Don't Quote Me: House of Hatred (page 3)
by Kim Ficera, November 1, 2006
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But by the end of Episode 1, when the doctor pretended to be baffled as to why six frightened and defensive people, with little or no communication skills and living in an atmosphere of hatred, hadn't yet learned to get along, I'd had enough.
Too bad Dr. Mengele isn't available for a conference call, I thought. That would certainly drive up ratings!
There's no refuting that degrading unsympathetic people is the norm on television today, and that viewers are becoming numb to the practice. But if there's anyone on TV that should be held to a higher standard than everyone else, it's the man who has spent the better part of his professional life touting “authenticity of self” and communicating “with emotional integrity.”
It's not OK with me that Dr. Phil could have immediately helped the folks who came to him to get well, but instead postponed his aid in the interest of showing his audience exactly how belligerent and screwed up they are. And it shouldn't be OK with any viewer.
If Dr. Phil were treating a house full of blind people who hate sighted people, would viewers remain silent while he screwed doorknobs to the walls in an effort to show us how blind they really are and how frustrated they can become when put in an impossible situation?
Of course not.
In Episode 2, Dr. Phil finally steps up and starts behaving more like a doctor should. But his efforts are too little and too late to negate what came before, and for this lesbian, a bit too farcical and neat to be taken seriously.
In Dr. Phil's world, a little yoga, some rock climbing and a five-minute heart-to-heart with him is all Christina and Tessa needed to get to the root of their problems and overcome their “hatred.”
We learn that Christina hates gay people because she caught her mother kissing another woman over a candlelit dinner. When forced to choose between Christina and her lover, Mom chose her lover. As a result, Christina transferred the hatred she felt for her mother to every other gay person she met, including Tessa.
Tessa, on the other hand, internalized her hatred. She believed every bad thing she'd ever been told about homosexuals. According to Dr Phil, she failed to be her own best friend.
At the end of their sit-down with the doctor, the women realize they're not that different from one another after all, and celebrate their new understanding with a tearful embrace. Huge swirly-pops wrapped in thick pink bows are all that was missing from the scene.
Unfortunately for the queer folks who suffer from more than just low self-esteem, and for the straight folks who want to overcome their homophobia rather than justify it, Dr. Phil didn't announce plans to work his magic on the real houses of hatred — the ones on Capitol Hill — next time. Nope. Episode 3 will instead feature shallow, thin girl Staci in a fat suit, and racist Gary in blackface.
House of Hatred is nauseating proof that the man who was once productive has finally been devoured by his product. It's clearly just a matter a time before Dr. Phil begins hocking the Dr. Phil Action Figure (Paternity Test Not Included; Robin Sold Separately).
Dr. Phil has jumped the shark — in my house, anyway. He has strayed so far from his original intention that he's gone, and unfortunately all that's left is The Dr. Phil Show — a handsomely designed set where racists, homophobes and other unhealthy people go for help, but get humiliated. And as a result, I'm done.
I didn't just ride in on a truckload of turnips, after all.
Part 3 of House of Hatred airs on Monday, Nov. 13.
Kim Ficera is the author of Sex, Lies and Stereotypes: An Unconventional Life Uncensored. Her bi-weekly column Don't Quote Me is dedicated to all the folks in and out of Hollywood who talk without thinking or who don't know when to stop talking. Email her at kim@kimficera.com.
