Spoiled teenage pageant princess
The Huffington Post's round up of "must see" online videos for the week includes this clip from the TV show Wife Swap, about a spoiled teen and her doting parents.
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I really have to believe that that family was making it all up. I HAVE to believe.
Yea. I HAVE to convince myself "the producers are playing it up, the producers are playing it up". Too sad to think this could possibly happen for real. They're being coached.
Believe it #1. This happens all the time - these folks just have enough money to make it bizarre enough to be entertaining. LOTS of parents these days can't say no (read: TEACH THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RIGHT AND WRONG) to their kids. Stay away from the people who worship their children in fear of not being liked by them. Their children will one day deeply resent them for making them disabled.
and they are boring.
Security conscious users will need to enable Javascript for huffingtonpost.com and brightcove.com. It's nice that youtube videos play without Javascript.
That video is really disturbing. Why are there people allowed to breed?
I'm disappointed that this rose to a level that it would be considered for posting by Boing Boing and Huffington post.
First, "reality TV" is the networks' way of undermining the Writers Guild efforts, which makes it less than "must see" for me.
Secondly, the situation was clearly scripted as the family was as stiff as anything I've seen on "Springer."
I have to call BS on that video as well. I'm sure she's a terror, but that's clearly some coached/scripted performance going on. The lines are a little too neat and punchy to be real.
That said, creatures like that (and the nightmare beasts that roam the show "My super sweet sixteen") are like anthropomorphic birth control. If I had a daughter like that I'd call in an exorcist. And I'm a deist.
I'm quite sure this is an intentional spoof. Quite. I hope.
@ #6
I find it a little hard to believe that "reality tv is the networks' way of undermining the Writers Guild" when we've been swamped with reality "gems" such as Flavor of Love and Wife Swap for what seems like an eternity.
Granted, we are going to be seeing a lot more of this kind of thing these days because of the writers' strike, but it's not like the writers' strike CAUSED it. Since I rarely watch any of that crap in the first place, it looks like I'll be enjoying more books than usual.
Holy shit, that's gotta be a wind-up.
> #4 posted by Thingamadad ,
> Security conscious users will need to enable Javascript for huffingtonpost.com
Security conscious users will use Mac OS X and leave Javascript on and not worry about it much and if worried about privacy, will use TOR, etc.
> various intelligent boing boing readers said:
> This pageant is bullshit
Yep, painfully obvious. Makes some of the posters at Huffington who are "up in arms" over this video look like fools. It's entirely scripted and they are acting (very, very badly).
A friend of mine and his newlywed are going to be in an upcoming "reality" wedding show which which will air nationally early this year.
The producers made them reshoot a bunch of fake wedding ceremony parts, etc. long AFTER the wedding was already over to add "drama", etc. The producers made the bride-to-be go fake shopping with a "friend" she had never met before in her life. The producers produced bullshit.
- My Life with the Thrill Kill KultDisclaimer:
REALITY SHOWS ARE FAKE AND THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A LONG HORSE.
Ben Elton's novel "Dead Famous" is not only a a good mystery story, it has a number of good examples of how editing can make anyone look like anything. It juxtaposes descriptions of what people actually did with what was shown on the screen, and you can immediately see how "reality" TV, even without overt scripts, is overwhelmingly fabrication.
In five years she claws some other contestant's eyes out as she descends into forgottenland.
TEH REALITY SHOW NOT REAL!1111 NOES!!!111!! FAKE!!!III!!!
Photos of extinct long-horse
http://www.boingboing.net/2006/12/01/photos-of-extinct-lo.html
Let's assume, just to amuse ourselves, that these are real people, not animatronics or CGI (computer-generated idiots), and that twiddling was left to editing room antics.
You have to feel sorry for the kid, as soon as the blush of youth fades she'll slit her wrists. She's pretty, in an ordinary way. But she is not going to age remarkably well.
And don't beauty pageants have some bizarre little codes of ethics? Personally I think it is absurd when a beauty queen is stripped of her title because she posed in Playboy or such rot. I don't see much difference between the pageants and girly mags. I'm just hard pressed to decide which is tackier.
I'm digressing, the point is, if momma actually is doing all her homework projects for her, the kid could be thrown out of school. And I'd also think she could lose all those twinkly little tiaras once the pageants get wind of this.
But maybe she doesn't care. Maybe mom and dad hope she just becomes the next Paris Hilton. Vapid & selfish is all the rage. But is this gal even compellingly enough without her parents as supporting actors?
