RHONY Season 10

[Anonymous]

In defense of Carol, Bethenny's non stop criticism of her choices in clothing would bug the crap out of me. Carol is not Barbie-on-display and B lives to promote her brand. B is much more shallow and cares about her brand more than anything. B is one who never gets along with anyone for long because she feels the need to constantly "be honest" which is her excuse to neg people so she has the dominant position.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm so sick of people bashing Carole's looks. Especially women. It's such a low blow. I think Carole is lovely.

You realize that this type of show is froth, right? A guilty pleasure for viewers, and little substance, with a cast of superficial women who agreed to this, and who recognize that their looks and personalities will be scrutinized? Carole agreed to do this. She put herself into this situation. She isn't campaigning for public office or debating philosophy or literature in an academic setting. She is on a reality show in which superficial women present themselves and their superficial problems and looks to be analyzed.

She knows she isn't physically attractive; it isn't a surprise to her that there is discussion about her looks in the media, etc. because she VOLUNTARILY chose to be on RHONY.

If you don't want to read people's opinions about a reality show casts' looks and personalities, you should probably find a different form of media to read and write about.

I do think Carole is ugly. And I think this sort of thread is the appropriate place to write about it.

If I were commenting on a thread about politics or literature or philosophy, I wouldn't be focusing on peoples' personal appearances. But ugly Carole's huge mouth is fair game in a thread about RHONY.

The show is about "real" women and their lives, not their looks. It is about friendship, society, relationships and--to a lesser degree--business and success. How the women perform in those arenas is certainly fair game.

This is not "How Do These Women Look?" That would be a different show. Not even "America's Next Top Model" is about looks--it's about "performing" with those looks.

Did you never take basic literary criticism or film classes?

Wait, what? You think "the show is about 'real' women" and "their lives"? The point, as you indicated with your quotation marks (yet appear not to fully grasp), is that they are NOT "real women" and "their lives" consists of largely superficial endeavors. The show is staged: it is NOT about "friendship": do you really think these women hang out together when not compelled to do so by a film crew/contract? As for "relationships", these are largely staged as well: the "friendship" you see on the screen is not authentic relationships. These women have had a LOT of plastic surgery, much of it documented on the show: they themselves are more preoccupied with their appearances than with "business and success" or "relationships" onscreen.

I took quite a few "basic literary criticism" courses, as well as multiple graduate level courses in literary criticism and literary theory as well, thanks very much. Criticizing frothy reality TV is my secret guilty pleasure when I'm not engaged in academic discourse in my professional life. I know more about literary theory and its history and application than anybody you know in real life.

But god, Carole is hideous. And watching RHONY makes me think of the ridiculous "society" people Oscar Wilde and his ilk skewered in their best works. If Oscar Wilde were alive, he would be on this thread spouting pithy barbs and bitchy remarks about reality show characters' physical appearance, though he had a lot of fun making the same sorts of comments about the "society" ladies and literary darlings of his own time. Then he would write a perfectly crafted bit of social satire depicting the RHONY ladies, and people like you would read it with a straight, serious face, missing all the finer nuances.

As to "literary criticism", there is a long tradition of authors intentionally manipulating their public personas to encourage media/audience confusion of the author, his/her contrived (and often outrageous) public image of him/herself, and the characters within his/her writing. Some of the most bitchy, brilliantly critical observers of contemporary fluff society figures I know are published novelists.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:great episode. Dorinda really is a drunk. Carol is so odd looking, she can't close her lips over those buck teeth. Not sure why she hasn't fixed that yet. Can't wait to see the falling out between her and bethenny. I miss Heather actually, she and carol had a real friendship and then bethenny ruined it.

I miss Heather too. She had the wit and one-liners Bethenny has, but without it seeming like she was barely hanging on. I wish she'd come back.

Really? Like “HOLLA!!” She was nice but too dull for this show and she def didn’t have wit and one-liners.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone else find it bizarre that Bethenny can be in the throes if dispair over losing Cookie yet can be sure to blog her hysteria?

