It must be June when all of my favorites shows have had their season finales and I have to contend myself with either watching re-runs or finding some other show to watch. So far none has caught my attention until last night. Beauty and the Geek is a brainchild of Ashton Kutcher that is being shown right now on The WB. I am not really a big fan of his. His other show over at MTV was entertaining at first but some of the pranks that they have pulled on other celebrities are already getting tiring, annoying, offensive and downright mean.
I wasn't able to watch the first episode of "Beauty & The Geek" primarily because I wasn't at all interested at first and secondly I wasn't around when it premiered. The labeling truned me off from giving it a chance. I never cared for labels and I always thought that people should never brand themselves as one or the other or box themselves into stereotypes. But then again that is just me. I guess I am a bit sensitive about labels since I have been labeled before of being something which was far from the truth. People are actually surprised to discover that all these times they were wrong about me. But enough of me. Going back to the show, Ashton described it as the "ultimate social experiment". He paired off 7 beauties who may be cerebrally challenged and yet social experts with 7 geeks who are intellectually stimulating but may be lacking in social skills. Some of the beauties were not exactly beauties and some of the geeks didn't look like geeks at all. Each pair competes through a series of activities that is the opposite of their "expertise". The challenge is to equip the other with the much needed information to win the task on hand. Each week a team is eliminated until one pair emerges in the end to win the grand prize.
As I was watching it, aside from the fact that it was actually interesting, it also made me think that maybe through this show people will come to realize that labels are not only hurtful but sometimes these are wrong and misconstrued. I am sure that people whether a beauty, a geek, a jock, a loner and all other "stereotypes" out there have had their own prejudices against other people without really getting to know the other person. It would have been interesting to watch the very first episode when they were all initially introduced to each other and observe the whole dynamics of it. I am guessing it wasn't the prettiest sight. But since they signed on to the show, they would just have to live with it. Maybe that's the whole idea behind it.. put these people who would not normally walk in the same circles in close quarters wherein they would have to deal with each other whether they like it or not. Sometimes, a little coercion or in this case monetary compensation would do us some good to look past the facade that we see. There are more to a person than what our eyes see but either we chose not to see it or we do see it but chose to ignore or brush it aside.
It was just the second episode and it is starting to become apparent that the beauties and the geeks are forming bonds, a connection with each other which would pave the way for better understanding and acceptance of one another. They are all learning from each other which I think would be the best prize they could ever get at the end of this. It would have been ideal had it not been a competition, no pair is being eliminated and everyone will all stick together until the end. But reality is, this is still a game and the producers have to spice it up to hold the audience interest. But at least the contestants are leaving with a better sense of themselves and of the other which would be for their own benefits. I just hope that these people will bring their experiences from the show into the "outside" world when the show ends and make changes in their own lives. These changes are not going to solve the world's problems, curb hunger, save people's lives or end war but at least every bit helps so people will be more accepting of one another. To stop looking at someone as male, female, beauty, geek etc but realizing that we are not at all different from each other because if we really look closely we are all human beings.
Or is it too much to ask from a reality tv show?
I wasn't able to watch the first episode of "Beauty & The Geek" primarily because I wasn't at all interested at first and secondly I wasn't around when it premiered. The labeling truned me off from giving it a chance. I never cared for labels and I always thought that people should never brand themselves as one or the other or box themselves into stereotypes. But then again that is just me. I guess I am a bit sensitive about labels since I have been labeled before of being something which was far from the truth. People are actually surprised to discover that all these times they were wrong about me. But enough of me. Going back to the show, Ashton described it as the "ultimate social experiment". He paired off 7 beauties who may be cerebrally challenged and yet social experts with 7 geeks who are intellectually stimulating but may be lacking in social skills. Some of the beauties were not exactly beauties and some of the geeks didn't look like geeks at all. Each pair competes through a series of activities that is the opposite of their "expertise". The challenge is to equip the other with the much needed information to win the task on hand. Each week a team is eliminated until one pair emerges in the end to win the grand prize.
As I was watching it, aside from the fact that it was actually interesting, it also made me think that maybe through this show people will come to realize that labels are not only hurtful but sometimes these are wrong and misconstrued. I am sure that people whether a beauty, a geek, a jock, a loner and all other "stereotypes" out there have had their own prejudices against other people without really getting to know the other person. It would have been interesting to watch the very first episode when they were all initially introduced to each other and observe the whole dynamics of it. I am guessing it wasn't the prettiest sight. But since they signed on to the show, they would just have to live with it. Maybe that's the whole idea behind it.. put these people who would not normally walk in the same circles in close quarters wherein they would have to deal with each other whether they like it or not. Sometimes, a little coercion or in this case monetary compensation would do us some good to look past the facade that we see. There are more to a person than what our eyes see but either we chose not to see it or we do see it but chose to ignore or brush it aside.
It was just the second episode and it is starting to become apparent that the beauties and the geeks are forming bonds, a connection with each other which would pave the way for better understanding and acceptance of one another. They are all learning from each other which I think would be the best prize they could ever get at the end of this. It would have been ideal had it not been a competition, no pair is being eliminated and everyone will all stick together until the end. But reality is, this is still a game and the producers have to spice it up to hold the audience interest. But at least the contestants are leaving with a better sense of themselves and of the other which would be for their own benefits. I just hope that these people will bring their experiences from the show into the "outside" world when the show ends and make changes in their own lives. These changes are not going to solve the world's problems, curb hunger, save people's lives or end war but at least every bit helps so people will be more accepting of one another. To stop looking at someone as male, female, beauty, geek etc but realizing that we are not at all different from each other because if we really look closely we are all human beings.
Or is it too much to ask from a reality tv show?
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