Nov 22 2008
Friday Night Is Girl’s Night With Crusoe and What Not to Wear
What was I just saying last week? Something about how you have to love a show that starts out with Philip Winchester with his shirt off? Well, on this week’s Crusoe we got treated to a lovingly long beginning shot of his body from toe to shirtless chest to handsome face. Obviously NBC is catering to the ladies. Thank you, NBC. Ahem.
And thank you also to treating us with more of the lovely Sean Bean as Daddy Crusoe. There’s a great shot in the episode where both Philip and Sean are facing each other, profiles backlit by sun from the window, and there really is a good resemblance there. I love casting decisions that make sense, unlike casting Stellan Skarsgård as Will Turner’s (Orlando Bloom) “spitting image” father in Pirates of the Caribbean. But that’s a gripe for another day. We were talking about the awesome Sean Bean turning up on my TV screen, along with the delightfully devious Sam Neill. They also threw in some sexual tension this week with Olivia the pretending-to-be-a-boy pirate, but it seems that any romance Crusoe might engage in will be coupled with angst for the wife and family he’s left behind.
For an added treat, watch Philip Winchester take you all on a trip around the well-equipped treehouse. He’s like the MacGyver of the jungle…or maybe James Bond…
I have to admit I’m a little disappointed he doesn’t actually have a British accent. But never mind, Sean Bean does.
Following the eye candy on Crusoe, it’s time to jump over to TLC and watch our favorite makeover stylist geniuses, Stacy London and Clinton Kelly on What Not to Wear. They’ve been doing recap shows the last couple of weeks, which I’m normally not that big a fan of, but the Stacy and Clinton commentary can be a lot of fun. 
Tonight’s show revealed some of the common themes that tie these women together–hiding in baggy clothes, wearing unflattering clothing because “it’s comfortable”, etc. The most disturbing trend, however, is the utter denial of self. So many of the women chosen are examples of societal pressure on women to be nurturers and caregivers above all, and that every moment of life and every penny should be spent on others rather than on oneself.
Taking care of your family and helping others are noble and worthy efforts, but when a woman breaks down in tears because she can’t bear to spend a few hundred dollars of someone else’s money on herself–once in a lifetime–the scales have tipped too far to the other side. What kind of a message does it send to kids when they have all the latest, most expensive clothes on and their mom is next to them in 20 year old mismatched rags? Mom is a person, too, and deserves some nice things of her own. I hope women watch What Not to Wear and learn from it, to see that it’s all right to have a little self-respect and indulge once in awhile.
People often think of What Not to Wear as just some fluffy fashion show. But it’s startling how deconstructing someone’s wardrobe can reveal more about them than probably months of therapy would. Clothes can act as armor, as costume, as an expression of personality or as a personality substitute. They also can act as memory, of nostalgia for the past, for people or places. Take away the clothing and you threaten to take away those memories. So that fluffy fashion show often turns into a tumultuous voyage of self-discovery, and that’s why women watch it.
Tune in to NBC on Fridays at 9pm Eastern/8pm Central for Crusoe. Watch What Not to Wear’s repeat of Friday’s new episode at 11/10c on TLC.
(Photo of Stacy London and Clinton Kelly, c2007 Brian Doben, TLC.)
