TJ Brady
The two readings this week, "Normal Extremes" and "The Poor have the right to be beautiful" show two different, less publicized views of plastic surgery.
"Normal Extremes" discusses the TV show Extreme Makeover and its impact on the public's views of plastic surgery. Extreme Makeover is a show where contestants win makeovers which change their lives for the better. Since this show aired there has been an increase in cosmetic surgery in the United States because this type of surgery has become more acceptable in the public's view. The show selects participants, which have less than stellar lives, and gives them makeovers which they could have never afforded, which will hopefully lead to a new, happier life. One example of this was with Luke. He claimed that he wanted to get cosmetic surgery to express his true inner self. He had lost 125 pounds but had excess and saggy skin, which he believed was holding him back. During his transformation, he got an abdominoplasty, rhinoplasty, teeth whitener, and hair transplant. During his big reveal, everyone rejoiced and Luke and his family and friends were overwhelmingly please with his results. This is the picture perfect show that the media and producers want the viewer to see. These types of show's are very appealing to viewers because they can more easily relate to the shows because they are real people. The people also sympathize with this show because the people claim to just want to be normal and accepted, which is something many people can understand. Although this show may seem great, there is a problem with it. The show minimizes the physical pain and trauma that the contestants undergo. 6 weeks of rehabilitation will be shown for 2 minutes and a 2 day surgery will air for one minute. The conscious decisions by the producers to show only a little of the negative aspects of these procedures definitely attributed to the increase in cosmetic surgery rates.
"The poor have the right to be beautiful" talks about the rapid growth in cosmetic surgery in Brazil over the past 2 decades. In Brazil, plastic surgery occurs in public hospitals, with waits that sometime take years. The surgery is offered at no additional cost, which has led to Brazil being called "Empire of the Scalpel". The crazy part about this is that Brazil has a crumbling health system, a shake state, and disparaged human rights. The article opens with a story about a girl Denise, who came into the clinic hoping to get a breast reduction. The doctor tells her to lose weight and then he will perform the surgery. After she leaves, the doctor talks about why he did this to a colleague, "She is not pretty, she has low self-esteem, and she's poor. She has no access to psychotherapy, to gyms, to nutritional guidance. And do you think she's going to lose weight? The reason we operate is not because of her back. Her principal illness is poverty.". This quote raises an interesting point. It seems like the view in Brazil is that instead of trying to treat an illness, or other mental problem with therapy, they can just make the person more attractive and their problems will go away. Another person that is discussed is Aline, who works with promotions, and is request ion breast work. She believes that this will help her make more money, which will help her get a better life. A big reason that there has been a boom in cosmetic surgery in Brazil is the "Globo Network". It is the major news network in Brazil whose mission is "presenting an image of populace moving together toward modernity, glamour, and materially enriched, upwardly mobile lifestyle". This, along with other factors, has led to people believing that plastic surgery can lead to the 1st world.
These two articles were very interesting, but I have a few problems with them. The article on Brazil, shows how Brazilians feel that plastic surgery can lead to helping and even curing mental problems. I think this is ridiculous. If somebody is self-conscious and insecure about their body, they should work out and get the body that they want. If someone has a true mental illness, than a new body won't heal that, then they will just become insecure about their new body. We have seen how they're are surgery junkies who never are satisfied with their bodies, like the Human Ken who had over 100 surgeries. I also thought it was a little ridiculous that plastic surgery was so common in Brazil. But then I started thinking about how it is completely acceptable to have braces in the United States and to have oral surgery to fix your teeth. Maybe we as Americans are on our way to a cosmetic lifestyle like Brazil, and we just don't know it yet. Regarding the Extreme Makeover article. I had problems with how the contestants would go into the show saying that they had one problem, like Luke who said he just wanted to fix his saggy skin, but leave the show with multiple other surgeries like hair transplant, teeth whitening, and rhinoplasty. I was able to sympathize with Luke about his saggy skin because he tried to change his body himself through working out, but I lost sympathy when he decided to change multiple other things. I think this shows how although the contestants claimed that they wanted to just be normal, they really wanted to be as beautiful or handsome as possible.
