Word around the campfire is that there is a reality show
called Real Housewives of Atlanta in the offing, maybe to get to air before the end of the summer, and I can’t wait. I’m a big fan of
Bravo’s Real Housewives of… series. It reminds me of classic Three's Company
insofar as the premise, no matter what it purports to be, is actually a set-up for a smutty, more obvious aim, in this
case, what I call "MILF TV": television that showcases attractive,
middle-aged women in their natural habitat, often in clothing two sizes two small and barely covering them. Housewives is cast so that women can see a "real life" soap opera and men can follow any woman that meets thier peculiar taste: thin, thick, natural or done-over. It must be gratifying in some way for ladies everywhere that the tide has turned, and now society can appreciate the genteel--albeit it too often reconstructed--beauty of a older woman. This, I think, primarily due to the fact that our mothers and grandmothers weren't bombarded with images of "beauty," and there weren't many Bally's of Fitworks gyms back in the day. The ladies, by and large, are holding themselves together. Most of my boys have gone to pot, and relatively, I'm not doing too bad. Just need a Sit-Up Nazi in my life. Seriously.
But I digress.
I used to see the series as disgusting and exploitive but after
enjoying the Real Housewives of New York and Real Housewives of Orange County fror a few seasons, I see
it more as a tribute to older women, personal trainers and plastic surgeons
everywhere, as well as a triumph of product placement and subliminal marketing. A few
of the women are pulled too tightly but overall, they look GREAT. The
storylines feel only slightly more contrived than on other “reality” shows,
with their garish lifestyles amped up. I used to remark to
friends about why we haven’t seen a Housewives
with women of color, and now, like magic, I talked it up. Yeah, I know they had
Jo De La
Rosa in Real Housewives of Orange County, but I’m under the impression she’s passing, Cameron
Diaz-stylee.
It seems strange that they went out of their way to find a white single mom to
rep in the new Chocolate Mecca—they seem to be going through pains to integrate
the cast in a way they haven’t done in the past. Also, the cast is filled out with two members of Team Big Girl. I'm a big fan of interracial dating and TBG, but most of middle America is not, so I don’t know what’s up with
either of those casting choices. As a rule, I don’t think Housewives offer any real
look into these women’s lives, but just offer them up as good entertainment. Troubling,
that these shows don’t really deal with self-made women, just rich housewives
and single women on the make for a meal-ticket. I wonder, do shows like these
set some women back and make them look like superficial gold-diggers? I vote "yes." But my DVR will have a regular appointment on Bravo. Believe that.
