Economy and reflexivity in makeover television

ViewingThe Biggest Loser: modes of reception and reflexivity among obese people

“…Differences in responses to TBL among obese people mirror these tensions and those within the fat activist community about whether trying to lose weight is understood as coming from a place of empowerment or the internalization of fat phobia or other external demands. For Redden (2008), makeovers are centrally geared toward improvements to the self that will maximize people's ability to be accepted in specific social situations. It could be argued that the desire to lose weight in a society where being overweight is stigmatized is not a free choice but a choice that people make out of a desire to be more socially accepted and valued.…”

Colonizing Caster Semenya: Gender Transformation and the Makeover Genre

“…The subject's success is validated in the eyes of the experts and the audience who has witnessed the incredible transformation (Morreale, 2007;Ouellette & Hay, 2008;Redden, 2008). Here, the audience sees a whole, complete, and actualized citizen: the subjects are better mothers, better family members, better boyfriends, better homeowners, better workers, and better lovers.…”

“…Heller (2004) argued that one of distinctive hallmarks of the makeover genre is that the before version must be flawed, but moral, so that a before-and-after juxtaposition may be shown to the audience. The before version is ignorant, ugly, and stuck in the dregs of everyday life (Bratich, 2007;Miller, 2008;Redden, 2008). Examples include the deviant teen who needs boot-camp style discipline, the underprivileged family who cannot afford basic home repairs, or the middle-aged housewife stuck with an outdated wardrobe (Lewis, 2008b;Sender, 2006).…”

“…The expert breaks down the subject's deficiencies into parts and explains each necessary step in the transformational plan. The expert is given the privileged authority to judge, to define what constitutes a nice house, wardrobe, or waistline, to provide the proof that the new look is more socially impressive than the old one, and to offer the blessing that the subject is transformed (Redden, 2008). There are few better examples than the Fab Five from Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.…”

“…Self-realization, romance, and success are all attainable, but only through the acquisition of durable goods (Heller, 2004). Redden (2008) wrote, ''The makeover is, quite literally, a vehicle through which experts communicate with the public directly as advocates of the power of consumer-based lifestyles to fulfill people's needs'' (p. 490). The Fab Five in Queer Eye instruct the deficient subject not only on what to buy, but how to use his dazzling array of new products.…”