What Not to Wear

I realize that the last two of these have been reality TV shows, but I think it proves to me which I enjoy watching more. I love the shows that help to improve people in some way. I remember when the very first reality show was on, "Survivor," and we watched every minute of it, riveted, wondering if something great was going to happen. They were just regular people like us, only they were doing something a little more extraordinary than we were. Now it is so normal to see "regular" people on TV in situations where they are trying to be like the entertainment and fashion world says we all should be. They are trying to be skinnier, they are wannabe models, wannabe musicians, and people that want to start a career out of thin air.

On the one hand, I think it is a great idea-- giving people with talent a chance to be seen, on the other, I love what this show (What not to Wear) does, because it proves to people that they can be themselves, and that they are beautiful. (Yes, Stacie and Clinton do teach them ways to look "in style" or "trendy" in some ways), but they usually are helping women to find themselves behind all of the facade that they are putting on.

The episode I watched the other day was of a woman in her twenties who dressed unlike anything I have ever seen. There would be no way to judge her if you saw her on the street because she doesn't seem to stick to any genre of style or to any rules at all. Normally, I would agree to what she said was an "I don't care what people think of me" attitude, but she was clueless. It was like watching her true character unfold as she honestly found out how beautiful she truly was underneath the fake crazy character she was playing for attention. She honestly chose to wear clothing each day because of the reaction that they would get- because they would be funny. Whatever her real personality was- we weren't getting it. She had no continuity at all.

This also may sound like a stretch, but I think I would show this to a class to discuss character. I think it is interesting how much clothes really do say about a person, and that could be a topic of conversation as well, but the great part was, that the clothing aspect of this episode was back seat to her wonderful discovery of who she really was. The show told a story of a crazy girl who thought she was living life normally, and someone came to prove her wrong. She fought for what she thought stood for her personality and eventually gave in, realizing that she had to make changes to project outwardly what she truly felt about herself. And that is what most good theatre does for me. Hopefully, a good film or show will help me to discover something new, usually by way of the characters' discoveries.

Again, what an uplifting piece of media that, though it forces people into the chic and trendy expensive shopping world, it also forces them to find out what they are about.