No. My ... canine-niece was being put to sleep and my brother called me to come over and say goodbye to her. I stayed for hours. We all cried on and off that entire afternoon. After the vet left, we got dinner delivered and my SIL wrote a beautiful FB tribute, as did my brother. Each posted on their respective pages.

Writing about your grief is different than sobbing in a video you are steaming for complete strangers. It's the bethenny show 24/7.

Yup. She is the least real person on any of the franchises. So insecure and weak.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm so sick of people bashing Carole's looks. Especially women. It's such a low blow. I think Carole is lovely.

Agreed.

And I think she's too skinny and very plain, but I totally agree that we should leave looks out of the discussion. Focus on behaviors/who they are not how they look.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bethenny is so gross. I mean she sits there literally insisting people say unbeweavable and keeps reiterating it even though the joke was a clunker. And though I’m not a Ramona fan by any means it was so condescending to tell Ramona to call her when she has a successful business or when Ramona said she has a house in the Hamptons for Bethenny to say something like she has 5 of them. She’s disgusting.

+1
That successful comment was harsh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bethenny is so gross. I mean she sits there literally insisting people say unbeweavable and keeps reiterating it even though the joke was a clunker. And though I’m not a Ramona fan by any means it was so condescending to tell Ramona to call her when she has a successful business or when Ramona said she has a house in the Hamptons for Bethenny to say something like she has 5 of them. She’s disgusting.

+1
That successful comment was harsh.

I'm ready for Bethenny to take off her 'Black cultural appropriation hat'. Like girl go sit down somewhere. Just be white. You are not one of us. You'll never have black girl magic. At! All!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bethenny is so gross. I mean she sits there literally insisting people say unbeweavable and keeps reiterating it even though the joke was a clunker. And though I’m not a Ramona fan by any means it was so condescending to tell Ramona to call her when she has a successful business or when Ramona said she has a house in the Hamptons for Bethenny to say something like she has 5 of them. She’s disgusting.

+1
That successful comment was harsh.

I'm ready for Bethenny to take off her 'Black cultural appropriation hat'. Like girl go sit down somewhere. Just be white. You are not one of us. You'll never have black girl magic. At! All!

+2 I'm white and I always cringe. From the very first season, she thought she was so cute with "NO YOU DIH-INT!" And then she criticizes LuAnn for being tone deaf; which, yeah, she is, but don't be a hypocrite.

And yes, Ramona hasn't been on the cover of Forbes, but she did build a very successful business on her own, and also helped Mario run his family business as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm so sick of people bashing Carole's looks. Especially women. It's such a low blow. I think Carole is lovely.

You realize that this type of show is froth, right? A guilty pleasure for viewers, and little substance, with a cast of superficial women who agreed to this, and who recognize that their looks and personalities will be scrutinized? Carole agreed to do this. She put herself into this situation. She isn't campaigning for public office or debating philosophy or literature in an academic setting. She is on a reality show in which superficial women present themselves and their superficial problems and looks to be analyzed.

She knows she isn't physically attractive; it isn't a surprise to her that there is discussion about her looks in the media, etc. because she VOLUNTARILY chose to be on RHONY.

If you don't want to read people's opinions about a reality show casts' looks and personalities, you should probably find a different form of media to read and write about.

I do think Carole is ugly. And I think this sort of thread is the appropriate place to write about it.

If I were commenting on a thread about politics or literature or philosophy, I wouldn't be focusing on peoples' personal appearances. But ugly Carole's huge mouth is fair game in a thread about RHONY.

The show is about "real" women and their lives, not their looks. It is about friendship, society, relationships and--to a lesser degree--business and success. How the women perform in those arenas is certainly fair game.

This is not "How Do These Women Look?" That would be a different show. Not even "America's Next Top Model" is about looks--it's about "performing" with those looks.

Did you never take basic literary criticism or film classes?

