Here’s to a new you!

LEAVE A COMMENT 2010 July 27

Why are we so intrigued by makeovers? We wait with baited breath as the contestants weigh in on The Big Loser. We root for simply pretty girls to turn into glamour pusses on America’s Next Top Model. We thrill when a well-deserving family views its spanking new 4,000-square-foot home on Extreme Makeover, Home Edition. And we coo approval when a woman learns how to completely make over her style in What Not To Wear?

And now Tony Robbins (with facial hair, no less) is planning a show, called Breakthrough, where he guides people through crises.  Only Tony knows how to give hope to someone who became a paraplegic on his honeymoon. (I kid you not.)

Do makeover shows inspire us and give us hope or are they pure entertainment? Can we actually learn how to lose 150 pounds and gain self-confidence on Channel 7 from 9 to 10 p.m.?  We’re excited when someone else does what we wish we could do, but it takes more than a script and cameras to motivate us for more than a few minutes.

I’d like to see a new kind of makeover TV show.  It would turn selfish, evil and  intolerant people into giving, good and open-minded souls. Now, that’s a makeover worth watching.

We can call it Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

0 Responses to “Here’s to a new you!”

  1. Toby Wollin says:

    Let’s see now; I nominate Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck as the two first contestants. But, I digress.
    I actually have a big bug about makeovers because no one ever sits the person down and asks them really important questions, like:
    1) Can you lift your arms over your head? Have you ever used a blow dryer with a brush before? How much time do you really have to do your hair and makeup in the morning? Oh, you’ve got three kids under the age of 6; one of them is still in diapers, and your commute takes 45 minutes in heavy traffic? I think we need to rethink the makeover plan here.
    2) When you look in the mirror, who do you see? When was the last time you wore a skirt or a dress shorter than that big knobby bone thingy in your knee? Oh, you have a pulsating purple scar on the inside of one of your knees from major surgery three years ago and haven’t worn a skirt since? I think we need to rethink the makeover plan here.
    3) Pull out three recent photos of yourself from the family album. If you are standing up, where are your arms? At your sides? Around the shoulders of your kids? Across your chest? Oh, you’re self-conscious about the size of your breasts? I think we need to rethink the makeover plan here.
    The biggest issue I see with makeovers of any sort is that the ‘makeover-ers’ consciously avoid dealing with the person’s issues. People really do stuff that makes them comfortable, or deals with the amount of time they have to take care of themselves, or gives them the feeling of protection that they feel they need. When my younger daughter was studying at the Aveda Institute in New York, I used to dutifully come down to be her model when she could not get someone in the city to volunteer. I went through cuts, colors, and demo-ed blow outs. I learned to really love blow outs – I can swing my head around and do that old Breck shampoo commercial with the slow-mo hair when I get a blow out. I cannot, however, do it myself. I am uncoordinated, can’t keep my arms above my head holding a brush and a blow dryer for long enough and usually give up about half way through — not a good look for me. I’ve learned over the years to really love a nice layered look that I can wash and condition in the shower, rub some product and run a comb through and be out the door. That works for me.

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