Courtesy of The CW
The models use their influence to convince young girls not to become models, then become brainless “doll” versions of themselves.
Let’s bitch it out…
As predicted, with Ashley out of the house, Mikey has to change his game this week. You have to give the guy credit though; knowing that he’s alienated all the other females in the house, Mikey hits the reset button and goes back to his charming puppy-dog persona from the first couple of episodes. It seems that Courtney is happy to see the back of Ashley too, as she cavorts around the house in borrowed clothes in a vain attempt to rekindle that first-night romance with Mikey. I’m not sure which is sadder: Mikey’s d-bag personality in general, or Courtney throwing herself at him in an attempt to join what she considers to be the cool clique. The entire situation is bad high-school drama at its worst. Throw in Bello taunting Courtney and encouraging her behaviour, and we’re almost in Big Brother territory. Honestly, I don’t know if I’ll be able to watch another season.
The overarching theme this week makes no sense. There is a disconnect between the PSA challenge and the life-size doll photoshoot. Usually the challenge is a teach of some sort that introduces skills which come in to play during the final shoot, but this week goes beyond complete mismatch and ventures into the ironic. It begins when Tyra brings the models to a school to create viral Vine videos encouraging young girls to pursue STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) disciplines, which will in turn grant to them the holy American trinity of power, money, and respect. The entire segment is riddled with the ridiculous, as most of the models seem to think that STEM is some kind of admissions test (like the LSAT, or MCAT), but the underlying irony is lost on everyone, including Tyra and the show’s production team. Here we have a bunch of people pursuing careers as models, NOT in STEM disciplines, using their influence as “beautiful people” to convince young girls to go down different paths than they themselves have gone down (i.e. become engineers, not models). The videos betray the disconnect, showing “baller” scientists, and pleading rockers, none of whom comprehend the disciplines they are attempting to showcase.
If that weren’t enough, this week’s photoshoot emphasizes one of the harsh realities of the modelling world, that models are basically considered life-size dolls (i.e. no brains). The disconnect is particularly lost on Hadasah, who is apparently a doll-collecting aficionado. Tyra makes a brief appearance at the beginning of this shoot to instruct the models on how to appear completely vacuous and lifeless (as if they need more training in that), then disappears until judging. As expected, Nyle and Lacey rock the shoot while everyone else struggles, and Yu Tsai loudly bullies and complains the entire time. This story needs a different ending! The big surprise this week is the double elimination. While we don’t lose either Devin or Mikey, I’ll settle for losing Courtney and Bello (they’re both here only for the entertainment value). Unfortunately, the pleasure will be short lived … we learn that in next week’s episode all the eliminated models are back in the house for go-sees. Let the games begin…again.
Courtesy of The CW
Other Observations:
- Tyra, in the future, if you’re going to wear something as hideously memorable as that yellow-shoulder-padded asymmetrical pantsuit, please avoid shooting multiple subsequent insert videos in that same outfit. I could accept Lacey’s #tytytip, but wearing the same outfit for the introductory video for the PSA challenge went too far. Obviously these were both shot around the time of judging last week, but seriously, the SAME outfit in videos meant to be seen days apart? It’s just poor production quality and lack of attention. ESPECIALLY for a supposed MODEL! Would you show up to two subsequent interviews with the SAME agency wearing the same outfit? No. Tyra, it’s clear that you have checked out of ANTM.
- We get another sincere moment between Nyle and the other models when they take his phone during Devin’s birthday party. Whatever issues I may have with this season, I am loving Nyle’s unexpected influence on the group. The models are going to leave the house as better people for having known him.
- Nyle and Lacey continue to dominate, but especially Lacey. I fear that we are entering the territory of so many previous seasons when a frontrunner emerges too soon, and the editors are forced to work overtime to create plausible competition.
Best Lines:
- Kelly (about Nyle’s photo): “I don’t know about your hand proportion, just for the package.”
- Miss J (interjecting): “The package is FINE.”
Your turn: What do you think about the inherent irony in models encouraging young girls to not become models? Are Lacey and Nyle too far in front to be untouchable? Who do you think will come back into the house, and will they have a chance? Sound off below …
ANTM moves to Fridays at 9pm EST starting Oct 2 on The CW.