I was flipping channels today and I saw a show called How Do I Look? on the Style Network. Concept is pretty much like all other makeover shows -- they find some Fashion Victim whose family thinks he or she needs help, then get them a new wardrobe. Of course, before the new wardrobe comes the Intervention -- when they sit down with the Victim and tell them everything that's wrong with how they dress and that they need help.
This week's victim was Ashley, a 15-year-old girl who dressed in a punk or goth sort of style. Some of it was overboard (in that 15-year-old-rebelling-by-clothing sort of way) but some it was actually pretty cool. Girlfriend designed her own stuff, and she definitely had a certain flair.
Anyway, at the Intervention is Ashley's mom, Ashley's friend (Anna) and Anna's mom. Anna's mom says, flat out, that Anna is younger than Ashley and she (the mom) is concerned when Anna hangs out with Ashley because Anna looks up to her. And she's afraid that Ashley will be a bad influence on her. So she doesn't let Anna go over Ashley's house anymore.
Well, they throw out all of Ashley's punk stuff, and get her some stylin' clothes that are ... shall we say? ... somewhat less non-conformist. (Actually, the trick to How Do I Look? is that three people pick out new wardrobes for the victim and victim picks one -- ironically, Ashley picked the one that Anna and her mom had selected.) So, at the end of the show, they have their "big reveal" and everyone says how great Ashley looks now, and Anna's mom turns to the camera and says that now Ashley is a good role model for her daughter.
And I thought, "You stupid, shallow wench." Ashley is the same exact human being she was before. If she was into drugs and underaged sex, a makeover isn't going to make her stop. If she wasn't (and I'm pretty sure she wasn't), she was the same decent, upstanding human being back when she wore the studded collar and black eye makeup. The only thing that changed was the packaging. And if that's what makes the difference for Anna's mother, she needs a makeover that goes way deeper than clothes.
2 comments:
Tsk, tsk, tsk.
Reduced to this ...
Stuck in town watching the tube.
Got to work on Monday?
Because this
is the most
anti-climactic conclusion
You've ever reached!
With warm wishes
for a bang-up 4th!
Your faithful reader
awaits more kitten barf.
I agree with you. My bf is a former goth who had lots of goth friends and both he and the friend of his I met recently are nice, normal people who just liked to dress up and listen to a certain type of music. I could see her mom wanting to make sure that her daughter didn't fall into the wrong kind of things (drugs, teen pregnancy, etc) but the best way to prevent that is to talk to her and find out about what's going on in her life, not dress her a certain way. I knew a lot of people in high school who were pretty preppy and "clean-looking" and a lot of them were the biggest sluts and partiers. There are ways to make the girl look and feel pretty without totally changing who she is.
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