‘Top Model’: Bully for them
By Contributor“America’s Next Top Model” special report
By Nadria Tucker
Week 2, Cycle 15, “America’s Next Top Model.” Wait …
Has this show has been on for 15 years? Has host Tyra Banks finally decided to shrug the conventions of man, including calendars, to create her own society of Tyraland, where long-necked models run free and flocks of wild hair extensions fill the air?
Kendal Brown of Northport is among the denizens, but will she stay another week? Find out, after the jump …
Note: That’s not a graphic on the screen. Tyra actually has a person stand next to her at all times holding that sign below her chin.
After a sticky beginning in Week 1 …
… Kendal has made into the group of 14 finalists.
Now, the real challenges begin. First, the girls have to move into their giant new house on Venice Beach. The poor things.
Kendal admits that all of this is new to her — back home she lives in a trailer — but has no trouble settling in.
And then there’s Ann Ward. Poor, weird Egg—er, Ann. We’re supposed to track Kendal’s performance, but Ann is just so … compelling. Another contestant asks Ann her preference in men …
Yes, Ann (left) admits, “Hobos are kinda hot.”
Ann goes on to describe her ideal mate: “He has to be a warlock. And he has to spit fire. And he has to know how to make sushi.” Mmm-kay.
Then the contestants obsess about their weight and … Tyramail!
Tidings from Tyraland: The girls will walk in a Diane von Fürstenberg fashion show on a runway four stories in the air. On top of that, they’ll have to do their own hair and makeup. Gasp!
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Buy this episode or the entire Season Pass
from iTunes. [aff. links]
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I gotta give it to these girls. They put on their harnesses and DVF dresses and went to work on this terrifying runway wa-a-a-a-ay up in the sky above a crowd of fashionistas and extras who you know were just willing them to fall.
Later, the competitors obsess about being teased as youngsters, then set off for the photo shoot. This week’s theme: teen bullying awareness.
Shooting with Deborah Anderson, the models end up painted with words they were bullied with and words to empower them. It’s one of the more effective cause awareness shoots “Top Model” has done over the years.
The girls cry. And then Disney’s Demi Lovato shows up. And the girls cheer! And then Demi Lovato talks some more about bullying. And the models frown.
Kendal’s photo isn’t so great. But Vogue editor-at-large André Leon Talley loves her in person, comparing her to a gazelle and shouting, “Zut alors!” or some such French nonsense.
Ann wins the challenge. Her? Yes, the girl who likes sandwiches and cats and hobos takes a mean photograph. Kendal finishes near the top of the pack.
The judges give New Yorker Anamaria Mirdita a lecture on being too skinny, and then send her tiny tail home.
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Buy this episode or the entire Season Pass
from iTunes. [aff. links]
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Birmingham writer Nadria Tucker (@NadriaTucker) dabbles in magical realism and the Southern gothic tradition, but always keeps an eye toward the future of Southern fiction. Her award-winning fiction is character driven and sometimes dark, but usually plays fair. Her work has been featured in publications such as The2ndHand, Lipstick and Birmingham Magazine.
“America’s Next Top Model” airs at 7 p.m. Wednesdays on CW 21.
Is Anamaria too skinny for professional modeling? Too skinny to be healthy? Tell us in the comments.
Previous: Episode 1 — Fine, fresh, fierce, we got it on lock
Next: Makeovers! More tears, more screaming and, of course, more hair extensions. [Episode 3 – More than meets the eye]
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On the runway: more on “America’s Next Top Model.”
Wednesday, September 15, 2010, 10:57 pm
[…] Model, cycle 15Kendal Brown of Northport to compete on ‘America’s Next Top Model’‘Top Model’: Bully for themAmerica’s Next Top Model […]
Thursday, September 16, 2010, 8:27 am
My favorite “bully/empowerment words” were going from “Oreo” to “Nubian Queen” and “Big-Head Girl” to “Big-Face Girl.”
Thursday, September 16, 2010, 8:52 pm
I think my favorite was “soup cooler.” I really didn’t want to make fun her childhood trauma, but she sure had some creative bullies…
Wednesday, September 22, 2010, 7:01 am
[…] Wade on Birmingham » ‘Top Model’: Makeovers and meltdowns […]
Wednesday, September 22, 2010, 10:19 pm
[…] ‘Top Model’: Bully for them Nadria Tucker | I think my favorite was… Summer | My favorite “bully/empowerment… Comments RSS [?] […]