The Swan was premised on the kind of concept you’d expect from a Black Mirror episode: Women undergo extreme physical transformation to shed their identities as “ugly ducklings” and become beautiful swans, at least in accordance with conventional beauty standards. The first season, which premiered in 2004, averaged more than 9 million viewers an episode. Pozner called it “the most sadistic reality series” in her book Reality Bites Back.
The show received countless extremely negative reviews received during its run, too. Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn, then a critic for Entertainment Weekly, called it “a misogynistic mix of TV’s twin vices: commercialism and conformity.” All of this was perhaps a harbinger for it cancellation, after just two seasons. More than two decades later, a new documentary from Erin Lee Carr (Britney vs Spears, Murdaugh: Death in the Family),The Swan: Behind the Mirror, is shining a new light on not just the reality series but its aftermath.
As the doc arrives on Hulu and Disney+, Carr and two participants from both The Swan and Behind the Mirror, Season 1’s Kristy Garza and Season 2’s Kari Bravata, spoke to TIME about the most notorious reality show ever made. Before The Swan could take flight, it needed to cast a crew of willing participants. So the producers behind the show launched an advertising campaign that emphasized the idea of transformation.
Prospective contestants would be treated to a cornucopia of all the plastic surgery they could imagine, as well as therapy, life coaching, and personal training. The Swan held open casting calls all over the country. The show cited figures as high as 200,000 to 250,000 applicants, though Carr says she’s never been able to verify that statistic.
You got chosen above everybody else. You can't say no.” Carr estimates the figure might have been closer to 75,000. Convincing some of these women to open up, years later, for Behind the Mirror, proved more difficult.
The Swan’s effects on contestants’ self-esteem still lingers, and it was frightening for both Garza and Bravata to speak about their experiences, having been manipulated for the sake of television in the past. But both credit Carr for creating a safe space. She cares about women's stories.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
