This Miracle Brought to You By ... Tyson Foods

I recently noticed that Tyson foods won an award for most effective product placement on ABC's Extreme Makeover Home Edition. On a episode centering around a destitute family in Camden, New Jersey, Tyson swooped in a filled their (shiny new Kenmore) refrigerator with an enormous supply of Tyson chicken. This led me to have a mini-throwup -- you know when the bile creeps up the back of your throat? My reaction can be explained partially because I remember the stench of the chicken farms when I lived in rural Virginia. But mostly I react that way because I find the Extreme Makeover show to be quite perplexing, and slightly disturbing.

On one level, ABC (along with Sears, Lumber Liquidators, Kohler, CVS, Ford and god know how many other contributors) swoop into the life of a carefully selected deserving family and build them a great house in 7 days. The recipients are often victims of disease or disability, personal misfortune, natural disaster, or garden variety poverty. At times, I have actually looked at these people and thought, "jeez, this week's family isn't half as bad off as last week." Then I catch myself and feel embarrassed. I can safely say all of those people are deserving of the help they get. So what's the problem? Everyone wins, right? But why do I remain vaguely uncomfortable with this show then?

Commercialism is, of course, everywhere in our society, but this show has raised it to a new level. Try to watch Extreme Makeover for more than a few minutes without a jarring closeup of a product label or a delivery truck with a company emblem emblazoned on the side. The magic elixir for all that ails you seems to be available at your local Sears store in the form of a giant plasma TV or perhaps a jacuzzi tub, not to mention the trips to Disney World they send the families on. The culmination of each show is the unveiling of the amazing house that is built in 7 days. The camera zooms in as the bus pulls away to reveal the new (often monstrous) house and the family swoons. (By the way, how'd you like to be the guy in the inner city somewhere who just had a McMansion plopped down next to you?) Not all the family swoons with delight every time, of course. I remember a blind man and an autistic child who didn't actually swoon, but who's counting? The message they try to force feed us is that this show is about communities coming together to help people who give back to their neighbors despite their enormous problems. The message I get is: life is perfect if you can just get ABC to build you a house and fill it with stuff -- perhaps hundreds of pounds of Tyson chicken? Makes me uneasy, but I tune in anyway. Me and thirteen million other people. [Originally posted 1/2/2008]