America’S Next Top Model

Beauty, glamour, girlie stuff is what most of the girls love! America’s Next Top Model is one of the reality shows that is shown every Wednesday at 8:00 pm PST. It seeks to find the next golden girl of the modeling industry. Contestants from different states go for auditions, and the judges pick 13 finalists who fit with the requirements which include an age that is between 18 to 27 years, height of at least 5 feet and 7 inches, a US citizen, and must not have previous experience as a model in a national campaign within the last five (5) years, including, but not limited to, appearances on television and print advertisements (Eligibility). The 13 finalists will live in one house that has cameras running 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. These cameras will capture exciting events that happen inside the house where the contestants fight or catfight, argue, pick on each other, give support to each one and so on. Each week, the girls have to learn to walk down the catwalk, pose and act for fashion photo shoots, and learn perfect publicity skills in order to sharpen their modeling skills (ANTM). The contestants who show least amount of improvement are eliminated and those who excel move on to the finals. The members of the board of judges are Twiggy, a fashion icon; Nigel Barker, the fashion photographer; J. Alexander, the runway trainer; Jay Manuel, the make-up artist and the photo director; Tyra, a supermodel, host, creator and executive producer of America’s Next Top Model show, and a mentor/friend to the finalists. There are also special guest judges who will appear to evaluate within their area of expertise. The girl who will win the contest is going to have a contract with Elite Model Management, a $100,000.00 contract with cosmetics’ giant Cover girl and will appear on the cover and six pages fashion spread in Seventeen magazine (Grand Prize). Watching “America’s Next Top Model” show leads a viewer to an immediate addiction. The show gives potentially-gifted people the opportunity to prove that they can make it in the high-stress, high-stakes world of super modeling. But it exposes the transformation of young women into potentially fierce supermodels (ANTM). While the show promotes a body figure that most women would find impossible to obtain and appeals to the negative competitiveness of some women, the show does alert potential models to the harsh world of modeling and gives young women an opportunity to enter the modeling world.

The show promotes a body figure that most women would find impossible to obtain. To be thin or slim as required of contestants, may be attainable by some who are not such, as long as they have the will and personal discipline to do the different slimming regimens. Lucky are they who are already slim but the girls must also meet a certain height and weight criteria, set by the contest. Since the supermodel figure which is a perfect body figure is uncommon to most women, joining modeling contests like “America’s Next Top Model” will just remain an obsession to most of them.

The show appeals to the negative competitiveness of some women. For example, once I began to watch the show, I was hooked instantly. I couldn’t help to criticize the models up to the little details about them. I found myself sitting in front of the television set acting as if I were a professional judge or a model. I would critically observe the pictures of the contestants and would believe that I could do better than any one of them. The show captured and brought me into the world of harsh modeling industry. Some women who are strong willed and decided to compete in modeling contests, would resort to any manner or solution just to become qualified to join the contests.