Sunday, September 19, 2010

Redefining Quackery II


First it was Extreme Makeover, and now we have BridalPlasty; the marriage of medicine and reality TV. As hard as this is to believe, I am not making this up.
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E! orders plastic surgery bridal competition
EXCLUSIVE: 'Bridalplasty' contestants vie to be 'perfect bride'
By James Hibberd Sept 16, 2010, 01:19 AM ET
In one of the most shocking reality TV ideas yet, E! has ordered a new series that crosses a wedding competition with extreme plastic surgery.
The network is set to announce "Bridalplasty," where brides-to-be compete in wedding-themed challenges to win extensive surgical procedures.

Each week, a group of women competes head-to-head in such challenges as writing wedding vows and planning honeymoons. The winner receives the chance to choose a plastic surgery procedure from her "wish list." She's given the procedure immediately, and results are shown at the start of the following week's episode.

One by one, the women are voted out by their competitors and, according to the show's description, "possibly walking away with nothing and losing [their] chance to be the perfect bride."

The last bride standing will receive a "dream wedding," where she will reveal her new appearance to friends, family and the groom. "Viewers will witness his emotional and possibly shocked reaction as they stand at the altar and he lifts her veil to see her for the first time following her extreme plastic surgery," E! said.
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Could medicine debase itself more? Unnecessary medical care for entertainment is beyond quackery. It’s repugnant! What does this say about medicine, and what does it say about our American culture?
I think the article comments say it best:
Laura comments: I think this is awful, but I'll still totally watch it. Like a car crash.
Disgusted comments: Please tell me this is an Onion article. Wow, what a horrible idea.
bildungsroman comments: I used to have a teeny, tiny bit of faith in humanity. It's gone now.
unbelievable comments: What a terrible show this will be!! A complete low. Ha
C comments: Where is the Pride?
aney comments: This show is an all time low. How embarrassing.
Jesus comments: I wept.
And my personal favorite:
steve comments: No wonder terrorists hate us
When I think about it for a moment, I guess I am not all that surprised. After all, drug commercials that pervade television are nothing more than a fusion of medicine and entertainment posing as infomercials: actors portraying doctors, scripted and quoting corporate sponsored studies which amount to nothing more than science-fiction.



What’s next, medical family theme parks? I can see it now:
The Abilify (bi-polar) roller-coaster

The Pepsid (upset stomach) bumper cars
The Toviaz (overactive bladder) water slide
The Viagra (erectile dysfunction) tunnel of love
The Prozac (anti-anxiety/panic attack) house of horrors
The Alli (weight reduction) hall of mirrors
And, the Lunesta (sleep disorders) family rest areas

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Energy flows where our attention goes. Not watching is an active vote against. Most inspired theme park. Sadly, I believe there would be many takers.

On the lighter side… do “perfect brides” make “perfect wives” AND, more importantly, what is perfect other than another invention?

lee