They kicked off the ANTM season with the self proclaimed "most controversial photo shoot ever," and they weren't exaggerating. The theme off the shoot was "model stereotypes," and they had the contestants pose as, among other things, a dumb blonde, a narcissist, a drug addict, Naomi Campbell (throwing a cell phone at an assistant), Linda Evangelista (marrying Kyle MacLaughlin -- no wait, actually it was refusing to get out of bed for less than $10,000), an anorexic, a bulemic.
The bulemic photo was the most disturbing: the girl was sitting on a toilet with food scattered on the floor in front of her, and also smeared on her face and hands. Having her sit on the toilet rather than on the floor in front of it made the photo particularly creepy by implying laxative abuse. And yet, I have to agree with whoever (I think Mr. Jay) said that it was the most editorial photo of the bunch. I guess my feminist sensibilities are supposed to be horrified by that photo, and it was genuinely disturbing, but it was also a great shot. I could totally see it in a magazine. I think largely because the model was really good. (Remember a couple of seasons ago when they made that girl pose as "gluttony" and surrounded her with food? It wasn't half as good a photo as this one.) Unfortunately the photos from tonight's episode aren't up yet, so you'll have to take my word for it.
So aside from the creepy bulemia photo, the episode was pretty good. The first episodes are always hard to get a handle on because there are so many contestants. But there are the usual stereotypes -- the conservative nice girl, the raging bitch, the show-off, etc. I think my early favorite is the edgy girl with really dark hair. I think her name is AJ.
So why is UPN called CW now? Did the network just change names but keep all the same shows, or was it a bigger reorganization? When did it happen? I guess I wasn't paying attention.
(Hey, I just thought of something -- when they were picking model stereotypes for the photo shoot, why didn't they do a party girl? They could have had one of them dance on a table with a rocker guy.)
UPN and the WB merged, forming the CW. It just happened on Monday 9/18. Since I wasn't really up on the lineups on either network, I'm not sure what the channel that used to be the WB is airing, or what WB shows have moved to the CW. And I don't know what "CW" stands for. Sorry to be only marginally helpful!
well, in a way they did have the party girl, or the negative side of the party girl-- the drug addict.
Minty: ANTM was the only show I watched on either UPN or WB, and it clearly survived the transition, so that's really all I need to know :)
Lisa: I see what you mean, but the drug addict photo was much darker than someone who merely partied too much: the model was slumped over, looking very strung out, while another model dressed as a makeup artist tried to cover up track marks on her arm. During the shoot you could hear Jay Manuel (the art director) yelling "Think Gia!" at her. That one was almost as creepy as the bulemia photo now that I think about it.
The ANTM website posted photos from last night's episode. The bulemia photo is just as disturbing as I remembered:
http://cwtv.com/page/images/topmodel/photos/Michelle_1.jpg
Although on second look you can make a case that she's supposed to be hiding in the bathroom to binge, not abusing laxatives. Still I think it's ambiguous, and having her sit on the toilet is what really creeps out the photo.
The drug addict photo is also posted, and has her holding a bottle. Which does suggest a party girl more than I had remembered:
http://cwtv.com/page/images/topmodel/photos/Megg_1.jpg
Unfortunately the Naomi Campbell photo is disappointing:
http://cwtv.com/page/images/topmodel/photos/Monique_1.jpg
The assistant/victim is much more the focal point of the photo. That's kind of sad, to have a body like that, dressed like that, and to be upstaged by a woman in a dowdy grey suit.
part of what i was getting at was that the party girl photo would have been too positive. the rest of these are much darker.
i think the failure of the naomi campbell photo is the fault of the photographer, not the model. the assistant is placed in the foreground and her pale skin focuses the eye. she's also visually simple against a complex background, whereas the naomi model is more visually complex.
i wasn't disturbed by the bulimia photo. i just thought it was gorgeous.
perhaps i was nonplussed because i've been watching "intervention" on A&E. they show actual addicts being addicts, bulimics being bulimics... *that* show is disturbing. it's the closest thing to reality in the whole genre of reality tv.
that said, i thought the judges were crazy for giving those twins a pass into the final group of 13. but after the bulimia shot (and to a lesser extent the anorexia shot) i can see what they saw in those two.
Lisa: that's a good point, although I skewed your information by only talking about the really dark photos. There were some that weren't nearly so negative, like one where the model is cuddling a toy dog a la Paris Hilton.
I think it would be possible to pose as a "party girl" as a negative image, but that might take more acting skill than the ANTM contestants have in their first week on the show.
Also, you're right about the composition of the photo favoring the assistant, Georg commented on that too. It seemed during the show that the photographer was moving around and trying different angles, and also was having trouble getting a usable shot of the model. It may be that the only decent photos they had to work with were from this angle where the assistant is more prominent.
Xta: I see what you mean about the twins, but I try to withhold judgement on everyone in the first episode b/c I remember how awful Adrienne looked in the first episode of her season. Besides, the twins kind of remind me of Shandi. They're very tall, very skinny, and more striking than pretty. Which is the recipe for a great model if they can pose, which apparently Michelle already can. Amanda less so but it seems like she has potential.
Now, is Anchal useless and untalented, or do I just think that because she reminds me of Gina from last season?