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Media Studies – Makeover Shows

What is a “makeover” show?
A makeover show is a television programme where a certain aspect of a person or family’s life is changed and “made over” into something else. Makeover shows grew from segments of talk shows into their own programmes in the recent years, and have been growing in popularity ever since.

There are many different sub-genres of makeover shows;

* Home (Changing Rooms)
* Garden (Ground Force)
* Fashion (Queer Eye For The Straight Guy) (ZOMG) (P.S. this isn't in the report)
* Lifestyle (The Good Food Show)
* Physical image (What Not To Wear)
* Cars (Pimp My Ride)
* Relationships (Average Joe)
* Family lifestyle (Supernanny)
* Money (Bank Of Mum & Dad)

Makeover shows tend to be more popular with females over males, with over a third of British housewives admitting they watch them in some way. Thanks to this fact, many makeover and lifestyle programmes are aired during the daytime, and on more female-oriented channels like Living TV. It is the fastest-growing genre in television at the moment, and has spawned lots of spin-offs and copies.

A lot of the appeal of these shows comes from the characters and people in them. Many viewers can relate to the situations the people on these shows are in, which makes it more tempting to see what the final result of the show is. Another reason these shows are so popular is because there are so many of them. They are generally cheap for companies to make, since there are only a handful of people on the set, and not much post-production work needs to be done. In addition to this, a lot of the shows are unscripted, and this urges viewers to watch more, since you can never predict what will happen.

Study of makeover show: Pimp My Ride
Pimp My Ride is a makeover show on MTV, in which owners of beat-up cars get their cars “pimped”. The show is hosted by rapper Xzibit, who has grown a huge fanbase from the show. His wit and sense of humour in his remarks have made him a household personality on MTV, and is one of the reasons the show has become such a success for the channel. The show is popular between teenagers, because of the comedy used in the show, music and actual makeovers of the cars.

The show begins with Xzibit introducing. He’s usually stood in front of a very nice car, and then compares it to the car of the owner’s for that show. After the credits, we hear from the owner about the car, and sometimes a close friend or relative of the owner as well. Then Xzibit comes to their house, and the owner shows him through the car and it’s problems. After this, the car is taken to West Coast Customs, a car remodelling company who play the role in fixing up and customizing the cars. They discuss plans for the car, and then take the car apart, leaving just the basic model of it left. Once this is done, the guys at West Coast Customs all work on the car, giving it a paintjob, install tv screens and fixing anything that was wrong with it before, and sometimes extra accessories that fit the owner’s lifestyle. After the car has been fixed up, the owner of the car comes to the garage to pick it up, and after screaming for a few minutes about how awesome it looks, the team and Xzibit walk them through what’s different. Finally, the owner receives the keys and takes the car back. We hear from them about how they like the car, and the friends and relatives from the beginning speak about it as well.

The cars which are put on the show are usually very beat up, although they seem to have progressed as the show has gone through more seasons. Also, the work put into the cars has been taken up as well. For example, in the first season, they would simply fix up the car and add maybe a flatscreen monitor in the ceiling, but later in the third and forth seasons, they have put at most 10 screens in one car. The cars are made to look “pimped”, and usually the paintjob stands out a lot, with lots of graphics like flames and patterns on the sides. As well as this, tires and rims look expensive, and add to the car’s grand look. Inside, cars are fitted with luxary seating and multimedia technology, like flatscreen televisions and mp3 radios with heavy and bassy speakers.

When the car is finally unveiled in the garage, it is a big moment for the owner. A sheet is pulled off the car to uncover it, and the owner usually goes into a mega “OMG” moment. The show uses lots of shots which blur the old look of the car into the new look of the car, and it works quite effectively, updating the old look/new look for the modern generation I suppose.

The guests on the show range a lot to give the viewer more variety. Sometimes there will be more rocky-type guests, while others will be hip-hop-based. It isn’t always based on music, but there is usually one feature about the guest that sets them apart from others, like hobbies or jobs.

The music on the show tends to appeal to the pop-punk style a lot of MTV viewers are listening to at the moment. I actually like a lot of the music, but it seems to get played too much throughout the show, and there isn’t as much variety. The theme tune is pretty memorable though, and sort of reminds me of Starsky And Hutch.

One distinct feature about the show is the graphic effects used on shots. The show almost seems like an excuse to use all these effects, like blurring shots of the old car into the new car. There are a lot of effects used to introduce Xzibit as well, like making it look like there’s more than one of him. It gets very tired after a few times watching it, and doesn’t add much to the show.