Even if the video is not real but hyperreal, doesn't it contain a truth? For the posters above who don't believe, I have a second quote about "reality" which fits.
"Reality is that which refuses to go away when I stop believing in it." - PKD
Charlie Brooker's take on reality TV:
Editing techniques: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=BBwepkVurCI
Make your own elimination reality tv show: http://youtube.com/watch?v=BdxHRuBRLYE ; http://youtube.com/watch?v=uktwoY3lk7g ; http://youtube.com/watch?v=GCWSQ3axHC4
Congratualtions, you've raised your daughter to be an absolutely worthless human being.
Ok, not totally worthless. She might make a decent statue or something.
Seriously though, I sort of feel sorry for the kid when she encounters real life, never mind age. I see drug and alcohol problems in her future.
Whether or not this is scripted people like these really do exist in America. Many far more delusional than this family. They really are this self absorbed.
This is the culture that brought you the
Trading Spouses - I'm a God warrior woman.
Thingamadad (#4): Thanks for the heads-up. I got the link from elsewhere and had to figure it out me own self, but still... Oh, and using OSX (as I do) is no guarantee you won't get pwned via malicious scripts through your browser, #11.
Regarding the "reality" show. It may well be scripted, but, I'm sorry to say, I've encountered similar sorts to that girl in RL. Not coincidentally, most of them were blond* and all were wealthy.
*Not dissing blonds here. Just noting that in some areas/cultures, being blond makes one the target of the attitude shown here by the parents. Kids who get this treatment often become particularly unpleasant teens.
Clrly fk. Th gv wy s twrds th nd whn th sbsttt prnt r whtvr shws p nd th rctns r clrly cnnd. Th nly qstn n my mnd s whthr th fmly fkd t t gt n th shw r whthr th prdcrs fkd t t mk th shw ntrstng.
Syng tht ppl lk ths "xst n mrc" s bt slly. Thy xst n rp, Cnd, Jpn, tc, s wll. f nythng, thy xst n mrc bcs *vrythng* xsts n mrc, bcs mrcns r frm vrywhr.
First of all, even by reality TV "standards," that's sketchy and lame. It's almost like they don't want to waste time on the "reality" anymore, just give you the game highlights and let you fill in the rest.
Secondly, when people say "Even if this is scripted, trust me, there are people like this out there" it misses the point. Scripting a show to conform to our fuzzy preconceptions only adds to the deep mulch of national self-illusion. What reality TV at its best can do (and you can rent FRONTIER HOUSE to remember) is show us that there are people out there who defy all preconception. That's gone, which is why the genre is dying.
Finally, if you want the real skinny on pageant mommas and the world's revulsion, see "Florida Girls" by playwright/actress Nancy Hasty. You will never laugh so hard.
>THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A LONG HORSE.
YOU TAKE THAT BACK.
re: The beauty queen. Clearly what we need is to bring dog and cat show standards into beauty pageants. Precisely defined breeding standards for height, weight, hair/fur and a check for hip dysplasia. Oh and check their teeth too. It's only fair.
I'm so sick of all these reality shows that do nothing more than shine a spotlight on people who feel the world owes them everything. In shining the spotlight on these people, even if the producers intent is to spoof them a little, it feeds their egos, which are clearly over fed already. Too many shows about real Orange County wives, and spoiled little shits demanding fireworks at their Sweet 16 birthday parties, and egotistical families of models.
Reality my ass!!
For a truly disturbing look into child beauty pageants, check out a film called "Painted Babies". It follows the families of two 5 year old pageant competitors through a season of competitions. Really feel sorry of kids that age who are thrust into that kind of world. You get the feeling their parents are trying to make up for a failed modeling career by living vicariously through their children. I get that feeling from the parents in that clip above. I almost wish poverty on people like that so they can experience having to work for a living.
where's the "HAPPY MUTANTS" tag?
I am astonished that people are still denying the existence of long horses.
MATTXB @17: Bloody brilliant! Thanks for the links.
The person to feel sorry for is dad. He is the one footing the bill for all of this, both metaphorically and in the (non)real sense. Anybody that makes enough to support all that, has enough upstairs to realize the (non)reality of it all. But is it? How much virtual ink is spent on Britney Spears versus a math bowl champ? Our society, of which we are all members, endorses this behavior. My prediction is that this little girl will go off to college, not graduate, but instead marry a well-to-do beau and either live happily ever after, or get a good settlement.
I don't get it; once the woman saw what tearing up the picture did to that girl, why did she stop? Why didn't she tear up more pictures?
The way she just stands there awkwardly is pretty suggestive of bad scripting.
