TELEVISION: Beauty and the Geek – Beneath the Surface

by Randall Allen Dunn

 

I miss my favorite reality show, “Beauty and the Geek”. A bunch of gorgeous girls partner with a bunch of nerdy guys and actually learn from each other. Performing challenges that take them way out of their comfort zones, they discover a lot about themselves and about the group of people they’ve never been a part of.

The most revealing challenge required the women of Season 2 to go to a bar and mingle, something they were very comfortable doing. The catch was, before they went, they each received a “make-under”. By the time they were meeting people at the bar, every woman had a facial flaw such as a fake wart or large nose, and were wearing ugly outdated clothes. The winner would be the one who convinced the most men to buy her a drink.

They tried their best, but soon discovered how much they depended on their beauty to win people over. In the end, most of them scored very few drinks. The women returned home, devastated.

At the mansion where the contestants stayed, the nerdy guys showed little sympathy. “Aww, and how did that make you guys feel?” they joked, having faced such callous rejection their entire lives.

However, they changed their tune when they saw how sullen and hurt the women were. The guys told them they didn’t want them to feel bad, and tried to cheer them up.

For the women, it was a harsh revelation. Bad enough to learn firsthand how nerds are dismissed for their appearance and to realize how they might have treated people that same way. Even worse to discover that many people see them as little more than a pretty face. To be confronted with other people’s superficial behavior and to realize how superficial they might also have been had to feel like being slapped twice.

Rough as it was, it was good that the women got to experience that. Not so that they could suffer the rejection that others feel. But so they could mature in their view of themselves and others.

In the end, they can choose to be more than just pretty faces. The purpose of the show, dubbed a “social experiment”, was to inspire growth and change. Even if other people remain superficial, we can all choose to look beneath the surface. To see ourselves as we really are. How we look on the outside can win people over for a while, but the person beneath the surface is the one who attracts people over the long haul. For a long-term friendship, people need our kindness, compassion, integrity, sense of humor, loyalty and personal dignity.

The winning couple at the end of each season is told, “You have proven that you’re more than just a Beauty and a Geek.”

Don’t let others label you by what they see on the surface. You’re more than that.

 

How do you choose to see beneath the surface of yourself and others?

 

Link here to watch the episode: Beauty and the Geek, Season 2: Episode 6!