Wait, what? You think "the show is about 'real' women" and "their lives"? The point, as you indicated with your quotation marks (yet appear not to fully grasp), is that they are NOT "real women" and "their lives" consists of largely superficial endeavors. The show is staged: it is NOT about "friendship": do you really think these women hang out together when not compelled to do so by a film crew/contract? As for "relationships", these are largely staged as well: the "friendship" you see on the screen is not authentic relationships. These women have had a LOT of plastic surgery, much of it documented on the show: they themselves are more preoccupied with their appearances than with "business and success" or "relationships" onscreen.

I took quite a few "basic literary criticism" courses, as well as multiple graduate level courses in literary criticism and literary theory as well, thanks very much. Criticizing frothy reality TV is my secret guilty pleasure when I'm not engaged in academic discourse in my professional life. I know more about literary theory and its history and application than anybody you know in real life.

But god, Carole is hideous. And watching RHONY makes me think of the ridiculous "society" people Oscar Wilde and his ilk skewered in their best works. If Oscar Wilde were alive, he would be on this thread spouting pithy barbs and bitchy remarks about reality show characters' physical appearance, though he had a lot of fun making the same sorts of comments about the "society" ladies and literary darlings of his own time. Then he would write a perfectly crafted bit of social satire depicting the RHONY ladies, and people like you would read it with a straight, serious face, missing all the finer nuances.

As to "literary criticism", there is a long tradition of authors intentionally manipulating their public personas to encourage media/audience confusion of the author, his/her contrived (and often outrageous) public image of him/herself, and the characters within his/her writing. Some of the most bitchy, brilliantly critical observers of contemporary fluff society figures I know are published novelists.

Carole has never said that she was a model, so why are you judging her looks? You can criticize what she has chosen to publicly assert about herself--that she is an author, that she is a former news producer/journalist, that she was a wife, that she is now a marathon runner. Carole never made claims about being a model, so why are you criticizing her looks? Her looks are 100% irrelevant.

[Anonymous]

No one's looks are irrelevant with these shows.

Appearing on reality programming= you are a good to be consumed. That includes one's appearance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bethenny is so gross. I mean she sits there literally insisting people say unbeweavable and keeps reiterating it even though the joke was a clunker. And though I’m not a Ramona fan by any means it was so condescending to tell Ramona to call her when she has a successful business or when Ramona said she has a house in the Hamptons for Bethenny to say something like she has 5 of them. She’s disgusting.

I'm not a fan either, but to be fair, Bethenny was mentioning the house and Ramona said something mean about the location (something about that side of the highway, or how she'd never live by the highway) so ramona started that fight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No one's looks are irrelevant with these shows.

Appearing on reality programming= you are a good to be consumed. That includes one's appearance.

Exactly. You want to be a D-lister than everything about you is fair game. Suck it up Carol supporters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No one's looks are irrelevant with these shows.

Appearing on reality programming= you are a good to be consumed. That includes one's appearance.

Exactly. You want to be a D-lister than everything about you is fair game. Suck it up Carol supporters.

I'm not a big fan of Carole, but I don't think looks are fair game for criticism, in real life or for public figures, unless they specifically put themselves in a competition or an arena where judging appearance is the point.

-np

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bethenny is so gross. I mean she sits there literally insisting people say unbeweavable and keeps reiterating it even though the joke was a clunker. And though I’m not a Ramona fan by any means it was so condescending to tell Ramona to call her when she has a successful business or when Ramona said she has a house in the Hamptons for Bethenny to say something like she has 5 of them. She’s disgusting.

I'm not a fan either, but to be fair, Bethenny was mentioning the house and Ramona said something mean about the location (something about that side of the highway, or how she'd never live by the highway) so ramona started that fight.

+1 Ramona started this by putting down Bethenny's house flip/remodel project in her normal snooty way and it wasn't until then that Bethenny fought back.

[Anonymous]

I'm dying to see Bethany's Hamptons flip. I loved that home as they were walking through it- if it was the one they were looking at on the show (couldn't tell if it fell through/overseas seller didn't respond)... off to google it...