Teenage Kicks... (My Super Sweet 16)

Member Name: Claire_DC

Product:	My Super Sweet 16
Date:	07/12/08 (170 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Trashy, Generally Always On!

Disadvantages: Trashy, Generally Always On, Annoying

My boyfriend would probably be the first to tell any of you that he thinks I'll watch any old crap on TV and to a certain degree; he's probably not that far off the mark. I quite like trashy TV; I was a big footballer's wives fan for instance. My Super Sweet 16 is one of these trashy programmes that I'll watch when there's nothing else to watch and I find myself flicking around the music channels.

Each show tends to follow the same format, going through the pre party organisation from the venue finding, celebrity booking, invites, to the getting ready and not just any getting ready like you or I may do by having a shower, doing your hair and slapping a bit of make up on; these kids spend loads of their parents cash on having full makeovers by professionals and buying dresses/outfits that have a whopping price tag; they spend money like it's going out of fashion yet most have the cheek to throw a tantrum if things don't run exactly how they'd like! It then goes to the party and shows a selection of film from throughout the night, people dancing and saying how good the party is etc, and then it goes to the revealing of the present, and finally the thoughts of the birthday brat about their special day.

I do enjoy it to some degree, but there's a reason that it's not something I watch regularly; and that is because I find myself getting quite annoyed by the over privileged, spoilt little brats getting loads of money spent on them on parties to make them look good to a load of people that they have invited to their party, even though they don't really know them and only really invited them to make themselves look more popular. They're all 'me me me me me' and it's sickening to watch for the most part, but also strangely compelling.

I can't help but feel that these kids have no idea about the real world as they seem to get everything handed to them on a silver platter with nobody ever saying no to them, or giving them a much needed reality check. Their parents are probably either so eager and desperate for their children to like/love them, or they're hardly ever there so compensate by handing over blank cheques and giving in to outrageous demands for celebrities to attend their parties, give private performances and generally impress a bunch of people that the birthday person has barely ever met.

I don't understand these kids NEEDING to have a celebrity do a private performance for them at extortionate costs; I've seen all kinds of celebrities on this TV show, from Kanye West and P Diddy to Rihanna and more. Whatever happened to just having a DJ play the music and then they can focus on going around and seeing/speaking to their guests? Oh yeah that's right, they don't actually KNOW any of the people at their party, do they!

What is achieved by paying Mariah Carey and other celebrities to say a fake and disinterested 'happy 16th birthday *insert name here*' on camera to be played into the venue for all the guests to see? It doesn't fool anybody into thinking that they know them personally; it's obvious that mummy and daddy opened their cheque books, and paid the celebrity to do that. Chances are, they wouldn't give the birthday boy or girl the time of day if they hadn't been paid a huge amount of money to do so.

I've seen lads who should really lose a lot of weight wanting to make grand entrances, and then having a hissy fit because there are a few cars outside the venue thus requiring the birthday brat walk a few extra steps to the venue door - complete prima donnas. Then you get the clips of the guests screaming and clapping whilst shouting 'you the man, man' and other ridiculous things of the same sentiments at their arrival being televised into the club like it's a celebrity sighting, not some brats 16th birthday party, it's just so fake.

Another thing I see a lot of are VIP areas and rooms within the venue, to which I wonder why they'd need them, as surely any normal person would invite people they wanted to see and spend time with to their birthday party which in my opinion wouldn't require any segregation methods.

There's always a grand revealing of the present from the parents to the kid, which is nearly always a flashy car; as if they haven't had enough money lavished on them. A car is such a generic present though, yes it has the *wow haven't your parents spent loads on you factor* but it doesn't really show any thought or consideration in the present choosing process. There are loads of nice presents that cost less but show that the person has actually thought about what to get you but then I guess they wouldn't get to show off if they'd been bought a well chosen book or something similar... these people are very materialistic.

I think that programmes like this, don't help with any teenagers watching it as I'm sure some of them must think it's ok to act in the way that some of the children on My Super Sweet 16 do, and end up thinking that they should be offered the moon on a stick as I do feel that the show tends to glamorize the lifestyle these people live and make it seem like it's an acceptable way to behave.

Overall, it's meant as light hearted entertainment but due to me knowing the value of money, and not being a spoilt daddies little princess, I can't help but get stressed at the people being filmed. So for that, I will say that it's a good programme but I mostly hate the people on it, which is why I am so divided on what score to give it.

Summary: Not a bad programme, shame about the spoiled kids.