Nudist television adds sensationalism to reality TV

The development of reality TV is a function of money, not market demand. The cost of quality TV drama is high — $1 million to $2 million per episode. The cost of an average reality show ranges from $100,000 to $500,000 per episode. Therefore, lots of these shows are flooding the many cable channels that have an almost inexhaustible demand for product. Of course, two things tend to be sacrificed: quality of the idea and…

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The Perfect Body

“Every society has a way of torturing its women, whether by binding their feet or by sticking them into whalebone corsets. What contemporary American culture has come up with is designer jeans.” Joel Yager, M.D. In the 19th century women of means had ribs removed to achieve a narrow waist…and corsets created shortness of breath and dislocated visceral organs. Today, plastic surgery,  liposuction and bariatric procedures are complemented by bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa. Patients…

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ArtPrize entry offers snapshot of our culture

Of the 1,524 pieces of art being placed on display for the upcoming ArtPrize in Grand Rapids (competition runs from Sept. 18-Oct. 6) four are getting all the comments (and press) already. One of the pieces had to be moved to avoid causing traffic accidents. Astute readers may either guess or have read about the four lifelike nude sculptures situated in front of DeVos Hall. What is adding to the interest (for me) and the…

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