Supersize vs. Superskinny

1.) How are people represented in this clip?
Both women are shown as being outside of the social norms of most peoples dieting styles. Jennete is shown as being highly underweight whilst Rosmary is show as being the polar opposite. The showing of their diets helps illustrate the contrasts between their eating habits between each other and as well as the general public. This combined with their body types helps to draw the audience in through portraying them outside of the standard social norms, this is reflected by Todorov's (?) theory in that the audience takes pleasure from observation and escapism. The lighting used in combination with the colour of the underwear gives off a kind of sickly colour which helps with making the characters seem more different to the average person, therefor enhancing the whole outsider view appeal of the show. 

2.) What do you think is the appeal of lifestyle programming such as these?
The appeal of shows such as these are often for the audience to both obtain knowledge through the more informative sections as well as to act as an observer and achieve a sense of escapism. This is achieved by letting the audience gain an insight to other peoples lives through the show and therefore forget about what is happening in their own life. The informative sections help attract the audience as it helps them gain an insight into their own lifestyle and informs them on how they can possible change for the better, this too allows them to gain pleasure through information meeting another of the media theories (Can't remember which one, possibly Todorov).

3.) Do you believe that lifestyle programming creates and fuels negative ideologies?
I feel that lifestyle programmes can create negative ideologies but that it largely depends upon upon the show itself. supersize vs. superskinny is a good example of how it can show both sides of ideologies. on the one hand it givers an insight into the various lifestyles of people featured on the show in order to help better increase understanding of the way that they live as well as giving insight into how to improve themselves. on the other hand it also showcases them in a way that makes them appear as an outsider to social norm without them actually being so. This helps breed stereotypes and distorts people view regarding them causing a negative ideology which  is then fed by other media types that portray similar people.