MTV's and Fox's plastic-surgery shows mess with faces—and heads
By Marc Peyser
April 12 issue - Remember the good old days when TV networks copied each other without even trying to be creative? Now every rip-off comes with a twist, as in "How about 'Survivor' where all the challenges make you sick?" or "Let's do 'The Bachelor' with little people!" But none of those copycats are as shameless as the imitators spawned by "Extreme Makeover," a feel-good show that follows people before, during and after plastic surgery. In fact, MTV's "I Want a Famous Face" and Fox's "The Swan" may be two of the ugliest reality shows yet."I Want a Famous Face" is disgusting in so many ways, it's hard to know where to begin. The show is exactly what it sounds like—a look at people who not only don't like their appearance, they want to assume the identity of their favorite celebrity. A plus-size woman gets tucked, lifted and lipoed in hopes of looking like Kate Winslet. A professional Britney Spears impersonator goes in for Britney-size breasts. Most freakish of all, identical twins both want to look like Brad Pitt. Do any of these wanna-bes end up looking like their idols? Occasionally. But that's not the point. "Famous Face" sends horrendous messages about self-esteem and celebrity worship, not to mention potentially demoralizing young viewers who can't afford this kind of plastic happiness. MTV, which doesn't pay for the medical work, argues it's just monitoring a social phenomenon—it calls "Famous Face" a documentary, not a reality show. But every time a doctor comes on screen, the producers play music that chimes "ta-da!" like an angel has entered the room. That's hardly the work of a serious documentary.MTV is clearly nervous about how "Famous Face" might affect its impressionable audience. The show goes out of its way to include gruesome footage of the procedures, apparently to convince viewers that plastic surgery is no picnic. To underline that warning, many episodes include a short segment called "Another Story," where various patients soberly explain how their surgery was botched. But all the blood and pain are largely forgotten by the end of the show, when the medically induced celebrities return and proclaim themselves thrilled. "Now when I go out, I know I'm looking good," says one "Pitt" twin, who required chin implants, jaw implants, cheek implants, a nose job and tooth veneers to achieve the desired effect. "It's good to have that confidence." The message is clear, unbeautiful people. Brads do have more fun.Review tapes of "The Swan" haven't been circulated yet—that's not unusual for reality shows—but the concept is creepy even for Fox. Each week two self-described "ugly" women get plastic surgery. At the end of each episode, judges decide which one is most improved. Nasty? It gets worse. The winners go on to compete in a beauty pageant, where they'll suffer the same shallow and judgmental treatment that drove them to plastic surgery in the first place. One of them, of course, will win. Everyone else goes back to being a loser.
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