That title says “strange,” by the way. Pronounced “strahnj.”

Anyway. This past Tuesday, I was watching The Biggest Loser. Let me preface this by saying that I don’t usually watch this show, so this is a little new to a Jew. But it’s left me thinking…

All these reality shows (which - don’t get me wrong - I love) are based on one simple premise: Huge Life Changes. Every contestant, winner or loser, says the sang thing: “This was a life-changing experience! I’ve learned so much about myself! My life is finally where I want it to be!”

Think about it - that’s true for every show. The Bachelor, ANTM, The Biggest Loser, American Idol. Even fucking What Not to Wear brings bitches to tears about how they hate themselves, and that’s why they’ve been dressing Ren Fair for all these years.

But is it just me, or is this a little absurd? The obsession with things always needing to be better, more beautiful, more perfect than they already are. So, something about The Biggest Loser really made me think: why are we all so into these “things can be perfect if only…” messages?

If only I were thinner, if only I were a top model, if only I figured out how to dress like everyone else. Of course, for some folks on TBL it’s a health issue, and I know that. But at a certain point - like when a TBL contestant goes and does a speaking engagement to a bunch of healthy looking white women (yes, ALL white) and gets a standing ovation - it becomes about something else. Something sort of like…manufactured hope.

Now, don’t get me wrong - hope, and the desire to improve your life, are both good things. But the flip side comes when we start to hear so much of these self-improvement messages that we begin to think that we’re not good enough unless we acheive x, y and z. And it creates this crazy back and forth, that goes a little something like this:

Monday: I CAN make my life better in one fell swoop! Because I DESERVE it!

Tuesday: I ate a twinkie. I am a failure.

And so on, and so on. So while I’m sure it will never happen, cause it doesn’t make for good programming that people like me (sigh) watch, I’d be excited for a show that embraced the following mindset:

My life might be a little bit cray right now, and I will try to make it less so. But in the meantime, give me that fucking delicious twinkie, and let me enjoy my day.