Beheld. Measured. Manipulated. Since
the era of Pythagoras and Greek philosophy, this has been the order in which we
relate to beauty. We pout in front of bathroom mirrors, we seethe at the
enormity of our noses and – now - we even plead with Jennifer Aniston’s
cosmetic surgeon to take our case.
There’s no wonder that the onset
of beauty-centric reality shows have inspired a brand new fixation on the
intricacies of the external. One particular show from Hades is the all new,
highly irritating ABC show intended to replace Beauty and The Geek. Drum roll,
please…True Beauty.
It hardly needs the fanfare for
it is purely an excuse for Tyra Banks to regurgitate and re-package the pseudo-
altruistic message she gives the girls every week in the judging room on Top
Model. If she’s not spouting the “true beauty lies within” line every stinkin’
week, then she can’t actually justify the career - characterized by the perfect hair, teeth,
weight, bone structure - that made her millions.
As her co-producer, Ashton
Kutcher’s attempting to bounce back from the earlier mentioned beauty show that
bombed in its first season. So, why not jump on the Bankable Productions
bandwagon? It’s already cranked out two of the top-rated reality-based shows on
TV. Ashton, in all honesty, your Beauty
and the Geek show was hardly as painful.
The premise for True Beauty is
this. A group of so-called gorgeous guys and girls are chosen to live together
in a Los Angeles mansion. They believe they are participating in a beauty
contest that is judged solely on their outward appearance, which is mostly true.
While producers are hoping to
sneak in random tests of the contestants’ moral fiber throughout the
competition, approximately 45 of the 60 minutes is dedicated to reinforcing the
common theory that maintains beauty as the external indicator that things and
people are say, copascetic. As it asserts, most people judge physically
attractive human beings to be good, both physically and on deeper levels.
“I’ve experienced it myself. Airline attendants, retail associates, coffee
shop baristas, even my student. They’re all nicer to pretty people,” said Milka
Denis, math teacher from Miami, Florida. “I know when I look good, I get the
treatment I deserve.”
In the first episode of True
Beauty, idiot producers pit contestants against one another in a visit to a cosmetic
surgeon who has espoused the real-life scientific unit of the millihelen.
The judges, former MTV VJ Vanessa Minnillo , supermodel
Cheryl Tiegs and former Top Model judge Nole Marin, eliminated one person that
week after secretly observing the behavior of the contestants when the surgeon
was out of the room and other contestants’ files were left in plain sight. When
the contestant is eliminated, they learn the truth about the show and see a
video montage of their bad behavior during the competition.
Presumably, they'll all emerge
chastened and vow to be better people once they return to civilian life. Not.
The winner -- the person who's really hot but also, like, super-nice -- gets a
cash prize and a spot in People's
"100 Most Beautiful" issue. The reality… their outward beauty will
continue to be played up for posterity.
And, guess who was announced the
winner of this first season? Julia Anderson, a former pageant queen, and
magician’s assistant, who was once stripped of her pageant title for public
drunkenness.
So, in light of our formerly
inebriated beauty queen winning the show, does the truth still remain that a
physically attractive person will always be emblematic of a healthy person, a
pleasant person, a well-educated person and a virtuous person?
Colis Baker, 17, agrees that there is
inherent validity and that we actually all make these judgment calls at first
glance.
“When you first meet someone like
I’m meeting you, physical appearance does count,” she said. “You can’t carry
yourself like a bum on the street.”
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