Lifestyle Network. The host, Wanda Christensen, says she used to be “addicted
and alone.” And now, she hosts a show that gives spa, makeup and wardrobe
makeovers to people who’ve survived molestation, addiction, prison, severe
illness and homelessness, amongst other ugly realities.
“I felt ugly inside. So it didn’t really
matter what I looked like outside.”
“Sara
had a very tough life, so we wanted to work with that… so we put her in sharp
black pants…”
“You’re not supposed to
cry, girlfriend.”
It seems inane. A review on the Village Voice says,
“…A Second
Look implies that changes in appearance can
percolate down to your soul, washing away even the most ingrained social and
emotional problems. Not only can you judge a book by the cover, but the cover
changes the book.” I think it’s too sweeping a denouncement. The show makes over
women (and the occasional man) who have already initiated changes in their
lives; it’s just that their outside hasn’t managed to catch up with the inside.
It’s a strange deal. You feel rotten inside, so you don’t care about what you
wear or how unkempt you look, and when you feel better about yourself inside,
you look in the mirror and feel just a little bit worse because you don’t look
as good as you think you should.
You
could also look absolutely stunning and yet have no self-worth. High-cheekboned,
designer-clad celebrities checking themselves in and out of rehab don’t even
make it to the headlines of entertainment talk shows anymore.