us on how we look, clothes, weight, zits, whatever - for all of us are beautiful - we all need to be "carrotts" right TL?
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