Artsculture

Don't Cha Believe in Hoochie Female Empowerment?

The 'Pussycat Dolls' blur reality TV feminism.

By Steve Burgess, 23 Mar 2007, TheTyee.ca

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'Female empowerment, self-discovery and personal transformation'?

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Reality TV -- it's a slippery slope. Those of us who have been inclined to defend it may now find that inclination perilously steep. Increasingly treated to reality shows that function as vehicles for the rehabilitation/promotion of public figures, reality TV fans have now seen their cherished formula employed for truly dire purposes. We've been ambushed by the Pussycat Dolls.

The people who brought us the wildly successful America's Next Top Model (ANTM) franchise have now brought forth CW's The Search for the Next Pussycat Doll (City TV in Canada), a talent contest designed to find a new member of that horrifyingly popular singing group. ANTM executive producer Ken Mok brings the same formula, and many of the same scenes, to the new show -- a bunch of shrieking, star-struck wannabees crammed into a house ("Omigawd! It is like, so cool!"), put through a series of trials designed to destroy their fragile egos and consume any nascent friendships in the cauldron of ambition. Yay! Only one can emerge victorious. The others learn valuable lessons about how they are too ugly/fat/untalented to succeed.

I've enjoyed reality TV shows without apology. I still maintain that watching the antics of actual people, as long as they're not too vapid, is preferable to following the contrived plotlines of network fare like Prison Break or Lost. And when the show in question is something like Survivor there's no real guilt involved -- there are no real-world consequences in such an artificial environment.

Modelling bad behavior

ANTM is trickier, of course. The modelling industry has plenty to answer for with its dehumanizing processes. One of the more revealing recent TV moments came not on ANTM, but on Slice channel's Project Catwalk, the British version of the designer competition Project Runway. After a cruel judge savaged the look of one model (as a way of criticizing the designer), it was briefly noted the following week that the humiliated model had left the show. That's the job these ANTM hopefuls are scrambling for.

Still, one can watch in the knowledge that no one is forcing these young women to participate. They want the gig? Let them fight for it.

With the Pussycat Dolls it's harder to justify. The consequences cannot be ignored. Perhaps the low point of my recent Asian tour was a Bangkok traffic jam made even more unbearable by the taxicab radio interminably blaring "Buttons" by the Pussycat Dolls and Snoop Dogg. I prayed for sweet death.

And The Search for the Next Pussycat Doll sometimes feels like a prolonged, nasty joke aimed at those who still watch reality TV. "I think the Pussycat Dolls have had a huge influence on my generation," chirps one contestant. Humanity is doomed.

Corporate art?

Whatever else they might be, the Pussycat Dolls are a thoroughly modern corporate entity. Originally a group of lip-synching burlesque dancers, they gradually incorporated actual singers and started racking up hit records. Nonetheless, they are not really a group -- they are all employees of the record company, completely replaceable and interchangeable, with zero artistic or creative control over the musical widgets they crank out. There's your voice of a new generation.

Of course we are told that the Pussycat Dolls are "all about female empowerment." In reality TV land this is usually the cue to put on lingerie and dance around a pole. Which is what contestants were told to do in a public bar in order to display their, um, confidence.

The Search for the Next Pussycat Doll does offer some of the usual guilty pleasures of the genre. "I had so many people who didn't believe in me," says contestant Shaunte. "I want all those people to feel so awful when I make it."

That's the spirit!

Increasingly though, these shows seem like PR vehicles for damaged public figures. Seeing how corporate sleazebag Donald Trump was reinvented as the revered bossman of The Apprentice, other stars are joining in. Heather Mills, estranged wife of Paul McCartney, is now a contestant on Dancing With the Stars and getting tons of positive North American press -- a preemptive strike to prevent the spread of her entrenched U.K. image, where she is widely reviled as Celebrity Enemy #1.