Does it go without saying that, scripted or not, the girl's parents are Bush Republicans?
From what I have heard, the shows aren't "scriped" the way we think of a script, with specific lines and conversations written out and memorized. They are, however, given direction...we want you to start insinuating that you slept with her BF and create some disturbances along those lines, and act like a total bitch to these people here, but start making friends with this person.
I love alicia!!!!!!!!!!!
i think there may be a decent premise for a porn somewhere in there.\
otherwise, that is simply pure and devestating child abuse.
If you watch the whole WifeSwap episode you'll see that if those people are acting, they deserve an Oscar. The clips don't do justice to the truly sickening behavior that those people display throughout the episode. And they are totally shameless about it.
Did the family say they paid $130 for that photograph?
spoiled is a good word for this.
those kinds of scenarios upset me.
this hyper-tweaking of identity in children and young adults breeds so many potential nightmares.
parents spinning irreality. keeping prisoners of themselves and their families. becoming characters.
i mean it's one thing to tell your kid that you actually know if there is a god or not, or what that god did or does, etc... or the mundane miracles of atoms and big bangs and beyond...
BUT to make your child helpless in the face of your death or garantee that they will live with you forever, incapable of coping in the real world (gimping esentially) is a little worse than spanking or taking out the belt as a scare tactic.
i think of the line, i forget where i read it
"we cripple our children so they can be beggars"
if these portrayals are near-accurate, this young woman will either go mad or after a life-shattering event become a saint and healer.
---
i like the dog and cat show standards ! for the parents too !
I doubt that she will go on to anything. I had to see for myself if this was 'fake' so I downloaded it. If the portrayal is anywhere near accurate, she can not read or write much above an elementary level. Functionally illiterate.
The daughter is just kind of stupid and spoiled.
The real crime here is the mother's eye makeup.
i watched the whole thing the other night and oddly i cant stop thinking about how out of touch with reality those people really are. the visiting mom tried to get her to look at who she is on the inside and tried to help her learn to do simple tasks like making brownies or write the correct spelling of America. i don't know if its real or fake but it was like a car wreck i couldn't look away from.
oh yeah and her dad is a total prick too, he was insulting to the visiting mom and encourages the entire idolatry of his daughter.
my only question is weather this girl is going to stay pretty or is she going to grow in to her ugly parents looks?
Chevan & Mark, if long horse existed, where are the bones? Show me the bones.
I had to check the full episode out... in truth, the other family was pretty messed up as well. I love when the father of the three girls says how ridiculous it is to think an 11-month old girl could "want" to be in beauty pageants. Then he turns around and asks his two-year-old if she wants to be in pageants. She makes an icky face and says no, and he gives the other mom this look like "see? my kid hates beauty pageants, so there!"
@MattXB: The last line in that first Charlie Booker took me so by surprise I am still chuckling about it give minutes later. He's a god damn genius.
"You have to feel sorry for the kid, as soon as the blush of youth fades she'll slit her wrists. She's pretty, in an ordinary way. But she is not going to age remarkably well."
I'm not sure where the "feel sorry" part comes in here. I'd just consider that thinning the herd.
They should have set aside some of that pageant money for speech therapy. The girl talks like she's partially deaf.
She is a delight!!!
How ^%$@^ dare anyone out there make fun of Alicia after all she has been through.!
All you people care about is….. readers and making money off of her!
SHE’S A HUMAN! (ah! ooh!) What you don’t realize is that Alicia is making you all this money and all you do is write a bunch of crap about her!
She hasn’t... er... pageanted on stage in years! Her (favorite) song is called “give me more” for a reason because all you people want is MORE! MORE-MORE, MORE: MORE!.
LEAVE HER ALONE! You are lucky she even pagaented for you BASTARDS!
LEAVE ALICIA ALONE!…..Please.
Perez Hilton talked about professionalism and said if Britney was a professional she would’ve pulled it off no matter what.
Speaking of professionalism, when is it professional to publicly bash someone who is going through a hard time?
Leave Alicia Alone Please…. !
Leave Alicia alone!…right now!….I mean it.!
Anyone that has a problem with her you deal with me, because she is not well right now!
LEAVE HER ALONE!
I think that its an exaggeration of the truth. Maybe she isn't THAT bad, but it is evident she is a spoiled brat.
Either way, the reason she is this way is because her parents are enabling her. They can't say no and have no concept of appropriate boundaries.
If they did, they wouldn't have agreed to do the show. So, the fact they're on the show is proof they are screwed up.