ANTM

May. 15th, 2008 09:18 am
rhienelleth: (beauty)
[personal profile] rhienelleth
So I admit it - I have one reality show addiction, and it's America's Next Top Model. Say what you will, but I admit to being utterly captivated by it. (I started catching marathons of old seasons on MTV, and that was it, now I Tivo all the new seasons.) Unlike a lot of reality TV, the goal is not to humiliate contestants, and though the judges occasionally say harsh things, I'm sorry, but I've read enough about the modeling world to know those are nice compared to what these girls will hear working as actual models. What the judges say and what their coaches say are trying to prepare them for that, and yes, push them to a higher level of skill/talent. Most of these girls are so young, this is their first dose of the really real world of business, and what it takes to survive it.

Anyway, it is addictive. I love picking my favorites, watching as some girls go from awkward and unsure to confident and poised. Who's going to break down and cry, who's going to be the b*tch, and who's going to be professional. I love predicting who will win, and who will go home. It's not all about looks. A LOT of modeling is about personality, and allowing your personality to shine. Anyway, most seasons have at least one "plus size" contestant. In the modeling world, plus size means a size 10 or 12, which means OMG a normal woman with actual curves! vs the skinny girls who have, well, none. And I know it's not always easy being a size 0 or 2 and I've had friends who have, by God, tried to put on weight and couldn't, who lamented having no boobs, etc. But I'm in that camp of curvy women who struggle to keep off those twenty (or thirty) extra pounds. Most of those curvy girls have humungous confidence issues that end up crippling them. Seriously, the judges are all for the curvy gals continuing forward, but 99 times out of 100, they can't get past their own confidence issues to really shine as models. The longer the competition goes, the more they start to crack.

Then this season, we had Whitney. Now, Whitney was SO fierce about her goal to be the first "plus size" ANTM, she came across as a real bitch a lot of the time. There were a couple of other girl's waaaaay more childish and angry (Lauren and Claire - I was glad to see both of them go home) but Whitney was in their little "clique" for awhile, and she reminded me of every bitchy, popular girl I hated in high school. And she kept going on and on and ON about "No plus size model has ever made it this far. I'm a plus size model, blah, blah." I wanted to slap her half the time and say "Look, if you were really confident, you wouldn't have to keep saying that! If you're going to win, it'll be because you're just that good of a MODEL, not because you're whatever-sized. Jeesh. Get over it, or you're going to fail just like all the others." But that aggressive bravado was Whitney's armor - it was her way of getting through the competition in a house full of, yes, skinny and pretty girls. She also had this really fake smile and way of presenting herself, and the judge's nailed it every time. "We want to see the REAL Whitney", they would say. She was in the bottom two four times. For most of this cycle, I was convinced it was going to come down between Fatima and Anya, and Fatima would win. (And dude, that girl needs to pursue her career, because she can totally go on to be a supermodel without ANTM's backing. Every picture she took was fabulous.)

Well, the final three came down between Fatima, Anya, and Whitney. By this time, most of Whitney's attitude had vanished enough that I was really starting to root for her. Last night, they filmed their Cover Girl commercial. And all three of them pretty much choked in one way or another. Anya talks with this funny accent that makes her completely incoherent half the time. Fatima couldn't stop being wooden and empty, and Whitney, while not as fake as some previous attempts, didn't let enough of the 'real' Whitney through. Still, it was Anya and Whitney the judges picked for the final two. And then they got to do a runway walk for Versace. DUDE. I think this is the most famous designer to ever work with ANTM. The girl's were practically sick they were so nervous, and who could blame them?

I actually found this cycle's final runway pretty boring - most of the time it's strange, super long, or really challenging (like the one that was under water - seriously). This was just your run-of-the-mill fashion runway, but maybe the judges felt that modeling for VERSACE was enough of a challenge all by itself. And honestly? whitney rocked that final runway, and Anya, for the most part, choked. She did not come across as fierce, and about 70% of her personality vanished, while suddenly Whitney's shone through. Maybe it was the idea that she, a size 10, was getting to model Versace, but she rocked it! Her walk was this fabulous sexy strut without being at all slutty or fake. I was so hoping the judges would agree with me - and GASP - they did!

A size 10 girl won ANTM! A girl MY SIZE won! I am ridiculously excited, and can't wait to see where her career takes her.

A couple of pics where you can see both how pretty she is, and how curvy:



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