Beauty and the Geek: Why This Show is More Than Just Cheesy Reality TV

Beauty and the Geek. I admit it is not the best show on TV, but for reality fans, it is quite intriguing! I read all related articles thus far available on AC, and they were either summaries or negative critiques. I feel the show needs someone to point out what makes it good, and also what could make it much better.

What makes it good is that for those of us who really do enjoy watching people experience something that truly changes their lives for the better, then this is an excellent show to watch. No matter how much might be staged or scripted, it doesn't take much effort for intelligent viewers to actually see that simply having geeks and beauties spend time with each other and interacting daily is actually life-changing for most of the show's contestants. What can't be staged is the actual tolerance and even friendships that seem to develop. By simply watching the contestants as the show progresses, we can see that both groups learn to be more comfortable with each other and to appreciate qualities in each other that are not evident upon a mere glance.

I, personally, have much experience with geeks. I teach gifted students, and some of them, not all, mind you, are very geeky in their absorption with various academic or obsessive areas of interest and their lack of social skills is painfully obvious. I KNOW that much of society is intolerant of these intellectual creatures, and many feel threatened and have no desire to get to know them. It's a paradox of sorts: we expect so much of them because of their intelligence, yet it is their intelligence that causes them to think so deeply at times or to become obsessed with some academic endeavor that they don't seem to pick up on the social nuances and rules of interaction that are expected.

Our society has grown more tolerant in many ways over the decades. Look at how gays are not only tolerated but sought after in the entertainment field. Much of our sympathetic society tends to reach out to mentally retarded individuals. We try to be tolerant of their gaffes and lack of social skills, and we excuse them for any errors they might make because we know that they cannot help how they are.

However, most find similar social inabilities to be inexcusable in geeks. Some feel that if they are soooooo intelligent, then they should know how to act! How untrue. Geeks often have some of the very worst social skills out there. I have certification in gifted education, and one of the first things taught in this field is that the farther from the norm (average IQ) a person is in EITHER direction, low or high, the harder it is to interact well in society. Geeks become so absorbed in their world of their interests that they simply are unaware of what is going on around them or what is required in certain social situations. They are just as clueless in many ways as their counterparts on the other end of the intelligence spectrum. Yes, I know that unlike those who function at a lower level of intelligence, at least a geeky type does have the ABILITY to acquire this knowledge of how to interact smoothly with others. However, they have something else that is deeply ingrained in their personalities that often prevents them from even being aware of their short-comings in this area. "If you don't know or think that you are weird, then how can you fix your being weird??" It is as if they have "attention deficit syndrome" when it comes to being easily able to pick up on social signals which dictate expected behavior.

Why are we so intolerant of smart people? We admire gifted athletes. Why then do people have such a hard time admiring the geeks and geniuses of our society? Why are they so much more threatening to some? Alas, I digress.

Beauty and the Geek gives the viewers a chance to see the other sides of these two stereotyped and often persecuted social groups. Labeled as shallow air-heads, some of the beauties are actually very compassionate and caring and generous. Some of the geeks are kind and gentle souls with wonderful senses of humor. Both groups contain people worth knowing. We learn from them, and they learn from each other. It's all good, and I think the show is underappreciated by people who make assumptions before they even watch an episode. The very title of the show indicates a certain quality of "cheesiness" and probably turns away many potential viewers, and that is a shame.

If you are a person who is interested in psychology and social experiments, this show is one of the best. It is, however, not without some badly needed areas of improvement, in my opinion. First, since one of the most gratifying things about the show is watching the contestants change for the better, I feel that kicking couples off the show each week is detrimental . Leave them ALL on the show. There can be only 2 winners, but leave all of the contestants on the show to keep learning, changing, and growing.

I also think the method of testing contestants' knowledge is unfair. The questions are not of equal difficulty, and too much is left to chance as to who gets what question. Why can't they ALL take a written quiz on all the questions? We don't have to see that part in depth, but we could see the results. It would be a much more accurate account of who is really learning and who isn't. Scores could be accumulative so that no one has to leave the show. Whoever had the highest accumulated score would win at the end of the season. This would give more opportunity for more change for all contestants.

I also don't think winners should be picked as a couple. How about the beauty who learns and changes the most and the geek who learns and changes the most as the final two winners???

One of my favorite episodes included the contestants picking out clothes for each other and having to model them. Some of these men had never selected clothing for a woman and knew nothing about sizes or styles. That would be a hard challenge for many men, much less these puzzled geeks. This is one of the most enjoyable episodes to watch, along with the geek makeover episode.

All in all, the show really is fascinating to watch for reality TV fans and then some. If given a chance, the show will capture viewers' attention and deliver every time in both entertainment value and in satisfying that innate need we all have which craves a happy ending.

