Choosing the Sanctified Reply: A Case for Optimism
Accentuating the Positive
Like many fans of the Netflix reboot of Queer Eye, I can’t help crying over every single episode. What is it that makes this show so brilliantly poignant, week after week? Each segment goes much deeper than a mere external makeover.
It’s really about five men unequivocally and profoundly helping someone in need. Each episode features a person who has been nominated by a loved one because it’s time for a change. The chosen individual has agreed to meet the one-week challenge of making the first crucial steps toward transformation.
What strikes me the most about these guys — also called “The Fab Five” — is that they’re able to see what we can’t see. Invariably the chosen subjects are scruffy, even unattractive, living in a disorganized and unkempt environment. By the end of the episode, we barely recognize these individuals — now appealing, confident, and ready to live their lives with newfound resolve.
How do Bobby, Karamo, Antoni, Jonathan, and Tan do it? Focused on the positive, and eliminating the negative, the Queer Eye guys always manage to see the silver lining in every situation. Then with no-holds-barred truth-telling, each applies his unique gifts to go to the heart of the matter and points out whatever problems need to be met.
