Aside from its shallowness and materialism, “The O.C.” seems to misrepresent men and women, particularly women, during its one-hour show time. “The O.C.” is by no means a realistic documentary of Orange County, Calif. “The O.C.” is intended to be entertaining.

“The O.C.” centers around characters with an abundance of wealth and privilege. The underprivileged in this Orange County are the poor and overweight. People of color seem to be invisible in the show. Senior citizens are also excluded. All the women showcased in this show are thin and white while the men are also white as well as muscular and tall.

Why is a show that excludes the populations who are over 55, middle class or poor, overweight and non-white, seem to be such popular entertainment?

Entertainment is often unrealistic and usually tries to imitate or create appealing fantasies. Entertainment is art that aims to please the audience. Why are the images of “The O.C.” considered to be entertaining? Are images of thin WASPs really that fantastic for so many people that they just cannot seem to wait for the next episode of “The O.C.?”

In 2005, there is a hope that casting directors will ensure that more “average” people would be included in a television show. It is unfortunate that so many people have to be excluded for a show to be deemed entertaining.

The lead female character Marissa, played by Mischa Barton is, I believe, a horrible portrayal of a young, contemporary American woman. Barton is extremely thin and also often underdressed. Fox should consider more appropriate attire for Barton’s waiflike body. First, Barton may catch pneumonia. Second, and more importantly, it would be creditable for Fox to require Barton to cover up, say her razor-sharp collarbone for example, for the sake of the young, impressionable females who watch the show.

Young females may understand that the emaciated looks of Barton and other sickly entertainers are not necessarily real. However, women with low self-esteem and body dissatisfaction are prone to eating disorders, often anorexia nervosa and bulimia. Such diseases also have psychological consequences and such emotions usually override one’s rationality of what’s real.

Having watched “The O.C.” for the first and last time, I find that Marissa’s contribution to the plot of the story is of mostly nonverbal actions of smiling, blinking and staring.

Barton’s character epitomizes the negative images of women in the media; especially the nonverbal and simplistic plots. Her attribute to the storyline is that of few words. Marissa rarely pursues her own goals; rather she places her attention on being a helper for others. What a revolutionary media figure for women.

The character that she plays is a terrible stereotype of a young, modern woman. Barton’s character Marissa lacks intelligence as well as the means of supporting herself. Marissa is most often helping the male figures in her life, sometimes by looking pretty or standing in the background with an expression of perplexity.

To improve the representations of people, Fox could introduce some creditable roles to “The O.C.,” among other television shows. Fox could include more diverse characters in the lineup. Additionally, in between Marissa’s stares and references to popular culture, Fox could possibly tackle the concept of developing Marissa into a more verbal, thinking figure. Now that would be good entertainment.