Sunday, March 26, 2006

Oh, The Irony...

One of my vices is to vegitate in front of trashy TV. We're not talking soap operas, but usually E! or some fairly mindless sitcom. Granted, some of my current favorites are not exactly brain exercises, but there is some true sludge out there.

Back to the point. I was relaxing after a fairly stressful day by staring moronically at the television. I channel surfed and found a show called "Price of Fame - Starved" where E! explored the lengths celebrities go to in order to conform to the societal pressure created by Hollywood regarding body image. While I may be double-majoring in Theater and Communications, my real interest for a profession is psychology, with an emphasis on eating disorders. I drove of of my t.a.'s crazy last year because every media research paper I wrote in her class attacked the media's portrayal of the female image, whether it be on television, film or other medium. I was intrigued to see what the show would say, especially since it was being broadcast on a channel whose sole purpose was to report on Hollywood. I was impressed at the critical perspective of the show, but felt that not enough blame was placed on the producers and directors who continue to demand and use women whose bodies are nowhere near the female norm. But what really got me was the ensuing program. One would think that a show of that nature would cause people to ponder the farcial state which American film and media has reached, but not, E! stood true to its fluffiness.

Are you ready?

The next program was Dr. 90210, a reality show which traces 3 plastic surgeons and their patients. That's right folks - an hour special on the unrealistic expectations created and demanded by Hollywood, followed by 45 minutes of watching women complain about how ugly they are and paying thousands to be "fixed". Mind you, this show is only possible due to the media images being perpetrated by the female figures in the media and one would think that the responsible thing to do would not be to broadcast images of so-called imperfections being fixed after a show documenting an obsession with an assumed image of perfection, but hey, that's just me.

Much as I wish there would be no work in the field of eating disorders, with shows like Dr. 90210 and actresses getting skinnier and skinnier, it looks like I'll be busy for a long time.

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