The Swan

[McUSA]

Did anybody catch this? I am ashamed to admit that I watched bits and pieces. The premise is that they take 2 ugly ducklings and perform lifestyle changes (crash diets) and plastic surgeries. Then the two starved siliconed ugly ducklings are judged and one goes on to a beauty pageant to be aired later.

The first episode was last Wednesday. They actually did a pretty good job on the first girl. However, all the before pictures were without makeup, so any girl is going to look a lot better professionally made up. The second chick was beyond repair. She started out fat and ugly and ended up fat, ugly but with blonde hair and big boobs.

The train wreck continues tonight (on Fox, of course).

Is it just me, or does anyone else find this show, and the MTV celebrity one, extremely disturbing?

I watched about 3 minutes of the Swan last week before I turned it off.

They were showing a video collage of interviews with the woman and here father and husband. The father and husband were just tearing on this girl. The father was saying things like - "I've always thought of her as the female version of me - just ugly." And her husband was saying - "I would call her 'just average' at best." I was thinking..."girl, you don't need 50 hours of plastic surgery, you need a husband and father who give you the emotional support you deserve, and don't knock you down everyday of you're life." No amount of surgery and make-overs are going to help this woman.

I felt like she and all her flaws and insecurites were being displayed for our entertainment. It just didn't seem right for the producers to be exploiting an individual like that. I couldn't watch it - am I just being wierd?

[Maine-iac]

Sick premise for a sick show from a sick network. I wouldn't even watch 3 minutes. I'd be happy to boycott FOX and MTV, if I thought it would pressure them to end this kind of thing, but a public campaign would probably just give them free publicity, so I've got to hope low ratings will kill off the programs.

Given my demographic, I doubt FOX or MTV care that I am not watching.

[RTVA]

I thought it was pretty much like Extreme Makeover. Except they can't look in a mirror the whole time, so the "reveal" is just for them as opposed to being for their friends/family. But I don't have a problem with the show in principle. The best thing was they put the women in counselling....I think they needed it, judging from the family's comments. I do think some of the liposuction could have been avoided if they dieted before surgery instead of just after.

Originally Posted by Maine-iac

Sick premise for a sick show from a sick network. I wouldn't even watch 3 minutes. I'd be happy to boycott FOX and MTV, if I thought it would pressure them to end this kind of thing, but a public campaign would probably just give them free publicity, so I've got to hope low ratings will kill off the programs.

Given my demographic, I doubt FOX or MTV care that I am not watching.

Whew! It's not just me. I really don't ever watch reality shows, except for Changing Rooms and What Not to Wear.

I never heard of Extreme Make-over. I guess this plastic-surgery-based concept isn't new.

It all leaves a very bad taste in my mouth.

[Maine-iac]

Encouraging someone to have surgery, with all the attendant risks, to boost their self-esteem and entertain us, is just sick.

I don't have any trouble with the regular makeover shows, for the most part. They can get a bit over the top in the ridiculing of the person's wardrobe, but the good ones usually go out of their way to assure the person that they already have what it takes to look good, and they just need to learn how to present themselves well and act with confidence. They never tell the overweight that they need to lose weight to look good, (as if they don't know they are overweight) or tell the flat-chested that they need bigger boobs, or the short that they need to be tall, etc. They just help people make the most of what they have.

Encouraging people to dangerous extremes, choosing people based on perceived "ugliness" and putting them on display, or pandering to the notion that you have to look like someone else to be happy is really, really sick.

Originally Posted by Maine-iac

Encouraging someone to have surgery, with all the attendant risks, to boost their self-esteem and entertain us, is just sick.

Yes yes yes! I absolutely agree.

I don't have any trouble with the regular makeover shows, for the most part. They can get a bit over the top in the ridiculing of the person's wardrobe, but the good ones usually go out of their way to assure the person that they already have what it takes to look good, and they just need to learn how to present themselve well and act with confidence. They never tell the overweight that they need to lose weight to look good, (as if they don't know they are overweight) or tell the flat-chested that they need bigger boobs, or the short that they need to be tall, etc. They just help people make the most of what they have.

Yeah, Trinny and Susannah can be heartless at times, but generally they correctly show the person how to work with what they have, and the guests often conclude that they had what it takes to feel beautiful the whole time. Sometimes you just need people to point that out, and show you how to do it. When I saw that bit of The Swan, I thought - this girl isn't that bad...I could show her a lot without ever talking about surgery.

[Cannonball]

I've never watched a single "reality show" - not Survivor, not Joe Millionaire, not any of 'em! They all suck!

[vegas]

Originally Posted by Titania

It just didn't seem right for the producers to be exploiting an individual like that.

Newflash, she decided to exploit herself. The producers just gave her the media she needed to do it.

Originally Posted by vegas

Newflash, she decided to exploit herself. The producers just gave her the media she needed to do it.

So, there are extremely unhappy people in the world who are so messed-up that they'd submit themselves to this kind of abuse. The fact that there are people (the producers) in the world who would exploit them for personal gain is OK with you? You don't fault the producers at all?