Newsroom Notes: 'The Swan' shows ugliness of television, not people

Just when I think the powers-that-be behind the television programs can't get any dumber, they go and prove me wrong. Some of the recent additions to the viewing schedule strike me as ridiculous and yet, apparently people are watching.

Case in point: "The Swan" on Fox. I've watched just enough of this show to decide that it's not for me.

Early commercials indicated that the show took "ugly ducklings" and gave them makeovers to change their appearances and their lives. After my initial viewing, I've only learned more about the show from the commercials, which indicate that participants receive plastic surgery, dental work, liposuction, and whatever else might be necessary to take them from ugly to gorgeous.

The thing is, I'm not sure who's defining what's "ugly" and what's not. Most of the "before" people I've seen look OK. Maybe not cover models, but not frightening or disgusting either.

Most of the "befores" seem like people that I, in my own Plain-Janeism, could probably relate to. (For reference, see photo above!)

Would I like to look different? Maybe a little, as in losing an extra chin, or even taking the time to apply makeup. But would I undergo a drastic round of procedures to change my eyes, my nose or other features? No. Because they're part of what makes me, well me.

When the first show debuted, I thought, "Who's going to watch this?"

But I recently read that the network re-upped the show for 11 more episodes. According to Eonline!, an average 9.2 million viewers catch "The Swan" each week.

The whole "let us make you pretty" concept is gross enough to me and I find it very sad that there are so many people who so hate the way they look that they would let others decide how to "improve" them but it doesn't stop there.

The "contestants" then have to participate in a beauty pageant that will, as I understand it, wrap up the season by crowning "The Swan."

I don't think the problem here is ugly people.

It's people who, for whatever reason, have learned to think negatively about themselves to the point that they think a drastic makeover is going to change their lives for the better.

Whatever happened to learning to like people for who they are, and not what they look like? I'm trying to teach my children that guideline as my parents taught it to me, but the fact that they're growing up in a world where "The Swan" is a good idea at least until the next reality craze comes along means that I might be in for an uphill battle.

In my line of work, I meet a lot of people.

Most of them are interesting, and none of them have been so ugly that I've shown up for a meeting and then run away in horror. Likewise, my appearance has never scared people abruptly from a room. I remember a lot of things about a lot of people and their businesses, and I could tell you about them, but I don't think that I could tell you what each of those people look like.

I think that's because, for me, as a writer who focuses on business happenings and the things people do, what a person looks like doesn't really matter. A professional businessperson is a professional businessperson regardless of whether he or she has crooked teeth, crow's feet or ankle fat. (One thing that I've learned from my brief encounters with "The Swan" and from reading about it, is that there is such a thing as ankle liposuction.)

Don't get me wrong; I've got nothing against cosmetic procedures per se. In fact, in the upcoming Health Care issue, headed your way May 17, look for coverage on some of the most popular cosmetic procedures.

What I dislike is the idea or the implication that ordinary people's appearance is so undesirable that they can't be happy or successful unless they undergo drastic makeovers.

Success and happiness aren't or shouldn't be about the way we look, but about what we know, what we've done with that knowledge and the content of our character.

For me, in business and in life, a crooked smile goes a lot further than a mean look or a frown on a perfectly made-up "beautiful" face.