What TV Show....

[My Fair Lady]

Posted: 12/27/04 at 3:55pm

Makes you weep for humanity? I saw The Swan. Why should women get all that plastic surgery just to be told that they're still not good enough?

[Unknown User]

Posted: 12/27/04 at 3:56pm

Who's Your Daddy? (Or is it Yo?)

What kind of crap is this? I can understand trying to find your father, but going on national television and making it a game? Come on..

[showmethetony]

Posted: 12/27/04 at 4:00pm

there was a reality show called "hot or not" or something like that and the people would get on stage in little-to-no clothing in front of judges who would tell them what about their physical appearance was good/bad...it was horrifying...

[zepka102]

Posted: 12/27/04 at 4:00pm

i saw the commercial for The Will... now that shows reality tv went too far. family members competing for who wins everything in a relative's will... im sorry... that's just terrible

[cturtle]

Posted: 12/27/04 at 4:57pm

reality shows SUCK ... but they will keep making them as long as people watch them. (ok, i admit, i watched BOY MEETS BOY and MANHUNT ... but those are the only ones, i swear!)

[MaTakeALookAtMe]

Posted: 12/27/04 at 4:59pm

The Swan is pathetic, but not as bad as Who's Your Daddy.

MadTV did an excellent spoof of the Swan called The DUckling...featuring small children. great stuff.

[Carl Magnum]

Posted: 12/27/04 at 5:01pm

I hate all the garbage that is reality TV but I cannot get enough of Surreal Life. I think it's just cause it knows what it is. Plus I seem to be drawn to Battle for Ozzfest. That might just be my love of that concert tour.

[BWayBoy88]

Posted: 12/27/04 at 5:10pm

I refuse to watch the Swan. What a great message to send to today's youth

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 12/27/04 at 8:26pm

awww... cturtle! I have every episode of boy meets boy on tape. guilty pleasure for sure...

[Liam]

Posted: 12/27/04 at 9:04pm

how wants to marry my dad

[Plum]

Posted: 12/27/04 at 9:16pm

Those things are the lowest of the low- manipulative, inhumane, flaming piles of crap masquerading as entertainment.

[broadwaystar2b]

Posted: 12/27/04 at 9:25pm

I loathe The Swan
Really, it's one of the few shows I genuinely despise

[Plum]

Posted: 12/27/04 at 9:27pm

Just look at the title of something like The Biggest Loser. The person who loses the most weight is still a "loser," a freak exhibit for the no doubt equally fat losers sitting on their couches at home to judge and find wanting, as if they're in any position to do so.

[~FloweryFriend~]

Posted: 12/27/04 at 9:57pm

I have been totally against The Swan and everything that it stands for from the beginning.

But...
if it is on, and I happen to see it as I'm flipping channels, it is very difficult not to get sucked in.

I think this is partially because the women all have such sad stories, and each one of them feels that undergoing these stupid procedures are going to change their lives for the better. Do I believe that plastic surgery is the answer? No. But if changing their appearance is going to help their self esteem and make them stronger women, can I really stand against that?
No.

The thing I have the biggest problem with, of course, is the damn pageant.
But after seeing a couple of episodes (yes, I am guilty of that), I'm not even sure that I can fight that monstrousity.

These are women who have never in their lives felt beautiful. They have never felt worthy. They have never dreamed that they could be in a pageant. And the ones that don't get chosen don't even seem to care. They're so happy that for the first time in their lives, they feel beautiful. And on some level, they seem excited that they were considered for a pageant in the first place. The women that do go on in the pageant are some of the happiest people I have ever seen.

Is that wrong?
Is it wrong for them to be happy due to superficial changes?
I don't know.
Is it wrong for me to watch it happen?
Probably.
But the episodes that I have seen about had me in tears because I was so happy for the women.
So maybe I was wrong to be against it.
And maybe it isn't for me to judge.

[MaTakeALookAtMe]

Posted: 12/27/04 at 10:00pm

Please help..I hate myself and think I am ugly. Please confirm my fears and insecurities by telling me that the only way I can feel beautiful is to change my appearance. Make me realiza that I have, afterall, always been ugly. Ple, producers of the Swan, show me how disgusting I am ...

pathetic.

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 12/28/04 at 12:18am

Some of those makeover shows are really stupid. Some of the women that are their main focus don't need all that plastic surgery...some of the women you see on these makeover shows, all they need is a little makeup, and maybe a new hairstyle, and they can look good. Did you ever see Maury with the frumpy housewives who look like sh*t, but then put on some makeup and do their hair, and they look great?

[~FloweryFriend~]

Posted: 12/28/04 at 12:30am

Yes MatakeALookAtMe, I see your point and agree with you.
But...
If they do not like themselves and want to change their appearances, and this Swan show is going to help them, and that's what they want to do, then fine.

People with low self-esteem get into this mindset that they will never be good enough/smart enough/pretty enough.
There is no good way to get out of that.
These women all feel that they are being held back in some way by their appearances.
Are they?
Probably not.
But try telling a woman who thinks she's ugly/fat that she's not and see what kind of result you get.
They cannot be talked out of it.
So maybe on some level it's a mental roadblock that can only be pushed aside through physical change.

Again, I am not advocating the show.
But I will say that I'm glad psychologists are present throughout the procedures.

[SmrtAss]

Posted: 12/28/04 at 4:22am

Elimidate is the show that makes me weep for humanity. All that asininity just to be picked for a date with someone who has questionable judgment? Oy.

[orion59]

Posted: 12/28/04 at 11:28am

I'm so sick of so-called reality shows. I watched one episode of The Swan when it first aired last year and was disgusted by it. The message semed to be that if you have low self esteem, your marriage is falling apart or you just generally unhappy with your life, all you need is to make yourself pretty.

The shows that seem to beased on doing horrible tasks or eating bugs and other foul things are just plain stupid and show how far people will go for the ske of money.

The only reality show I've ever watched and enjoyed was "He's A Lady" because that was just plain fun, all the contestants knew exactly what they were getting into and it didn't exploit anyone or their problems.

[Jimmcf]

Posted: 12/28/04 at 11:30am

I remember when "The Swan" first came on, there was a review by Dalton Ross of Entertainment Weekly on NY1. He started the review by saying "Ladies and Gentleman, I give you the apocalypse"

How apt.

But I do watch "The Biggest Looser" and some others...

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 12/28/04 at 6:27pm

Fear Factor - I watched it once & having someone chow down on cow eyeballs is not my cup of tea. TV is , at times, a vast wasteland