Mirror Mirror…
| Television broadcast | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| year | 2008 |
| genre | Documentary soap |
| production | Focus TV Produktions GmbH |
| First broadcast | March 17th, 2008 on VOX |
Mirror, mirror ... was a docu-soap produced by Focus TV Produktions GmbH that was broadcast by the TV station VOX . From March 17 to May 9, 2008, the first broadcasts of the program could be seen, at the beginning each weekday in the early evening, later in the early afternoon.
Structure and content
The docu-soap, initially designed for 25 episodes, accompanied people who were not satisfied with their appearance and who wanted to change something.
In each of the 60-minute episodes, the people's fears and wishes were discussed. Dieticians , beauticians , cosmetic surgeons and stylists consulted for advice made recommendations and in some cases took action themselves. The reactions of relatives and friends to the planned and implemented changes were also shown. Mainly documented mirrors, mirrors ... but the processes around the shown surgical interventions on the nose, abdomen and breasts.
In addition, the program informed the television viewer about beauty topics, fashion and trends through clips with celebrities such as the hairdresser Udo Walz or the entertainer Wolfgang Lippert .
Position and success
Mirror, mirror ... was to act as the new "core" from March 17, 2008 as part of a restructuring of the afternoon and evening programs announced in mid-February 2008 on the Cologne TV station VOX. To make room, two other formats of the station were shortened by half an hour each.
VOX drew attention to the start of the new program with advertisements in "high-circulation and women-oriented" print media such as Glamor , TV Movie , Stern and Bravo . In addition, from March 13, 2008, various below-the-line campaigns were launched in fitness studios across Germany , which lasted two weeks. Nevertheless, doubts about the success of the show were expressed in advance, as shortly before the ARD with the similarly positioned production Bruce with Bruce Darnell had hardly any success.
Right at the start of the broadcast, the docu-soap remained well below the broadcaster's average of around 8% with an audience rating of 6.1% of all viewers in the advertising-relevant target group. The next day, mirror, mirror ... was able to gain in particular among younger viewers and as a result came close to the channel average. So the show was "[not] a success ..., but at least not a total failure either".
Due to the disappointing audience ratings, the format was brought forward from 5 p.m. to the early afternoon after just one week, and the daily repeat broadcasts were completely suspended.
Reception and criticism
Contrary to the information provided by the broadcaster that it wanted to document the path of different people “to a better attitude towards life”, the Tagesspiegel criticized that “no one who is ugly is pimped up. But the pretty ones are made even prettier, optimized, so to speak. That looks nicer. "
With "all the linguistic nonsense" that can be heard in the program, the appearance of a supposed expert like Udo Walz can only be described as "inevitable": "So the madness is complete". In addition, the speaker "blubber" in the background "empty of meaning, always walking the line between infamy and insanity ". During the “scary time” of the show, the show of the “make-up artists, dentists and surgeons at their gruesome goings-on ... especially scary”.
All in all, the show is "difficult to bear, even with the many beautiful people". The taz states that one should miss mirror, mirror ... "better miss it!"
In view of the decision made by the Commission for the Protection of Minors in the Media in 2008 that such programs may only be broadcast from 11 p.m. onwards, employees of the Department of Media Studies at Trier University asked themselves why Spiegel, Spiegel ... could already be shown in the afternoon program. VOX stated for the record that "just as negative effects (e.g. pain, dissatisfaction with the result of an operation) [are shown] and the program ... thus also serves as a deterrent and not as a glorification of such operations". Nevertheless, the decision to broadcast Spiegel, Spiegel ... at a time that is accessible to everyone remains “questionable” for media scientists . It would convey that only external values are important.
The sociologist Paula-Irene Villa agrees with this judgment . She considers the program to be problematic, as “surgical interventions such as breast enlargement or the removal of a ' fat apron ' are dramaturgically and rhetorically the same as the 'styling' at the (star) hairdresser or the 'freshening up' of nipples through a medium-term skin treatment Color pigments ”. The plastic surgery , once mainly for the correction of defects after medical indication responsible mutate here for "wellness service to the customer". Furthermore, the “better attitude to life” proclaimed by the broadcaster is always presented as closely related to professional success and economic position.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Advertising & Selling: “Hardly anyone wants to see Vox mirrors”, March 18, 2008 ( page can no longer be accessed , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b SAT + KABEL: "After" Spieglein, Spieglein "- Flop: Vox from today with a converted TV afternoon", March 25, 2008 ( Memento of the original from October 25, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link became automatic used and not yet tested. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b c VOX: "VOX starts new docu-soap on March 17th"
- ↑ inside-digital.de: "Vox shows embellishments in front of the mirror and in the operating room", March 17, 2008
- ↑ "Mirror, mirror ..." on wunschliste.de, March 17, 2008
- ↑ digitalfernsehen.de: "'Mirror, mirror ...': New afternoon at Vox", February 20, 2008 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ aktuell-24: “Sailing ears? Orange skin? Bags of tears? - The campaign for the new VOX docu-soap 'Spieglein, Spieglein…' ”, March 4, 2008 ( memento of the original from March 5, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ guggr about "Mirror, mirror"
- ↑ a b c d e Tagesspiegel: “I have beautiful hair”, March 17, 2008
- ↑ DWDL: "A sigh of relief at Vox: 'Mirror, mirror' is growing", March 19, 2008
- ↑ dpa: “« Mirror, mirror ... »- New docusoap at Vox”, March 17, 2008 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b taz: "Broken nose, please", March 18, 2008
- ↑ medienwissenschaft.de: “'Mirror mirror' - new broadcast format on VOX”, April 29, 2008
- ↑ Paula-Irene Villa: “The main thing is normal. On the recoding of the gender difference in the light of its technological feasibility ”, 2008. In: Lecture catalog of the LMU Munich on the subject of“ Women's Studies ” ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , P. 5ff.
