“Beauty and The Geek:” The Fascinating “Ultimate Social Experiment”

As one of the blonde beauties (I think it was Jennylee…) said on tonight’s episode, “I realized there was a lot I could learn from these people.” I was watching (I swear!) because one of my oldest, closest friend’s son was one of the “geeks.” I don’t want to give away which one, out of respect for his privacy…because I think the premise – and execution – of this sort of Darwin meets Skinner reality show does enough to peel away layers of anything/everything resembling the notion of “privacy.”

It’s part of Ashton Kutcher’s genius, and though I like “Beauty and the Geek” (because its participants are willing to stereotype themselves) more than “Punk’d,” (because it’s more bratty) I admit I recognize a very agile brain at work. The premise of this reality show (the only one I’ve ever seen outside of moments of “American Idol”) is really anthropologically sound, a fine experiment. The idea is actually sort of brilliant and in the end, I believe both the “beauties” and the “geeks” gain significantly from the experience of challenging their weaknesses and sharing their strengths.

On last week’s episode, the guys had to draw a nude model, but the purpose of the exercise was not an artistic exercise; it was about “listening” to the young NUDE woman. But it was extremely difficult for most of the guys to do that; when asked to recall the name of the nude model, I’m not sure that the guy who had a PERFECT S.A.T. score was able to recall her name. She was speaking in a very calm, even and repetitive tone and mentioned that she had watched “Pretty Woman” the night before this art workshop. When asked to recall the film, I’m pretty sure only one of seven of the guys could come up with the name. They were not listening—they were distracted. In one of the first episodes the girls were “trapped” in a major Los Angeles library and using the Dewey Decimal System, each was charged with the mission of finding a single book. It was difficult for some of the girls, which simply underlined the fact that they rarely spent significant time in a library.

What is the most damaging truth to emerge from this “reality show?” It has nothing to do with bikinis but everything to do with brains.

I remember someone once asked me the kind of rhetorical pre-teen question that is only a step above “would you rather die of hunger or thirst?” Or “would you rather suffer a climate that was unbearably hot or one that was impossibly frigid? The question put to me was: “Would you rather be movie-star beautiful or Macarthur Genius award smart?” I remember my response which shot out of my mouth immediately. I did not have to think it through: “SMART, of course.” And for some reason, that reminded me of remembered a non-sequitur line from the film, “Terms of Endearment.” After her daughter’s death, Shirley Maclaine tells her adorable four or five year-old granddaughter “Stupid is forever, Melanie.”

I love that line. Beauty fades but barring a brain-deteriorating illness, intelligence IS forever.

Some of the most rewarding parts of “Beauty and the Geek” are that it allows its participants (or at least it seems to…) to grow, to learn, to borrow from each other, to explore new parts of themselves. But it DOES continue the stereotype…that there are “beauties” and “geeks” and while they can learn from each other, there will always be prejudices – negative and positive – based on “profiling” we do to ourselves and those which are fostered by our culture.

And what one often takes away from watching the show are in-and-out moments when you see the physical attributes of the guys erased and the girls trying to being “open” to ideas and the pursuit of knowledge. I never cringed when one of the guys (none of whom were prone to the “cliques” that plagued the girls, especially at the beginning of this season) tried anything because they were smart enough to take risks comfortably. And that speaks volumes. The girls, WERE, following expectations, at times very catty and well, not ambitious, and as their stereotypes—and bikinis — defined them, they lived down to those expectations. That disappointed me. Thousands of years of high school and nothing will ever change. But I like the idea that Kutcher’s idea has made it to the air waves and the lexicon. Maybe its core audience will take a hint or two from the show and step out of the boxes drawn around them to experience something new about themselves, to stretch and grow.

Who knows what the outcome will be? I’m curious and a kid I’ve known for over two decades is on the show – so I’ll watch to the very end, remembering….”brainy is forever.”