March 25, 2009 • Tiffani Knowles
The millihelen is sometimes jokingly defined as the scientific unit of human beauty. This derives from the legend of Helen of Troy as alluded to in Christopher Marlowe's The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus, "Was this the face that launched a thousand ships...?" The millihelen is therefore the degree of beauty that can launch one ship.
Beheld. Measured. Manipulated. Since the era of Pythagoras and Greek philosophy, this has been the order in which we relate to beauty. We pout in front of bathroom mirrors, we seethe at the enormity of our noses and – now - we even plead with Jennifer Aniston’s cosmetic surgeon to take our case.
There’s no wonder that the onset of beauty-centric reality shows have inspired a brand new fixation on the intricacies of the external. One particular show from Hades is the all new, highly irritating ABC show intended to replace Beauty and The Geek. Drum roll, please…True Beauty.
March 24, 2009 • Tiffani Knowles
Dance, once an esoteric artform relegated to the glorious, high-brow venue of the stage, has been sweeping the country in a whirlwind of fave television shows.
NBC’s Superstars of Dance, Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance, ABC’s Dancing with the Stars and MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew - while all distinct – have introduced dance styles that wouldn’t otherwise receive mainstream exposure.
From krump and the Argentine tango to Bollywood and clogging, these shows are doing a superb job at painting various facets of global culture through the universal language of dance.
Furthermore, no sooner than America’s Best Dance Crew found its season’s winner in the all-Asian minus one b-boy group of Quest Crew, a new dance-heavy show take its place on MTV.
In sort of a 'Fame' meets 'The Hills' combo, MTV – more appropriately named RTV for its new all reality all the time television programming - is set to unveil Taking the Stage, a reality show -documentary hybrid that follows five