On September 28, 2006, ABC premiered "Ugly Betty," a comedy-drama series based off of the telenovela, "Yo soy Betty, la fea." If you remember this show, you remember an anything but conventional beauty, rather a girl who wore with thick glasses and messy bangs. Somewhere in between the humorous nature of "Ugly Betty," there were impactful messages. The variety of characters, relationships, cultures, conflicts, and themes that were written into the script sparked a thought-provoking network program. Years after it was cancelled, let's look back at the many reasons why this show mattered.
1. Betty Suarez
Meet Betty Suarez, a Mexican-American, 22-year-old girl, who lives in Queens, New York. From her Guadalajara poncho, which she marches into work wearing on her first day, to her thick red glasses, she is unapologetically herself. She follows her dream of working in media, starting out as only a personal assistant at MODE magazine, eventually working her way up to being a Co-Owner and executive producer of a London magazine. She always made an extreme effort to be heard by her coworkers, and always stood up for what she believed in. She wasn't afraid to put her ideas on the table in a male-dominated conference room, such as suggesting a new photoshoot idea or a spread for a magazine. Perhaps her best quality was her reliability; she was always there for her friends, co-workers, and especially her family.
2. Family
The Suarez family was a household that was filled to the brim with love and support. In fact, one of the reasons that Betty was so excited about he job at MODE was because she could earn money to help with her father with his heart condition. Hilda, her sister, raised her own son after she got pregnant at seventeen, with the endless support of both her father and Betty. Although Hilda sometimes envied Betty's growing success, their sisterly bond was the root of the show for all four seasons. Throughout those seasons, the family deals with financial issues, loss, and health complications -- all while displaying the strength and solidity of a family unit.
3. Body Confidence
In the episode, "Zero Worship," referring to the clothing size, the series offered a commentary on beauty standards within the model world. Betty proposes an idea for a fashion show of women who are of average weight and measurements, when she sees a little girl purposely throw her lunch in the trash. The usual models for the MODE fashion show are no such thing as average, and must be a certain weight to walk the runway. Betty has to go to great lengths to achieve her goal, competing with rigged scales that tried to convince her that the models weighed 20 pounds more than they actually did. However, in the end, she wins, and the fashion show includes not only thin models, but curvier girls as well.
4. Perception
Obviously, since the title of the show implied that Betty was meant to be perceived as an unattractive character, she is not conventionally beautiful. It seems as though an audience was waiting for a big reveal, a superficial transformation, or journey, where Betty eventually becomes beautiful after the four seasons. However, if people were looking for a stereotypical beauty transformation, the writers and producers never gave in. Sure, she opted for a sharper pair of glasses, updated her wardrobe, her hair got a little straighter and smoother, and she did get her braces off. Yet, once the season finale came around, she didn't look that different than she did in the Pilot. This begs the question, how do we define beauty? Perhaps, in the words of Betty, "maybe your perception of beauty is a bit narrow."
5. Relationships
Within the relationships on the show, there was representation for everyone. For example, Marc and Cliff were one of the main relationships on the show. Daniel and Betty displayed how important friendships can be, and how they can even blossom into something more -- but they don't necessarily have to for a while. Marc and Amanda were a great example of how you should always have someone around you to make you laugh, but who will also be there for you when you are crying on your couch. Betty had multiple love interests and relationships with different guys throughout the show -- and she was never negatively labeled. Not all of these relationships had perfect or romantic endings either. In fact, most of them ended in a breakup. I would like to thank the writers for being so realistic.
6. LGBT Characters
Sometimes, a show will have one LGBT character, who is solely there for the purpose of the writers being able to say that they are being "representative" in some way. Thankfully, "Ugly Betty" included multiple LGBT characters, and gave them important storylines. Justin Suarez struggled with coming out to his friends and family, while Marc St. James was confident in his sexuality. Daniel's sister, Alexis Meade, was previously Alex Meade, before she decided that she truly identified as a woman. She was perhaps the most powerful female character on the show, a force to be reckoned with in the editing room, and someone who Betty looked up to as the show went on. Hopefully, these characters were people that fans could feel a connection with, and served as a source of self-love and confidence. "Ugly Betty" recognized that love is love years before 2016.
7. Character Development
Daniel Meade slept with every model he could during the first season, he was apprehensive about Betty based on her physical appearance, and he battled a drug addiction. By the show's conclusion, Daniel had fallen in love with a terminally ill woman, adopted a child, trusted Betty with every ounce of his life, and even followed her to London because he can't be without her. Marc asserts himself as an individual, becomes less self-absorbed, and is Betty's best friend. Wilhelmina builds a closer relationship with her daughter, and realizes that family is more important than her mission to rule MODE magazine. These characters prove that it is never to late too change, and we are always evolving into a better version of ourselves.
8. You Can Do It
Betty Suarez lived her whole life in Queens, NY, attended a "best value" college, and spent her teenage years on the yearbook committee. Betty worked at soft serve ice cream shops and as a party clown. But, she always dreamed of working at a publishing company, and she made that dream a reality when she became Daniel's assistant, no matter how small the position. Despite everyone's preconceived notions of her, she proved them all wrong. She took MODE by storm, and reinvented it over the course of four years. It all started with her taking her boss's coffee order, but it ended with her becoming a magazine owner in London. So, don't doubt yourself, because I guarantee that people think that you are pretty amazing.
On April 14, 2010, ABC aired the final episode of "Ugly Betty." Last year, it was no longer available to stream on Netflix. Despite that the show is one of the past, it was relevant then and remains relevant now.
Thank you, Betty.
