Beauty and the Geek: Why This Show is More Than Just Cheesy Reality TV

Beauty and the Geek. I admit it is not the best show on TV, but for reality fans, it is quite intriguing! I read all related articles thus far available on AC, and they were either summaries or negative critiques. I feel the show needs someone to point out what makes it good, and also what could make it much better.

What makes it good is that for those of us who really do enjoy watching people experience something that truly changes their lives for the better, then this is an excellent show to watch. No matter how much might be staged or scripted, it doesn't take much effort for intelligent viewers to actually see that simply having geeks and beauties spend time with each other and interacting daily is actually life-changing for most of the show's contestants. What can't be staged is the actual tolerance and even friendships that seem to develop. By simply watching the contestants as the show progresses, we can see that both groups learn to be more comfortable with each other and to appreciate qualities in each other that are not evident upon a mere glance.

I, personally, have much experience with geeks. I teach gifted students, and some of them, not all, mind you, are very geeky in their absorption with various academic or obsessive areas of interest and their lack of social skills is painfully obvious. I KNOW that much of society is intolerant of these intellectual creatures, and many feel threatened and have no desire to get to know them. It's a paradox of sorts: we expect so much of them because of their intelligence, yet it is their intelligence that causes them to think so deeply at times or to become obsessed with some academic endeavor that they don't seem to pick up on the social nuances and rules of interaction that are expected.

Our society has grown more tolerant in many ways over the decades. Look at how gays are not only tolerated but sought after in the entertainment field. Much of our sympathetic society tends to reach out to mentally retarded individuals. We try to be tolerant of their gaffes and lack of social skills, and we excuse them for any errors they might make because we know that they cannot help how they are.