I remember this episode of “The Simpsons” in which Homer gets sent to the electric chair. Just before the executioner throws the switch on the electric chair, however, an announcer pops out and tells Homer and his family that the whole thing – the murder, the trial, the conviction – was all a setup for a new FOX reality show from the creators of “No Pants Island” and “Fart Date,” two other shows that thankfully only exist in the Simpsons’ surreally yellow universe.
It’s a pretty good joke. Reality shows clogging up airwaves nowadays seem based on anything but what’s real. Then I watched the commercials for the new series “Mr. Personality” – a shameful excuse for entertainment aired on the very network that parodied reality shows about one year ago with the airing of that particular “Simpsons” episode.
For those unable to absorb the cultural latrine that is FOX’s weekday lineup, “Mr. Personality” follows an attractive single woman as she dates 20 bachelors in hopes of finding a match. The gimmick here is the brightly colored foam masks that hide the bachelors’ faces. Thus, the woman must chose a mate from this lineup of Teletubby-like visages solely on his sense of humor, his thoughtfulness, and his honesty. You know, those things women would otherwise ignore if men weren’t so disguised.
At the surface, “Mr. Personality” seems like a nifty way to erase the external prejudices that overemphasize appearances in dating. But peel away the neon orange mask and realize “Mr. Personality” is a tasteless, gawking glance into real people’s personal lives. The buildup of the show rests on whether the stunning bachelorette will freak out when the man of her dreams turns out to be a Michael Moore instead of a Roger Moore. The woman, likely no more superficial than any other 20-something woman, could easily come off as shallow if she’s even slightly disappointed with her choice. The masked suitors, meanwhile, would be mere victims of a looks-based society and the nitpicking woman whose affections they are trying to win.
This distinctly misogynistic programming concept permeated FOX’s last reality show triumph as well. “Joe Millionaire” also portrayed its male element innocently. Cro-magnon Evan Marriott seemed like a nice guy forced by the show to lie to his potential wives. America deemed him dumb but harmless, but the women competing to become Mrs. Millionaire got labeled as vicious gold-diggers. Whether they deserved that title is debatable, but their association with the show clearly created a negative public image for themselves.
Furthermore, FOX’s choice for the host of “Mr. Personality” only compounds the network’s apparent desire to depict actual women in the most negative light possible. Monica Lewinsky, the Oval Office seductress whose last name became synonymous with oral sex, is the talking head whose narrates the exciting twists of the show. Did Suzanne Somers have some prior engagement? One must certainly ask why a woman with no qualifications as a spokesperson other than the most scandalously sexual should host a show primarily watched by women.
“Mr. Personality” debuts Monday, April 21 at 9 p.m. on FOX. Watch if you don’t care how derogatory a message about women FOX beams into your brain. Personally, I would rather watch “Fart Date.”
Drew Mackie is the Daily Nexus county editor.
