Katie Weiskotten October 8th, 2009
English - Candide Final Project Satirical Essay
English - Candide Final Project Satirical Essay
My Super Sweet 16
If you ever are in the mood to watch a completely unrealistic show that makes you ashamed of your own generation, "My Super Sweet 16" is the show to watch. This show is comprised of very rich 15 year-olds having a huge party for their 16th birthday. Their parents pay thousands, if not millions, of dollars for their teen's party. Expensive dresses, jewelry, cars, and famous performers are paid for for this one special teen, and MTV videotapes the journey from planning to stress-induced-meltdowns to the actual party. This is one of the many "makes-you-want-to-punch-your-television" shows. It is one of the most entertaining and amusing shows on T.V., though, mostly because of how oblivious these kids are to how spoiled and obnoxious they really are.
As the "My Super Sweet 16" website says, "these kids expect and will only accept the absolute best." This is absolutely true. The teens choose where they want to have their party, most of the time a nightclub of some-sort, and then choose a theme and decorations for the party. They then proceed to go on shopping trips with either their mom and jealous younger sister, or gaggle of friends to find the "perfect dress" for the "best party of all time." What usually follows is the same in every single episode that I have ever watched of this show, only with different teens, obviously. The star has trouble finding her dress and has a mental-breakdown, and then continues to find "the one." Expensive jewelry is then added to the outfit. Next, the party host hands out invitations, that are expected to be covered in fuzz or diamonds, to a crowd as big as one would see at a concert. People wait and wait for their invite, and if they aren't invited, they are devastated. The teen is happy that people he/she doesn't like and didn't invite would die to have one of his/her invitations, and the viewer can see they love having power of people. The teen proceeds to go "car-shopping" with their father, who reluctantly says something along the lines of, "This one is too expensive." Then their son or daughter begs and pouts for the rest of the trip. Usually, the last clip of this sequence is the father saying, "I'll have to think about it," which every person who has ever watched this show knows means "yes." The rest of the show is always predictable. Some might wonder why people continue to watch the same thing over and over, and why the show is not off the air. But there are many reasons why this show has not been cancelled. As much as I strongly dislike this show, there are many amusing things about it that make me want to just sit back and laugh, and also criticize.
This shows makes me skeptical of how intelligent my generation is, really. The teens on this show have no respect for their parents, and a lot of them have complete control over their parents. I remember watching on one episode, when a girl went dress shopping with her mom, she told her mother to "sit down and shut up." The mother listened and sat down. This shows how rude and disrespectful some teenagers are today. In another episode, when the parents of one girl got her a Mercedes Benz, she started crying and complaining that it wasn't the color she wanted. In mostly every show, famous performers are paid almost a million dollars to perform one song or to sing Happy Birthday, which is a completely unreasonable amount of money to pay someone, no matter who they are. I'm not sure if MTV's purpose for this show is actually serious, showing people what sweet 16 birthday parties are like in a serious way, or if they are mocking these teenagers and their obnoxious ways. I believe they are mocking them, because of the way they portray them. Which is good, because everything in these situations is ridiculous. It makes the viewer happy that they're not that conceited and spoiled, even if they don't have as much money. In my opinion, 15-16 year olds shouldn't be having this big of a party, even if their parents can afford it, anyways. It just gives them more reason to become brats and think that is okay.
"My Super Sweet 16" is a perfect example of how spoiled our generation has become. Them acting this way, being a perfect example of the "teenage" stereotype, and a T.V. station documenting it is beyond me. Why people tune in, including me, is also a confusing concept to grasp. Teens who have huge parties like these and act the way they do are considered "spoiled, snobby, rude, and disrespectful." I agree with this completely, because I would never act this way, and neither would my friends. The sad thing is, it seems unrealistic, but these shows are unscripted and the teens are just as obnoxious as they appear on the show. It might seem incomprehensible, but they are not acting. Which, in the end, makes the show even more addicting.