The Next Pussycat Doll has Lil' Kim, the rapper/convicted felon who is on board as a judge. There's plenty of adoration on display from the girls, and precious little mention of the 366-day sentence for perjury and conspiracy levied after Kim (a.k.a. Kimberley Jones) was found guilty of lying to protect a thug who shot a man in a gun battle outside a New York radio station. Today she is treated as a hero in the hip-hop community because she didn't snitch.

Incredibly, the only mention of her incarceration came from Lil' Kim herself on the most recent episode. The rapper talked about the difficulties young performers encounter. "Imagine the things I had to go through," she told one girl. "I had to go to prison!"

Had to go? Damn right. It's an important lesson for these young women to learn -- if you win this competition, someday your bodyguard may have to pop a cap into some fool. Don't snitch.

If this is reality, I want out.

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Steve Burgess reviews films and TV for The Tyee every second Friday.

23 Comments:

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  • James Burns

    5 years ago

    Unreal

    Sorry Steve, but there is no reality in reality TV. These programs are artificially created environments meant to bring out the worst in people, and where those in power (the judges) are free to heap abuse on them. It's just an American version of gladiatorial games. I think a lot of people experience a gruesome kind of glee in seeing others suffer.

    I do find it interesting that so many of the shows where women are the contestants focus on reinforcing negative gender stereotypes; where all of a woman's value is determined by how physically attractive she is and how sexually promiscuous she is willing to be. Although the latter attribute must be something she leaves in the control of those who market her. God forbid she have a sexuality of her own that isn't commercially viable to a wide section of consumers.

  • murdock

    5 years ago

    idiot box

    sex sells and keeps on selling

    soft porn from the reality TV people, no surprise.

    save yourself time, money, life ...

    turn the TV off.
    make it into a planter.

    if you have to be entertained by an inanimate object, try the couch?

    Theater is life
    Film is art
    TV is furniture

  • granthams

    5 years ago

    The Theatre is life. The

    The Theatre is life.
    The Cinema us art.
    The TV is furniture.

    Read that somewhere recently, maybe The Tyee.

  • Bluenose

    5 years ago

    Camille Paglia would love

    Camille Paglia would love it. It's so ... anti-postmodern!

  • Reader11722

    5 years ago

    Censorship returns

    People have the right to watch whatever crap they want. We should not censor these shows. After all, censorship is becoming America's favorite past-time. The US gov't (and their corporate friends), already detain protesters, ban books like "America Deceived" America Deceived (book) from Wiki, and fire 21-year tenured, BYU physics professor Steven Jones because he proved explosives, thermite in particular, took down the WTC buildings. On the other hand, maybe we should just throw the TV out the window.

  • Fii

    5 years ago

    TV is furniture

    True, true... and I'll never get cable... but lately I've switched from renting movies to renting TV series such as "Six Feet Under', 'The L Word' (now that IS utter trash, but so much fun) and my latest fave- and I have to say probably the best so far- 'Desperate Housewives'. Reality TV I've never gotten into. 'Survivor' is BORING and that new one, 'The Great Race' is even duller...

  • James Burns

    5 years ago

    Censorship?

    wow.... leave it to the freaks to edge in a 9/11 reference. Where did anyone on this thread advocate censorship by the way?

  • MyBrainIsOnFire

    5 years ago

    freaks or spooks or trolls

    -

  • clubofrome

    5 years ago

    I will, in this case...

    Advocate for censorship that is. We put child proof caps on drugs don't we? Can't we put some sort of devise on TV's like the auto breathalizer... some sort of skill testing question, like "what ocean does North Dakota border on?"

  • Jeffrey J.

    5 years ago

    Turn off the TV

    We turned our TV off five years ago after reading a compelling testimonial in Adbusters. Best thing we ever did!. Get our news from CBC radio and the internet from sites like The Tyee and Rabble.ca. Life is good. I recommend it. Great article.

  • rac

    5 years ago

    A Distraction

    Still, one of the smaller problems we face on the planet. More of a distraction, pleasant or unpleasant depending on your point of view.

