Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Superhero


I would like for DJ Qualls to play a superhero. Why do pretty people always have to get the roles? (No offense DJ) If you had supernatural ability, would you also have to have good looks?

They have not done one in a while, but I always enjoy watching the 20/20 special on ugly vs. pretty in job interviews. Without fail, the pretty people are always preferred. The interviewer seems to find qualities that just don't exist in the pretty folks. The interviewer wills those talents to be there.

I have been listening (not to be confused w/ reading) a book about Abraham Lincoln. It describes how unappealing he was when compared to some of the other candidates. People were awe-struck by his presence when they actually met him. They just didn't expect it. Do we really put that much weight in looks when judging personality?


Similar to how Lincoln was judged, Grant was considered too short to be a general. His height made people question his ability to lead. No wonder Napoleon was pissy.

It is amazing how much we critique the things on others that can't (w/out surgery) change.

No particular incident has caused this line of thought. The text in the book just made me think about how much weight we put into looks.

Let us all be more tolerant of the ugly.

3 comments:

Kirsten said...

I watched regular CSI the other night simply because DJ Qualls was on it. For some reason, I really like him. I guess it's the everyman quality he has and that he's not classically handsome.

JJ said...

First of all, I live under a rock, so I don't know who DJ Qualls is-- perhaps someone could enlighten me.

Second, Joe Scarborough said last night that Washington, D.C. is Hollywood for ugly people. I guess he meant that they get a lot of celebrity-type treatment in the press but don't have the aesthetic chops to live up to Hollywood standards. Frankly, I don't care if my senator is ugly or even just so plain to be unremarkable. They have more important things to worry about than looks and so God wisely gave them few good looks to contend with.

But it is interesting how we attribute a politician's (or anyone's, for that matter) ability to do a good job to their physical appearance. It really shouldn't matter, but sadly, it does.

By the way, am I the only one who finds Tucker Carlson handsome? I'm just saying.

alicia said...

JJ, don't feel bad, I have no idea who DJ Qualls is either. I thought Jon had a picture of a young Stephen Hawkins on his blog. I am very tolerant of the ugly - in fact, I go for slightly ugly, but DJ is going a little to far for even me.
Katherine Hepburn once said that averafe women had to "work a little harder than the beautiful ones." I think that may be true for everyone.