Page 181 - A Handbook Genre Studies in Mass Media

CHAPTER 6

she longed for. Also, shows such as What Not to Wear or Fashion Expert
911 show us how we should dress, and reinforce the idea that “looks are
everything.”
The value of appearance has also leaked over into other areas. For ex-
ample, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and Trading Spaces transform
your place into a palace. MTV’s Pimp My Ride and the team at West
Coast Customs take beat-up automobiles and within twenty-four hours
produce a high rollin’ decked out transportation device. Every episode
of Pimp My Ride features a friend (of the person whose vehicle is being
reconstructed) commenting on the reasons why this car needs to be fixed.
In most cases it is because they are humiliated to be seen in the car.
For example, a girl claimed she was embarrassed to be seen with her
friend because of the car’s appearance. “It’s not cool. People laugh at us
when we drive by and it doesn’t even seem to bother Maria sometimes.
You REALLY need to fix her car up!” After Maria’s car was “pimped”
and she drove to her friend’s house to show it off, her friend jumped
up and down screaming how cool it looked. “Oh my God, now I’ll go
anywhere with you!” In this culture, it is apparent that not only must you
look good, but anything associated with you must too.

Relationships: “Real” Romance. Reality television also gives the
audience an idea on how love, romance, and relationships should oper-
ate. Shows like The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, and Joe Millionaire
encourage seeing multiple partners at once and weeding out unsuitable
candidates after only one minute of talking with them.
For example, on the first episode of The Bachelor (season four),
Charlie O’Connell was introduced to the “ladies,” and given only one
minute alone with each before deciding which six to cut. Not surprising,
the first six eliminated were (by society’s standards) the “less attractive”
of the group. With only a minute to make a decision though, once again,
appearance matters.
These shows also promote the idea that women should do whatever it
takes to get a man. Due to the one-minute time constraint, the girls felt
the pressure rising to make sure Charlie noticed and remembered them.
Thus, they started taking matters into their own hands. For example,
one woman decided she would get his attention by stripping down into
her lacy bra and underwear to show off her bikini model body and sit
on his lap during their one-minute session. “He won’t forget me now,”
she claimed. She was right; he didn’t forget and admitted to enjoying

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