    Lets all focus on climate change and leave the Pussy Cats for later.

  • gordon

    5 years ago

    I was hoping no one would comment on this trash

    Whats even worse than comments is the fact that a writer might even think we are interested in wasting our time reading about this afront to sensibilities.

    Please TYEE be discerning, keep the pussycats and lapdogs in the doghouse. This isnt feminism this is sex sells.

  • murdock

    5 years ago

    TV out, but please open the window first

    Quote:
    maybe we should just throw the TV out the window.

    writes Reader11722,

    do remember to open the window first, and while you are at it maybe you could talk to that neighbor on that side of your building nearest that now open window?

    be radical...ask them out to the theater!

    Go fringe!

    LOL

  • bloodnok

    5 years ago

    Fight back

    Such extremism advocated here on the calm and sensible Tyee forum! Promoting such radical acts as throwing TVs out the window, censorship, even going to the theatre! I am shocked!

    Maybe we should just not watch the shows we don't like. After all, if nobody watches a show, it gets cancelled and a rogramming trend is killed. So somebody must be watching this sh-tuff. If we are really ticked off by a program, we could write to the advertisers and complain. Perhaps you feel somewhat nervous about complaining, after all, that's not the Canadian way. Here are some phrases you might want to drop in your letter.

    X refers to the product or program of your choice. Well, not your choice, I guess.

    ...longtime user of your brand X... disappointed in your sponsorship of X... no longer feel right about purchasing X... shall counsel my friends and family to do the same.

    You can include stuff about the downfall of humanity if you feel so compelled.

  • T 2

    5 years ago

    These women are not isolated cases.

    The women in these "contests" are not isolated cases of wacked out priorities and low self-esteem. They are an exagerated representation of what is happening inside of women all over North Amerca and they should not be taken lightly. I'm siding with James Burns in saying that on these shows a woman's value is determined by how physically attractive she is and how sexually promiscuous she is willing to be. Even when a contestant is crying because she does not want to stradle a strange man while sporting skimpy lingerie, she is shrugged off as being shy or without confidence. That is messed up! It's no wonder women often find themselves being coerced into sexual acts through name calling. Society is telling them, through shows like this, that when men say "you're just being frigid", they're right. Well, they're NOT right and women should always have the right to say no to a sexual act and they should NOT have to face consequences for saying it. Sex shouldn't sell. Period. Please let me know your thoughts.

  • Elliot

    5 years ago

    'bout time the tyee showed a

    'bout time the tyee showed a little skin.

  • snert

    5 years ago

    bloodnok

    Better come up with a manual on how to use an on/off switch. For some the concept seems to be a bit difficult to grasp. Also include instructions on how to change channels. Occasionally there is actually something interesting on the tube.

  • Stump

    5 years ago

    hate speech?

    Quote:
    like a bunch of retarded girls auditioning for a sleazy strip club.
    It's unintentionally hilarious when the bitches open their mouths - hilarious!

    I don't like (or watch) the show, but WTF kind of posting rules do we have when these kind of comments aren't flagged?

  • Jay Currie

    5 years ago

    TV Free

    We've lived TV free for about five years. Missed Pussycat Dolls - my pervy old man side goes, "Damnit". Missed Survivor. But, for a little while we did have a television and were able to catch "The Swan". In a race to the bottom I have to say "A better life through plastic surgery" pretty much wins the Currie trophy.

    In fact, what is happening is that television is bifurcating into shows like The Suprannos, assorted PBS/BBC fare for a tiny viewing elite and then this year's trash. This is not a new thing. The major difference is that both audiences are shrinking.

    The good news, Steve, is that unlike when we were kids, there really is no mass audience left. Audience share for PCD and absolute numbers are both trivial compared to the glory days of network TV. The internet in all its guises allows on demand viewing of just what you want to watch when you want to watch it. (I've no doubt there is, or soon will be, a soft porn site on the lines of "PCD gone Wild". (Pervy Old Man: "Come the Day, Lord, Come the Day!!))

