EDITORIAL: All people created equal?
"All men are created equal"
This famous saying adorns the preamble of our constitution, but is it right? The more politically correct statement might be "All people are created equal." We live in a world where we boast of technological and economic advances like mankind has never seen before, but we still hold on to ideals that belong somewhere in the past. For all our advancements we have made, it seems we cannot advance ourselves, and whose fault is it?
We live in a time when the most popular television show in the world is Baywatch. Is this show number one because of its outstanding writing and direction? Could it be this show is number one because of the award winning acting of its cast? Get Real! Baywatch is the number one show for one big reason: Its cast shows more skin than the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. This show is popular because that is what people like.
This year at the Emmys, the event honoring television’s best of the best, one of the nominated actresses was Calista Flockhart. Calista is the star of FOX’s Ally McBeal and has graced the cover of TV guide. She was so thin she wore a dress that was a size one. HBO’s new hit "Sex and The City" stars Sarah Jessica Parker as a newspaper columnist who writes about sex. Sarah looks to weigh about a hundred pounds and her collarbones stick out like she hasn’t eaten in a month.
The images being sent to us are of young, beautiful, skinny, almost unhealthy looking women, and we are simply expected to acknowledge this, as the new way to look. (See "Funny Fotos Sends a Dangerous Message, page 4.)
We should start to accept ourselves as we are. No one is perfect and never will be. The way that viewers rush out and let actresses and corporations determine the way we ought to look is ridiculous. The only reason "the Look" is always changing is because companies are getting rich off of us. We run out and buy whatever the advertisers tell us to, and think we are that much better for having done it.
We know what you are thinking. We do watch a lot of TV and enjoy most of it. Yes, We do buy what the advertisers spew out at us, most of the time. But what we don’t do is go out and buy something because the ad tells us we will look and feel better. Unless we appreciate ourselves and what we are, we will never be happy.
The Emmys were a special night for one very special woman. Karen Manheim won for best supporting actress. Karen accepted the role originally written for a man and she acted exceptionally. The most interesting thing is that Karen is obese, and in her acceptance speech she said that this award was for "all the fat girls." We sat and could not feel anything but happy for this woman. Here was a woman who was happy with herself, she had succeeded in Hollywood without a super model’s body, and this was her night. We sat and watched her laugh and almost cry, and thought why can’t we be more like her?
Oct. 8, 1998 the Apache