Beauty and the Geek. I admit it is not the best show on TV, but for reality fans, it is quite intriguing! I read all related articles thus far available on AC, and they were either summaries or negative critiques. I feel the show needs someone to point out what makes it good, and also what could make it much better.

What makes it good is that for those of us who really do enjoy watching people experience something that truly changes their lives for the better, then this is an excellent show to watch. No matter how much might be staged or scripted, it doesn't take much effort for intelligent viewers to actually see that simply having geeks and beauties spend time with each other and interacting daily is actually life-changing for most of the show's contestants. What can't be staged is the actual tolerance and even friendships that seem to develop. By simply watching the contestants as the show progresses, we can see that both groups learn to be more comfortable with each other and to appreciate qualities in each other that are not evident upon a mere glance.

I, personally, have much experience with geeks. I teach gifted students, and some of them, not all, mind you, are very geeky in their absorption with various academic or obsessive areas of interest and their lack of social skills is painfully obvious. I KNOW that much of society is intolerant of these intellectual creatures, and many feel threatened and have no desire to get to know them. It's a paradox of sorts: we expect so much of them because of their intelligence, yet it is their intelligence that causes them to think so deeply at times or to become obsessed with some academic endeavor that they don't seem to pick up on the social nuances and rules of interaction that are expected.

Our society has grown more tolerant in many ways over the decades. Look at how gays are not only tolerated but sought after in the entertainment field. Much of our sympathetic society tends to reach out to mentally retarded individuals. We try to be tolerant of their gaffes and lack of social skills, and we excuse them for any errors they might make because we know that they cannot help how they are.

However, most find similar social inabilities to be inexcusable in geeks. Some feel that if they are soooooo intelligent, then they should know how to act! How untrue. Geeks often have some of the very worst social skills out there. I have certification in gifted education, and one of the first things taught in this field is that the farther from the norm (average IQ) a person is in EITHER direction, low or high, the harder it is to interact well in society. Geeks become so absorbed in their world of their interests that they simply are unaware of what is going on around them or what is required in certain social situations. They are just as clueless in many ways as their counterparts on the other end of the intelligence spectrum. Yes, I know that unlike those who function at a lower level of intelligence, at least a geeky type does have the ABILITY to acquire this knowledge of how to interact smoothly with others. However, they have something else that is deeply ingrained in their personalities that often prevents them from even being aware of their short-comings in this area. "If you don't know or think that you are weird, then how can you fix your being weird??" It is as if they have "attention deficit syndrome" when it comes to being easily able to pick up on social signals which dictate expected behavior.

Why are we so intolerant of smart people? We admire gifted athletes. Why then do people have such a hard time admiring the geeks and geniuses of our society? Why are they so much more threatening to some? Alas, I digress.

Beauty and the Geek gives the viewers a chance to see the other sides of these two stereotyped and often persecuted social groups. Labeled as shallow air-heads, some of the beauties are actually very compassionate and caring and generous. Some of the geeks are kind and gentle souls with wonderful senses of humor. Both groups contain people worth knowing. We learn from them, and they learn from each other. It's all good, and I think the show is underappreciated by people who make assumptions before they even watch an episode. The very title of the show indicates a certain quality of "cheesiness" and probably turns away many potential viewers, and that is a shame.

If you are a person who is interested in psychology and social experiments, this show is one of the best. It is, however, not without some badly needed areas of improvement, in my opinion. First, since one of the most gratifying things about the show is watching the contestants change for the better, I feel that kicking couples off the show each week is detrimental . Leave them ALL on the show. There can be only 2 winners, but leave all of the contestants on the show to keep learning, changing, and growing.

I also think the method of testing contestants' knowledge is unfair. The questions are not of equal difficulty, and too much is left to chance as to who gets what question. Why can't they ALL take a written quiz on all the questions? We don't have to see that part in depth, but we could see the results. It would be a much more accurate account of who is really learning and who isn't. Scores could be accumulative so that no one has to leave the show. Whoever had the highest accumulated score would win at the end of the season. This would give more opportunity for more change for all contestants.

I also don't think winners should be picked as a couple. How about the beauty who learns and changes the most and the geek who learns and changes the most as the final two winners???

One of my favorite episodes included the contestants picking out clothes for each other and having to model them. Some of these men had never selected clothing for a woman and knew nothing about sizes or styles. That would be a hard challenge for many men, much less these puzzled geeks. This is one of the most enjoyable episodes to watch, along with the geek makeover episode.

All in all, the show really is fascinating to watch for reality TV fans and then some. If given a chance, the show will capture viewers' attention and deliver every time in both entertainment value and in satisfying that innate need we all have which craves a happy ending.