Annie Husted
ReplyDeleteIn TJ’s assessment on “Normal Extremes,” he discussed how the article highlights the rise in cosmetic surgeries due to the reality television show, Extreme Makeover. TJ talked about Luke, one of the contestants on the show who had a plethora of different cosmetic procedures done to him to make him “more attractive”. In the article, Luke talked about how much he wanted the procedures and how after having them he had a coming out party. I think that what this concept highlights is the prevalence that is put on appearance in today’s society. By Luke feeling the need to celebrate his “new self,” he and those who are celebrating with him are praising the fact that is old, natural born self is gone. Personally, I find this very sad. I can understand that in Luke’s case, his excessive skin that was left over from his weight loss was something that really troubled him and I think it’s okay in his instance to want to get rid of this. But over all, I think that if the media didn’t portray certain characteristics to be more appealing or socially acceptable than others, people wouldn’t be so plagued by their appearances in the first place and learn to love and embrace their natural bodies. I also thought that the fact that the show only showcased the glamorous side of the place surgeries and didn’t show the long, tedious recovery process to be extremely deceptive of the media in their portrayal of what the reality of the procedures entail. In TJ’s assessment of “The Poor Have The Right To Be Beautiful” he talks about the articles discussion on Brazil and it’s flourishing cosmetic surgery empire. I, too, was shocked by the story Denise, a patient looking for a breast reduction. I think that the whole notion in Brazil of beauty being able to conquer all other life problems is totally skewed. I think that it is a really unhealthy message to send to younger generations that all of your problems lie skin deep, and that they will go away by the meticulous use of a scalpel.
TJ states, “if somebody is self-conscious and insecure about their body, they should work out and get the body that they want”; this is much easier said than done. Usually it requires a gym membership, a trainer, and possibly a nutritionist, all of which require money and lots of it. The poor in Brazil live lives of extreme poverty making it extremely difficult to work out because much of their time is spent working or scraping for food. For example, Aline makes 20 dollars a day that’s $7,300 per year assuming she works everyday for a year, which she will not. By giving her an opportunity to improve her appearance her economic situation could drastically change, allowing her to work more often and more money.
ReplyDelete-Zeina
I really like TJ's last points about Luke's surgery. He originally tried to lose the weight himself by working out and dieting but could not get rid of the excess skin. I started to sympathize for Luke but then lost sympathy, like TJ, when Luke decided to get other surgeries too. These were obviously not needed. Also mentioned in the Brazil article, plastic surgery is publicized as helping to cure personal insecurities. These insecurities stem from society, there are really no such thing as imperfections. But people, like Luke, are excited to change any possible aspect of their body just to fit in with society's norms. The media has destroyed people's perceptions of themselves and has caused them to gain these insecurities and low self esteem issues.
ReplyDeleteJill Dahrooge
One of the points that really stuck out to me in this article was the point that TJ made about Luke. When I was reading the article, I felt that if he had worked hard enough to lose all of that weight, saggy skin was obviously a downfall, but because he had done all of the work, why should he not be rewarded with skin that fit his new body? However, it was clear that this was just a cover up, because he had other things done to him that had nothing to do with him trying to better himself through work. My problem with cosmetic surgery is that it creates this idea that you arent good enough as yourself, and if you dont want to work on it or have enough money to do it, then we can just fix you up...surgically. This is a bit of a depressing idea, that people would need surgery to feel better about themselves that way. I think that this article and TJ's reflection on it bring up a lot of interesting points, mainly about how this is cultural and brought on by society.
ReplyDeleteZael
tj points out a very interesting and compelling thing, the people who are used in the show extreme makeover. on thing i think the show did on purpose was to bring in every day average looking people and show the viewers what they want to see, thus making a successful tv show. this gives the viewers the feeling of relate ability to average every day people who watch these shows. this is important to note because it gives normal people who might not conform to societies ideas of looks, hope, but at what cost. risking injury or breaking the bank.
ReplyDelete-bobby
I think TJ brings up an interesting point regarding the “Surgery Junkies” article in how Luke, a contestant on Extreme Makeover, entered the show with the intention of fixing the saggy skin he developed after his major weight loss, but left with multiple other surgeries. Were these additional surgeries necessary, or were they simply a means of improving self-esteem and conforming to socially constructed notions of beauty? I think this situation shows how the tone surrounding plastic surgery has changed and people view it as a means to fix their “imperfections” in order to align themselves with modern beauty ideals. People are undergoing unnecessary, painful, and costly surgeries in order to feel beautiful or accepted in today’s society.
ReplyDeleteSammy Secrist