Hello, my name is Jaunthie, and I'm...
Feb. 27th, 2006 01:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jaunthie...oh.
Can I say this? It's so...unexpected.
In some ways it's downright embarrassing.
But apparently I'm not alone, and it's true, so I might as well admit it:
I'm actually watching and enjoying a "reality-tv" type series. And I HATE reality-tv shows. Well, except this one.
And it's about fashion designers competing against each other, of all things.
Yes, it's true: I've discovered Project Runway, courtesy of Bravo's incessant re-running of episodes combined with the fact that Bravo was one of the Olympic channels. My mother-in-law and I browsed to Bravo the other weekend, and we wound up watching in fascination as this group of designers each tried to create a garden-party dress out of plant materials in the space of 24 hours. And I was caught.
Why? Why this show? I've been wondering about that. In part I think it's because it's about creative people trying to make things, which I can relate to. In part I think it's because despite the fact that this is a competition, most of the designers wind up helping each other out on a fairly regular basis (from cracking up the rest of the room with jokes or impersonations or outrageous truth-or-dare questions, to by providing a few words of encouragement or sympathy or a pick-me-up talk to a fellow competitor who's down in the dumps, to actually helping out another designer by providing sewing help or machine-fixing or whatever). One of the things I dislike about the few glimpses of other reality-tv shows I've seen is how universally nasty the competitors are to each other, and mostly that hasn't been the case in the episodes I've seen.
In part it's because the people are interesting, and the process of creating all these various garments is interesting. In part it's because the people running the show seem by and large pretty humane; yes, there are crazy deadlines and bizarre challenges, but they make everyone take meal breaks and knock off work by midnight; no all-nighters here. Plus it's mostly sewing, not exactly a risk-to-life-and-limb activity. I don't have to feel guilty for enjoying watching it, because it's not like people are actually risking their lives or doing something incredibly disgusting or selling out their best buddies just for the sole purpose of getting ahead of the competition and/or the entertainment of the audience.
And in part I suspect that it's at least in part because it's not very "real" to me; it's fashion design, and I live in a part of the world where I can wear jeans to work every day if I want. High fashion? It's as much a fantasy to me as elves and hobbits and space aliens and the global conspiracy of the Girl Scouts to take over the world. Maybe even more; does Nicky Hilton seem real to you? I didn't think so. Designing a dress for her is no more weird a concept to me than designing a dress for an elf.
And apparently I'm not alone in my appreciation (I won't call it addiction, I could not watch the season finale if I had to): Project Runway's highest ratings apparently come from this region. Good to know that if I'm insane, at least I'm in the right part of the country for it.
Gods, I'm still so embarrassed. Oh well, a little humility is good for me.
Can I say this? It's so...unexpected.
In some ways it's downright embarrassing.
But apparently I'm not alone, and it's true, so I might as well admit it:
I'm actually watching and enjoying a "reality-tv" type series. And I HATE reality-tv shows. Well, except this one.
And it's about fashion designers competing against each other, of all things.
Yes, it's true: I've discovered Project Runway, courtesy of Bravo's incessant re-running of episodes combined with the fact that Bravo was one of the Olympic channels. My mother-in-law and I browsed to Bravo the other weekend, and we wound up watching in fascination as this group of designers each tried to create a garden-party dress out of plant materials in the space of 24 hours. And I was caught.
Why? Why this show? I've been wondering about that. In part I think it's because it's about creative people trying to make things, which I can relate to. In part I think it's because despite the fact that this is a competition, most of the designers wind up helping each other out on a fairly regular basis (from cracking up the rest of the room with jokes or impersonations or outrageous truth-or-dare questions, to by providing a few words of encouragement or sympathy or a pick-me-up talk to a fellow competitor who's down in the dumps, to actually helping out another designer by providing sewing help or machine-fixing or whatever). One of the things I dislike about the few glimpses of other reality-tv shows I've seen is how universally nasty the competitors are to each other, and mostly that hasn't been the case in the episodes I've seen.
In part it's because the people are interesting, and the process of creating all these various garments is interesting. In part it's because the people running the show seem by and large pretty humane; yes, there are crazy deadlines and bizarre challenges, but they make everyone take meal breaks and knock off work by midnight; no all-nighters here. Plus it's mostly sewing, not exactly a risk-to-life-and-limb activity. I don't have to feel guilty for enjoying watching it, because it's not like people are actually risking their lives or doing something incredibly disgusting or selling out their best buddies just for the sole purpose of getting ahead of the competition and/or the entertainment of the audience.
And in part I suspect that it's at least in part because it's not very "real" to me; it's fashion design, and I live in a part of the world where I can wear jeans to work every day if I want. High fashion? It's as much a fantasy to me as elves and hobbits and space aliens and the global conspiracy of the Girl Scouts to take over the world. Maybe even more; does Nicky Hilton seem real to you? I didn't think so. Designing a dress for her is no more weird a concept to me than designing a dress for an elf.
And apparently I'm not alone in my appreciation (I won't call it addiction, I could not watch the season finale if I had to): Project Runway's highest ratings apparently come from this region. Good to know that if I'm insane, at least I'm in the right part of the country for it.
Gods, I'm still so embarrassed. Oh well, a little humility is good for me.
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no subject
Date: 2006-02-27 11:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-28 02:59 am (UTC)Completely random aside: happened to catch the line "Good thing we're hot chicks with superpowers" this morning. And it made me laugh. Again.