What About Some Encouragement For The Other Sex?
Posted at 08:03, 2007-Oct-9 in On TV
It would be nice to think that our society is becoming less shallow nowadays. We may not be hippies who only care about mother earth and reprimand others for not being organic; however, most of us don’t think of ourselves as superficial. It’s the person that counts, not what the person actually looks like, right? People fall in love with personalities all the time, so why should looks hold significance anymore? Well, I think there’s an obvious answer to that.
I started thinking about this when I was channel surfing on the couch the other day. Nothing kept my interest for longer than five seconds so I just left it on the last channel it was on. It happened to be showing According to Jim which I hardly watch. I have the same thought every time I see this show. How did he end up with her? I’m sorry, but I just don’t find Jim Belushi attractive. However, I am a little jealous of how pretty his wife is in the show. Courtney Thorne-Smith, who I remember from Ally McBeal, is able to flaunt what a lot of women would be jealous of. She’s a skinny cute blonde that all guys with girlfriends probably think about when they’re not with their girlfriends… or maybe they still do. So my first answer to my perturbed thought at the moment is: Perhaps he was more attractive when they first met? However, I then recall seeing an episode that served as a flashback to when they first met. They looked exactly the same minus the 80’s styled clothing and hair. Jim’s character was still awkwardly huge and Courtney’s character was still pretty and petite; I got the feeling she was the popular type in high school. If this couple is hilarious enough to exist in a TV sitcom, then both characters must consist of Emmy award winning wit. So this is why each character has fallen in love with the other one… right?
There are plenty of other shows that have the same set-up: Hot wife and not-as-hot husband. There is also King of Queens, Still Standing, Everybody Loves Raymond and probably a million other ones like them on other networks around the world. Why are there so many shows where the husband is less attractive than the wife? There isn’t anything wrong with this concept, but why do so many of these shows exist?
Perhaps it is because the writers and producers of these shows think it will encourage men out there in the dating world? Or maybe it’s because viewers are encouraged to see that romance can, in fact, happen with someone you’ve never found attractive? These are all great things. I’m not trying to argue with TV entertainment here, but I can’t help but think… why is it never the other way around?
I’ve asked a couple of girlfriends why there isn’t a TV show with an extremely attractive husband with a less attractive wife (and perhaps a bit awkward like most of us girls feel like). One of my friends flat out said that “It would never happen.” When I asked why not, she simply said, “I don’t want to say this and be stereotypical but it’s because most guys who are that hot are too much of a jerk.” I don’t know if I agree with this theory and here are some of my reasons: 1) There are hot guys out there that just don’t know how attractive they are so they don’t act like it. 2) “Hot” girls who know they’re attractive may also be bitches and this makes it equivalent to being a hot jerk. 3) I’ve also known a few guys who do look past looks. There may not be many men like that but they do exist.
However, I like to disagree with her statement most importantly because I know that there are women who can take charge of what they have in order to reel in a good catch. There are many reasons why it CAN happen so I don’t see a reason why networks can’t create a show to encourage women! What about those of us who haven't been on a date for a while? What about those of us who are just too scared to ask for that guy's number we see in the coffee shop everyday? Not all of us are Giselles or Natalie Portmans but we all are bound to find someone. So there is no reason why average looking women can’t snag a hottie too.
Hopefully, we'll get to see evidence of this in a sitcom one day.
- sl