LJWORLD.COM
LAWRENCE JOURNAL-WORLD
Lawrence, Kansas
(July 31, 2006)
Women's lives exploited in TV series
By Kevin McDonough
Monday, July 31, 2006
“The Secret Lives of Women” (9 p.m., WE) returns for a second season, documenting some of the hidden obsessions and sorrows of wives, sisters, mothers and aunts. As the show's title implies, the material and narrative tone fluctuates between shocking expose and prurient exploitation.
In tonight's episode, we meet three women, a young Goth-next-door, a student and a pastor's wife, who harbor the terrible need to cut their skin with knives, razors and even pushpins.
Like any peephole perspective of unhealthy behavior, “Lives” has a certain grim appeal. But it's far more disturbing than illuminating. One can't help feeling that these women should be sharing their secrets with a therapist and not with a camera crew. And us.
This raises a sticky moral issue. By throwing the gasoline of exhibitionism on the fire of self-destructive inclinations, are the producers crossing a line and actually encouraging this behavior? Just a thought.
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