In class few weeks ago we watched a clip of a news anchor whose body was in full view opposed to the man she was interviewing who could only be seen from the chest up. It seemed as if the news program was using the anchor for her attractiveness. Something interesting came to mind: do we ever see overweight or unattractive people on tv?
I did a little research on "how to become a news anchor" and found that most websites stated that people in college go for a undergraduate degree in communications or journalism. Then they work their way up from interning to new reporter to anchor.( see this link). What I found to be particularly peculiar is the fact that almost no website ever stated that a new anchor must be somewhat attractive. Each made it seem like anyone could eventually become one. A recent article states that more than 6 in 10 Americans are overweight or obese. If very few news anchors are overweight (if you were to search "overweight news anchor" into Google no overweight anchors come up), then theoretically couldn't only the 40% of healthy weight people have the chance to become news anchors? This brings me to my biggest question: Why are there few overweight people on tv, besides the shows specifically about overweight people? There are TONS of shows now that are solely about people losing weight and being overweight but it there ever an overweight person on tv where their weight isn't the main focus?
Personally I feel like the only way an overweight person can get on tv is if their weight is the main focus. Shows like "The biggest Loser" "I Used to be Fat" "Too Fat for 15" "Huge" and "Dance Your Ass Off" are all based off of people being overweight. I have yet to see a truly overweight main character on the Disney Channel. Most of the shows on Disney Channel are supposed to be about normal kids, but if 1 out of 3 kids are overweight, how realistic is that? They show kids in high school but why are there few overweight people in the hallway?
Alex, your observations are spot-on. Our society over values physical appearance and many "less attractive" people have been denied jobs due to a "more attractive or fit" competitor. It is often not about credentials. As for the realism, it is true that shows hesitate to accurately represent the population.
ReplyDeleteBut thinking about this in a different way, New Trier also seems to be out of the "norm," it is not often overweight people are seen on the North Shore. What does this say about our community values?
I think that the TV companies and people who write the shows don't want to highlight something that people are embarrassed of. I think that in some comedy shows, or reality or something, overweight people may be used as a comic diversion. Isn't it bad to be overweight? Shouldn't people want to be a healthy weight? I think that in that mindset, screenwriters don't want to highlight problems with our country and people, rather build some love story or something that is separate from all "normal" issues that anyone could relate to.
ReplyDelete