It's always good to see Louis Theroux back on our screens, and I heartily enjoyed last night's subject matter, especially since I used to work for a plastic surgeons, as a bookings co-ordinator/ receptionist. We had a surgeon who could put breast implants in in 20 minutes, and like the practice Louis went to, the main receptionist had taken FULL advantage of all the procedures. I was never tempted. If I'd stayed there for years, though, who knows? Working in that environment does normalise surgery, and vanity. And it does take some of the fear away... although less when you see how many re-dos of bodge jobs are carried out on a weekly basis.
The receptionist at the surgery that Louis visited had a tummy tuck which left her with a bloody great scar that looked like she'd been cut in half and a deformed belly button. And she was happy with that. She was mutilated!
Like many other people, I initially half saw this show as an excuse for Louis to get liposuction. I mean, he didn't have to go the whole hog, did he? The surgeon decided Louis had flabby flanks (he didn't) and that he was disproportionate and it couldn't be solved by diet and exercise (it could have in about two weeks).
But you have to give him credit for asking the surgeon why he'd chosen plastic surgery as a career over saving lives whilst the surgeon was operating on him. However, he did rather dance round asking them the obvious question: do you do it just for the money? But he did get the surgeons to admit that they were feeding a superficial lifestyle, designed to make normal people feel insecure about their appearance.
Then there was a woman who's boyfriend had left her, she had plastic surgery and he came back to her! Wow, how romantic. Then when they were marking her up like a cow at the butchers Louis said, 'dont you feel objectified?' That's what offends me most about plastic surgery, that you just become a piece of meat, to be cut and prodded.
Louis also met two men who had pec implants and both ended up looking like they had boobs! And bicep implants! It's just cheating. I really feel it's cheating. (Oh and they had plastic death-masks)
Ultimately I think surgery, like tattoos is a slippery slope and people can get hooked. But unlike tattoos, you can actually die from surgery. So will we see Louis with a perfect little button nose on the future? How freaky would that be?
7 comments:
That woman with the boyfriend was such a loser. I wish that life coach (or whatever that plastic-looking money-sucker she was employing was) had instructed her to tell the dude: "You really think now that I look this hot I'm going to be with YOU of all people?" What did we get instead? Some average-looking guy rubbing his hands in glee. Yuck.
god bless america. She didn't look happy in her new body, did she?
Those men were scary looking, and the women not much better. There is NO WAY that receptionist was 26!
As a tattoo collector who has no intention of giving up, I can of course see parallels with plastic surgery. But the term "slippery slope" doesn't sit well with me. There seems to be an implication that the end result is somehow bad or worse than it should be, while those who modify their bodies feel they are improving them. So it's a subjective thing -- a fine line, perhaps, that is drawn according to one's own beliefs.
I think there should be some sort of a world negotiation and the half of humanity who think this sort of thing is fine should be given one of the continents and the rest of us take a different one and cheerio.
asterisk & ossian. You're both right.
That's very diplomatic!
what is the name of the song at the end of the programme when theroux embraces the womens new look?
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