Now a days there are television shows for just about
anything that you can think about. There are fantasy, comedies, real life, etc.
Ugly Betty is one of the shows that I can remember very well because of how the
show was set up and the kind of message it was trying give its audience. This
show was about a girl of the Mexican culture trying to make it into the
magazine business in New York City. Betty the main person in the show lived in
a poor neighborhood in Queens in New York with her dad, her older sister and
her niece. This character did not look like the stereotypical girl so it was
hard for her to get a job. In our society she would be called ugly hence the
name of the show Ugly Betty. The shows main target was the teenagers, young
adults, and for minorities. The reason why the main target are those people is
because the show is very relatable to people around that age groups and people
that do not really fit the stereotypical way that people are expected to look
like in order to make it in some kinds of industries.
There are lots of things in this show that address most of
the popular culture beliefs, values, attitudes, narratives, and myths on how
people should be. In the popular culture there are certain beliefs and values
that they hold on to. Some of the beliefs and values that the popular culture
tend to focus on is how everyone should behave, look at things, dress, look
like, etc. In most cases the way that the popular culture tells us to act, look
like, or even speak s not really how it should be. In the show Ugly Betty they
do show some of the way society expects us to dress, look like, and act like. Because
Betty was not the stereotypical girl, didn’t look the same, not the same body
type because she was not skinny, the way she got her job and how she was
treated at her job was all because of how she looked. Even though she was more
than qualified for the job she wanted she was not able to get it until the
owner saw her and based on her looks hired her. He only hired her because she
was ugly and he didn’t want his son to be tempted to sleep with his assistant.
This show does have both positive and negative values. This
show at first based all on looks and appearance. Ho people should dress, and
talk like, which in reality is not true. After Betty was hired they show stated
to have more positive values. The show started to go in the direction that
everyone is different in their won ay and that there is not just only one look
that everyone has to fall into in order to be beautiful. This show dose have a
positive influence of the targeted audience and also showed that there are lots
of different kind of beautiful people not just the once that society tell us.
I think an important point to mention is that anyone can clearly see that “ugly” Betty is not even ugly at all, she is actually quite good looking. However, the fact that she wears braces and glasses and the fact that she isn't absolutely “perfect” supposedly makes her ugly in the eyes of the stuck up, and causes people in the show to act negatively towards her because of it. This mirrors society in that some of us have unrealistic expectations for ourselves and others. Good choice of show to analyze. Just keep on top of some of the spelling errors and this could be a great essay.
ReplyDeleteI like this analyze of Ugly Betty show. I agree with you, Christina, that Betty did not look like stereotype girl. The audience of this show can see very unusual girl and people understand that it is very difficult for her to find a good job. Unfortunately, people who don’t have good clothes usually can’t find a good job. But I think the closes is very good detector of character, mental, respect, self-esteem and so on. Sometimes the girls don’t have enough money, but they a very neat and pretty in their habits and behaviors. The employees usually don’t believe people who can’t be neat and accurate. In this show, the owner saw her and hired. Of course, he believed that his son won’t be sleeping with her. It was more important for the owner. And this situation helped Betty. Now she is hired. I agree, Christina, here are some negative and some positive values. This show is very good for entertainment and for education girls who want to be hired.
ReplyDeleteTatiana.
It’s good that you are pointing out the “Ugly Duckling” narrative, and the adversity that this young woman has successfully managed to overcome. Indeed, that’s going to be one contradiction in regard to this television show, which features a main character who does not depict the stereotypical “girl next-store image” that we are used to seeing. Obtaining employment based on her dowdy appearance is a contradiction as well. One professor pointed out that nowadays attractive women are not always hired because a male boss might be afraid of becoming prey for an unwarranted lawsuit (sexual harassment). This would work out well for your point about how the boss didn’t want to employ a pretty assistance because his son is a lecher.
ReplyDeleteEndeavor to dive deeper with your thoughts and brainstorm more to find the answers to the questions we have to answer. It sounds as if you are consistently repeating yourself in the body of the paper with the same idea of “looks.” Remember to polish your writing. Rather than “in Queens in New York” use in Queens, New York. Try not to use words such as “get.” Use words, such as obtain, attain, or acquire to replace common language. It’s wise to use a thesaurus for academic writing. They have a built in thesaurus function in Word; however, I think it’s better to use an actual book.
You have a good start here. One question that you might want to address is how Betty’s behavior different than these stereotypical women? Does this show reflect how corporations are in today’s society and their thinking of how employees should dress, act, speak, etc.? Do you think that this is changing throughout the world or are employers still looking for the snobby, rich, behave a certain way type of employees?
ReplyDeleteIf you haven’t seen “The Devil Wears Prada,” go and check it out. It’s similar to this show. Maybe you’ll be able to get other ideas of the myths and narratives and be able to connect the two together.
This show is a good example of how ugly society is. Many places say that they don't discriminate against age, color, looks, etc. But it happens often. If another person looks better than you but your more qualified they hire them to make the company look better. They have a "look" to maintain and they can't have some one who doesn't fit in. Its ridiculous, i see it in many shows as well as this one. It would be nice if you could be judged by how qualified you are for a job rather than everything else that comes into play with it.
ReplyDeleteJust a minor comment: you mention the way that the show talks about how one should look and act but you don’t go into depth on what those standards are. I think discussing what those expectations are and then analyzing who individually is taking those actions says a lot about the values we as a society have. If a respected person in the show takes an action, then the action itself carries much more weight in value than that of someone disliked in the show. Discussing these discrepancies could provide a depth to your paper that it would otherwise lack.
ReplyDeleteI always found it ironic that Betty was hired to work at a fashion magazine despite being "ugly." Betty was never really ugly she simply didn't fit society's definition of beautiful. She was not as skinny as the models used in the fashion magazine's photographs (she wasn't obese, but she wasn't stick-thin), her clothes weren't the latest fashion, she wore glasses, had braces and her hair was sometimes a frizzy mess. She didn't seem like the typical person who would work at a fashion magazine. Betty wasn't the traditional definition of beauty, but she was an example of "inner beauty." She was kind to everyone and tried to help out when possible. Through her hard work she was gradually accepted by the people in the company.
ReplyDeleteAnother note: Betty lived with a nephew not a niece. Just thought I mentioned it since I wouldn't want you to lose any points with false information.
I have never seen this show but I can see everyone's point. You have a great start here. I would pick two different features of Ugly Betty and compare them to today's cultural values. Then show how they could negatively or positively impact viewers. How does she keep her inner beauty shining? Can we learn something about ourselves through her example?
ReplyDelete