The episode that I watched is "Margaret Ann's Carnival of Delights". It features Margaret Ann, a spoiled rotten beauty queen whose divorced parents give her everything she wants, including a BMW convertible and over $1700 worth of clothes in one shopping trip. She decides to have the biggest party South Carolina has ever seen, complete with a live band, acrobats and an extra party simply to hand out the invitations to those who work for it and don't have a chance of showing her up on her big day. Even that isn't enough for this princess, she gets her parents to hire a limousine to take her and her friends for custom made designer dresses for the big event. During the party she whines and even starts to cry because she's tired of people taking her picture. She cheers up though when she sees the brand new Hummer and matching jet ski she is gifted by Mom and Dad.
This show (at least this episode) is mainly aimed at teen girls , with the pretty dresses and beautiful girls. Margaret Ann repeatedly describes herself as "perfect", which to me is dangerous for girls to be watching. With the epidemic of body image problems and eating disorders in North America I don't think we need more shows featuring blond, skinny bubble heads as an image of perfection. The entire show is shallow, focusing on money, glamour and beauty as things to strive towards. I don't think this show either deserves or receives any respect, its not entertaining, no values are shared (at least not any worth sharing) and nothing is learned. What I don't understand is why anyone would watch it. The show is easily understandable, even by my youngest daughter. What isn't understandable is why anyone would choose to watch it. At least the majority of today's teens have a better understanding of what's important than Margaret Ann does. They may even be more intelligent than the producers who thought up the idea for the show. As my 13 year old daughter said as the show ended, "I can't believe I just wasted 30 minutes of my life watching that!" I completely agree.
My Super Sweet 16: Official Site
I have always found My Super Sweet 16 a very interesting show. I definitely have watched it before, multiple times in fact, but never seem to come away with anything good to say about it. Like you said, the kids on that show are displaying a completely inaccurate view of what they deserve, and are sending the message to other young adults watching that you should deserve extravagant things "just because." This show has some seriously skewed values that it's presenting to middle school aged kids. It definitely makes you worry that when their 16th birthday comes around they're going to expect a Hummer or a Charger...
ReplyDeleteYes - Talk about skewed values! The kids on this show are honestly "spoiled" brats! They get whatever they want, whenever they want. I am sure that teens who watch this show enough begin to feel that they too deserve anything they want, and probably begin to treat their parents quite horribly! But let's face it... what 16 year old needs at $60,000 BMW for their first car. I know my kids won't be getting these kinds of cars on their 16th birthday, I don't care how good they are! I also think that by watching this show, teens are probably beginning to convince themselves that their parents don't love them because they don't show outrageous parties like that for them...
ReplyDeleteWouldn’t it be sweet to have birthday parties like that! I really think that most of the kids on this show are really spoiled, and really don’t look so young, because they are living a rich life with the ability to enhance their appearance. I really haven’t seen any of the teens on this show actually thankful for what they have. Most of them will complain about something small that has gone wrong (making a mole hill into a mountain).
ReplyDeleteOh yes!! They make it seem like their lives are so incredibly difficult! I wonder if they're going to continue living these lifestyles, or are they going to get a wake up call in a few years?
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