Extreme Makeover Culture — Project for an Ideal Human Being and a Perfect Life

Abstract

The extreme makeover culture is a consequence of global changes and a market appetite for ever greater profits. The question arises nevertheless, as to whether this is a culture which is tending to homogenize societal groups, their lifestyles, the manner in which they spend their free time, their way of eating, furnishing and decorating the interiors of their homes in accordance with the tastes of others — specialists. The extreme makeover culture can be treated as a culture of optimism, realizing the desire for freedom and equality. It can be treated as a culture of pessimism, condemning various spheres of human life to homogenization and the processes of aesthetics as dictated by the canons of the experts. The idea of the extreme makeover originated in the Unites States, where the maintenance of an appropriately attractive appearance and a youthful life style is a passport to obtaining a better job, and the good aesthetics of ones milieu is a cultural prerequisite. The first transmission of the TV-program Extreme Makeover was in 2002. It quickly became a media success, which initiated the production of spin-offs. The basic themes and construction of these programs are essentially identical, however there are some minor differences. The author recognizes and describes them.