Just me
By Sarah Carrillo
News Editor
My favorite TV show to watch during lunchtime (which is about the only time during the week I have to watch TV) is “A Makeover Story” on The Learning Channel. Well, actually, the show drives me crazy and I usually end up yelling at the screen, but for some reason I still sit down with my grilled cheese sandwich and watch it whenever I can.
Why does this show cause me to shout obscenities? Several reasons. First, it bothers me that no one ever seems to dress right. I know what you’re thinking, they wouldn’t be on the show if they didn’t have a problem with clothes, but let me explain. There seems to be no absolutes on this show. If a person dresses professionally, then the show makes them over to be more casual and fun. If they dress casually, then they’re made over to be more professional. I know the point is to try something different, but it’s like they’re saying no one can pick out the right clothes on their own.
Because they are incapable of dressing themselves, the makeover participants are forced to perform in a parade of new outfits. This is where I start to yell, because they inevitably choose the outfit I like the least. Now, I’m not calling myself a fashion expert by any means, one look at my jeans and flip flops will make that pretty clear, but I can tell what looks halfway decent on a person. And nine times out of 10 the people on the show end up wearing something ill fitting and tacky.
After the outfit — if you can call a leopard-print tube dress an outfit — is chosen, the group heads over to the salon where the two people are separated for the day and given new hairstyles and makeup. This part of the show baffles me because nearly every show is in a different city and they go to a different salon every time, yet everyone ends up with the same look – short hair, with flipped-out layers and blond highlights and smoky eye makeup and a natural lip color.
Do these salon workers across the country coordinate with each other so they all do their “Makeover Story” subjects the same way? I just don’t get it.
The end of the show is the point where I really start to loose it though, as I watch the agony that is the makeover revelation.
The makeover revelation actually has two parts. The first part is when the two makeover subjects show off their new looks to each other after being apart all day. This usually involves a lot of hugging and crying and “oh my gosh, your hair!” I can usually watch this part without losing my stomach, but part two of the makeover revelation is on a whole other level.
You see, on “A Makeover Story,” you can’t just have a makeover for no reason, there has to be some sort of situation involving a large gathering of friends and family for you to show off your new look. Examples include birthday, anniversary, and career-launching parties (I’m serious about this last one, two girls actually had a makeover on Monday’s show to launch their potential acting careers). When the made-over people arrive at the gathering, there is even more screaming and crying and interviews from family and friends saying how amazed they are and how the person never looked better. I know that the final look usually is pretty different, but it seems like most of these people are just playing it up for the cameras.
But what bothers me the most about this show and the whole makeover premise is the ridiculous idea that changing your clothes and hairstyle will suddenly transform you into a new person and dramatically improve your life. It seems pretty fitting though that in our image-driven society there are so many makeover shows like this. Everyone wants a quick solution to their problems and these shows seem to think that new eye shadow and highlights will do the trick. Sure, you look good for that one day, but what happens tomorrow when you wash off the makeup and have to put back on your old clothes? Are you still a new-and-improved person? Not so much.
So why do I watch this show? I guess because deep down I like the optimistic idea that a person’s life can be transformed in a day. And because it’s just so much fun to rant about leopard-print tube dresses.
Submitted April 1, 2004
