I am not too gung-ho about make-over programs but some of them I do like (like TLC’s “What not to wear”). There is also “10 years younger” which I’m not much into because the anchor of the show (who’s a young man) is pretty cruel, when he is pretending to be sympathetic. I know nicey-nice doen’t make the ratings go up, but really we are human, so let’s try and be kind even when verbally shredding someone’s look. Except ofcourse when you’re doing movie reviews (like me) and then you can shred to your heart’s content.
Anyway, “10 years younger” is on one day, because it followed “What not to wear” and I am too lazy to switch off the TV (the remote’s too far away – it’s actually on top of the TV – such intelligence !). And I’m not really looking, just subliminally hearing, because I’m working on the laptop (Wireless networking really is one of the wonders of the modern world !). But I hear the word “India” and my ears perk up. And then I pay attention.
What’s happenening is that in the program, they’re doing 24-hour makeovers on random people off the street, and trying to make them look 10 years younger than they actually are (that’s the theme of the show). So, the anchor (this nasty man I was talking about) is roaming around looking for people who need “help”, and he comes across this young woman. She’s dressed in very loose capris, a tank-top and flip-flops on her feet, and kind of looks gaunt and tired. So he stops her and guesses her age. Apparently he’s a mile off because she gasps – she’s much younger. She also agrees to be “made over”.
Well. in the initial interview part, he looks at her earlier photos (where she’s much prettier) and asks her why she’s let herself go, so to speak. And she says, I went to India and got really, really sick – like for a month. With malaria. The anchor screws up his nose. They don’t say anything but you can tell what they are thinking. Then he asks her how she got it – did she eat something that make her sick? To this her reply is, that she thinks pretty much everything she ate in India, probably made her sick.
OK, I can sort of undeestand how she feels – how would I feel if I went on a vacation to another country and there got sick really badly ? Not too warmly, I’m sure. But to see a picture of India baldly painted on TV, as a veritable hell-hole where esoteric diseases like malaria still lurk, is not pleasant. And really what can you say ?
Americans probably only confront diseases like malaria and the plague when they travel abroad. And India does have poor hygeine, and heallth conditions. There’s dirt, and grime and poverty. But we accept this, because we have become inured to it. But for a tourist who comes to India, with visions of seeing incredible India, poverty, lack of infrastructure and general filth are very big issues ( you have to talk to some of them to find out).
For the tourist trade, all those “Incredible India” ads on TV are nullified by word-of-mouth, or word-of-mouth-on-national-television testimonials by people who’ve been to India. Then, all the “incredibleness”, and India is incredible – it is indeed beautiful, and colorful and wonderful to see, doesn’t help.