    You can watch 60's interviews with Leonard Cohen or gun camera video or "How to use your router" or read endless denunciations of climate change deniers and defenses of post-normal science. (Or you can go to my blog and read a long Lenten debate about the traditionalist vs. the modernists in the Anglican Church.) Choice, real choice, exists in a way unimaginable to Marshall McLuhan or William Paley or Lord Reith.

    Television as a mass medium is fading. And it is fading particularly fast in the sub 30 demographic. PCD suggest why this is a good thing.

    With luck we are not all doomed...on the other hand, a flip through the delights of MySpace and we might move the hands a couple of minutes closer to midnight.

  • flyingfish

    5 years ago

    TV is mostly for those with no other options

    The very young, the old, the poor, people without internet connections or DVD players. I'll turn it on in an idle moment, but if I'm making a conscious decision about what to amuse myself with, TV doesn't even make the list.

    And HBO is more like movies -- paid for by subscribers who choose specific content -- something TV/wireless/cable hopes to start delivering soon.

    So network TV has become a sea of trash, with its main purpose to play to the widest (or lowest) common viewer, and catch the brief attention spans of those of us who might turn it on when nothing else presents itself.

    As you say, JC, most people aren't watching this stuff (though, sadly, the more vulnerable and impressionable of us likely are over-represented). Yet we still tend to see what's on TV and think, oh god, this represents society and what it wants and needs.

  • Skookum1

    5 years ago

    Quote:The women in these

    Quote:
    The women in these "contests" are not isolated cases of wacked out priorities and low self-esteem. They are an exagerated representation of what is happening inside of women all over North Amerca and they should not be taken lightly.

    I'm sorry, but half a million women packing the parties and beaches at spring break shouldn't be taken lightly either, especially when a very large number of them are prepared to pull up their tops, whether the cameraman works for "Girls Gone Wild" or not. Some of those women would tell you that if you DIDN'T feel comfortable flashing your breasts for crowds of hormone and alcohol pumped men it's YOU who have the low self-esteem.....myself I don't understand it, but I do know that the shouldering of blame for everything from the Pussycat Dolls to the excesses of Spring Break is usually laid on how men have made women feel inferior etc. etc.

    I dunno. Those girls on the out-takes of Spring Break videos (no, I don't own a Girls Gone Wild video) don't look like they feel all that inferior. Does look like a contest, though I'm really not sure what the prize is....

  • Tax Cutter 99

    5 years ago

    Relax...It's just entertainment

    Quote:
    "I had so many people who didn't believe in me," says contestant Shaunte. "I want all those people to feel so awful when I make it."
    That's the spirit!

    I actually think that view is kinda healthy...
    Human beings need to rfer to different things/incidents/people/values in order to be motivated to achieve their goals. If their goal is to join a multi million dollar enterprise like the Pussycat Dolls and be a success, don't hate.

    The fact is, people love these girls. Their music and videos are everywhere. They have their own show. The best part of TV? choice! If you don't like it, you can watch something else. Or pop in a DVD. Or play XBOX. If people want to be entertained, and there's a market for it, so what? And if you're concerned about the message this show sends to females, I suggest you worry more about raising your daughters.

  • T 2

    5 years ago

    "myself I don't understand

    "myself I don't understand it, but I do know that the shouldering of blame for everything from the Pussycat Dolls to the excesses of Spring Break is usually laid on how men have made women feel inferior etc. etc. "

    I don't think that men MAKE women feel inferior (although some do). What I do know is that women and men have been socially constructed by a society that has a history of believing that women ARE inferior. That history gives men priviledge. Whether they like it or not, they benefit from that priviledge. Without even realizing it, men are participating in a system (of thought or otherwise) that makes women "feel" inferior. I do not blame all men for women's "feelings" of inferiority but I do think that men are the answer to changing it.

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