Brad Pitt, Pamela Anderson, and Britney Spears are just a few of the celebrities whom people are willing to undergo drastic plastic surgery in order to look like.MTV’s newest guilty pleasure, “I Want A Famous Face” documents these extremely graphic procedures. MTV insists that the people on the show volunteered and that MTV does not pay for the surgery, which sometimes can total $10,000 or more. Each week the television cameras fol-low a specific person or persons through the traumatizing ordeal of cosmetic surgery.
The first 5 to 10 minutes of the show introduce the viewer to the patient. The audience learns which celebrity the person wants to look like and why. The second part of the show chronicles the actual procedure, which, bear in mind, can be very gruesome. The third and final part of the show is a follow-up. The bandages come off and the person is compared to the celebrity to see if their dream has come true.
Episode one introduced the public to twin brothers Mike and Matt who wanted to look like Brad Pitt. In their celebrity-obsessed minds, looking like Brad Pitt would help them get girls. They each had massive facial reconstructive surgery and porcelain veneers placed on their teeth. In the end, the twins no longer looked like themselves, and they did not look like Brad either.
Episode two had a Britney Spears impersonator named Mia who felt her breasts were not up to Britney standards. Mia had implants and a breast lift so she could better fill out her Britney costumes. She felt the surgery would enhance (no pun intended) her career as an impersonator.
Episode three had Jennette, a plus-size model, who had recently lost 140 pounds. Jennette needed her excess skin cut-off; she also received breast augmentation and some light liposuction. Jennette’s surgery cost a little over $15,000; however, it is probably the most necessary surgery the show has documented thus far. In the end, Jennette was happier and healthier, which is the most important thing.
The biggest problem with “I Want A Famous Face” is the way the show glorifies plastic surgery as if it is something everyone needs. The surgeons are portrayed as gods even though they are profiting off the insecurities of their patients.
In the end, MTV’s latest vain endeavor is just another reality show that hopes to get big ratings by exploiting and embarrassing the participants.