Do you believe that lifestyle programming creates and fuels negative ideologies?

Lifestyle programming, for example, Supersize VS Superskinny and Don’t Tell the Bride could be considered to create and fuel negative ideologies due to the way faults within the public are picked out and exaggerated in order to create an interesting programme.

In Don’t Tell the Bride, we are shown couples who are organising their wedding, which is supposed to be the happiest day of their lives, but they are constantly arguing and do not trust each other to make sure that they get everything right for their wedding. The men in the programme are usually portrayed as stupid, as clips of the programme are often edited in a way which shows the man looking either venues or dresses which he would like to choose for the wedding, followed by a clip of the woman horrified at what he has chosen and threatening to call off the wedding. This suggests to the audience of the programme that although traditions portray weddings to be the happiest day of a couples lives; programmes such as these show that the expectations of the big day and the planning rarely goes accordingly and it is normally very unlikely that both people in the relationship get exactly what they want from the day. Applying the Blumler and Katz’s Uses and Gratifications theory, the audience of Don’t Tell the Bride could watch the programme for a number of different reasons. One reason this programme could be watched is for personal identity. If someone is in the same situation as the couples shown on this programme, it is likely they may be watching in order to see how the wedding goes, and to see all of the planning process. This could create negative ideologies for these particular people as showing marriage in a negative light could affect their thoughts for their wedding.

Other lifestyle programmes such as Supersize VS Superskinny can also fuel negative ideologies on the viewers watching them.  This particular lifestyle programme presents people in a negative light and shows them to have bodies which are considered unhealthy and unattractive. By creating these negative body images, this programme could create seriously negative ideologies for their audience as woman in particular may feel a lot of pressure from the media and society to look a certain way; and by promoting these kinds of programmes, the women are likely to feel they need to set themselves unrealistic goals to ensure that they are not considered to have the same body image as the ones shown on the programme. The hypodermic needle theory could be applied here as the passive audiences watching this programme will immediately be effected by the message that is being told from the programme, therefore creating a negative ideology surrounding health and body image for these viewers.

Although lifestyle programmes can be seen as influencing negative ideologies, this is not always the case. One example of a positive lifestyle programme is Gok Wan’s How to Look Good Naked. Unlike Supersize VS Superskinny, where drastic lifestyle changes are promoted, and the people on the programme are criticised for the way they look, How to Look Good Naked is based on activities which helps to build the woman’s self-esteem. This programme helps to create positive ideologies, as Gok Wan, the presenter completely discourages the participants of the show to undergo surgery or to lose weight in order to look good, but to embrace their bodies and make small changes to their wardrobe in order to be proud of their bodies. This is a complete opposite to Supersize VS Superskinny, as the audience of this programme will be able to pick up positive tips from the show in order to help build their own self-esteem; and a positive ideology will be created as the viewers are shown that real people do not look like celebrities, and they don’t have to ever make themselves look like that in order to feel good.

Overall, although programmes such as Don’t Tell the Bride and Supersize VS Superskinny fuel negative ideologies for the audience by picking out flaws in everyday people’s lives and bodies, other programmes such as How To Look Good Naked are complete opposites to these kinds of negative programmes, and achieve positive ideologies by focusing on the positives of these everyday people who take part in the programmes and making things work for them.