Sweet Sick-teenI've been horridly fascinated by a television show called "My Super Sweet 16" that airs on MTV, ever since our Qualitative Research classmates presented an episode of the show as part of a presentation they did in class. The concept of the show is simple- it's a reality program which shows how rich kids prepare for and hold their "Sweet Sixteen" birthday party. Apparently, turning 16 is a big thing for Americans (like debuts are for Filipinos). This show is the perfect example of how gross conspicuous consumption can be.
The show generally starts with the celebrant describing herself, or himself, as the case may be ("I'm an heiress in training!"), and what they want their party to be like- the theme (they usually want to be queens, emperors, and the like), their entrance (carried by gorgeous men? popping out of a cake? riding a camel?), how they want all the kids to get invites to the party, the present they want to receive (a car, a house), etc. Some of the preparations are shown (talking to the party planners, auditioning people for parts in the party), then the party proper is shown. Sometimes a celebrity makes an appearance at the party. Toward the end of the show, the birthday present is usually given to the celebrant at the height of the festivities. It's almost always a car- in one case there were two cars given.
The first episode I watched featured an apparently nouveau riche girl, who acted like a brat with her mother during the party preparations. "Moooommmm.... can you please stop talking for just a minute!!!" She was also gloating about how some kids were NOT invited to her party, and how they were all begging her to give them an invite. In other episodes I watched, you can see how the parents are so anxious to make their little girls happy (in one case, a boy who held a 15th birthday party). At the end of the party, the kids or the parents talk about how much they spent on the party and how it was all worth it. As the 15-year-old boy said, "I spent $300,000 (I guess he OWNED that money) for this evening, and it was a great party!"
Watching the show is like looking at a car crash- you just can't help but look out of morbid fascination. When I think about how much these parties cost and how many people could be helped by that amount money, it's enough to sicken me. "The Showbiz Show with David Spade" did a short feature on "My Super Sweet Sixteen", and they featured that same girl who was bratty with her mom. After the segment, David Spade said, "And we wonder why they hate us." My classmates in the research class reacted vehemently to the show as well; they say it's not representative of what real Americans are like. I'm pretty sure the average American is nowhere near these rich brats featured in the show. The fact remains though that there are still a lot of people like that (parents and kids alike) around here, and they are all dying to be part of this show, aiming to upstage the previous parties aired on MTV.
Funny...I just went to a debut last Friday, here at the Hotel Intercontinental in Phnom Penh. The Grand Ballroom. 200 guests. So much food and wine. Everyone dressed to the nines (whatever that means). A cotillon with 18 gents and 18 ladies. It must have cost a bundle too. But in this case, it was a Filipino affair. I can't say I didn't enjoy myself, but you're right: the amount of money spent for such occasions is staggering. However, not every kind of party is bad. The debutante in our case was a level-headed girl who is nowhere near the brats you described. And the party was also a farewell gathering, since she was leaving Cambodia to begin college in Manila. In this case, arguably, the money was not wasted.
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