In the past when I heard people (and when I say "people" I mean young women) discuss Tyra Banks' show "America's Next Top Model," the word "crapola" immediately sprang to mind. Never in a million years would I have guessed that I would get hooked on it like a junkie to cheap crack. Why, you ask? Because it's chock full of psychology just waiting to be observed, that's why.
For those of you who aren't familiar with the show, 12 aspiring young female models are handpicked by Tyra Banks and her crew from all the women who show up at try-outs, and the lucky 12 are given the opportunity to not only be discovered, but win a contract with a modeling agency and an additional $100,000 contract with Cover Girl cosmetic company. Once the models-in-making have made the initial cut, they face two challenges a week and sometimes a third when they face the judging panel, until only one remains and takes the prize. The first challenge usually involves something to push the contestants' limits, like an acting class challenge, a commercial shoot in a completely foreign language, and the like. The final challenge each week involves a themed photo shoot, usually over the top and actually pretty artistic.
Up until this point in the description, some of you might be thinking the show is absolute snoresville. Au contraire, friends. As always, it depends on your interests and the eyes with which you watch the show, but I find no end of things to ponder or analyze when watching. First of all, I like trying to guess who will get eliminated each week and I also like to root for my favorites. From watching the show, I have a newfound respect for the hard work it takes to make it in the modeling industry. I have to admit that it would probably never be a career I'd want, but I think many of us look at the finished product, like a print ad or a commercial, without seeing the behind the scenes effort it took to produce the work. Some of the photo shoots on the show are amazing and quite enjoyable to watch if you're a photography aficionado. The final episodes are always shot at an international location, and it's hard not to jump online and book a ticket to some of those places after seeing tantalizing glimpses of the different cultures and scenery. I also get a kick out of the more than obvious product placement within the show, which is actually pretty clever in that it undoubtedly assists ANTM in keeping its bank account full and its cameras rolling.
Now to the juicy stuff: watching young women of different backgrounds interact with each other, form alliances, create friendships, bare their teeth and antagonize each other. I like watching all the different personalities in the room and how interactions change as individuals are eliminated one by one. It's also fascinating to see how different people handle criticism, and often blistering criticism at that. I also like to investigate the role self-esteem plays in the competition--whether it grows, fades, or fluctuates, and what kind of confidence the girls manifest at the outset and over the course of the competition. Some of the gals come in with an enormous chip on their shoulder, and the judges work hard to bring them back down to Earth. Others, on the other hand, don't even know the extent of what they have to offer, and it sometimes ends up being their downfall in the competition. In general, what's rewarding is when some of the contestants discover positive or negative aspects of themselves they weren't previously aware of, or when they start to embark on the journey of self-improvement and make noticeable progress.
Tyra Banks contributes a few key elements of the show as well. I still can't decide whether she's an egomaniac or whether she's more or less grounded on the whole, but she's certainly a card and she knows her industry inside and out. She's well-spoken, well-traveled, and even if she's not a Nobel Prize winner or a member of Mensa, she definitely throws kernels of wisdom and a positive attitude into the mix that keep the show upbeat and inspirational despite the fact that girls are cracking under the strain of the competition and getting axed right and left. She's definitely a proponent of sisterhood and self-acceptance, and I have to admit that she and her judging panel get a lot of the personality and psychological appraisals right.
Is watching ANTM as intellectually stimulating as reading a Stephen Hawking book? Highly doubtful. Does it contain insights and "data" that might even make watching it a worthwhile use of time? I like to think so. Not everyone will agree with me on that one, but whenever I watch an episode, I'm reminded of the thrill of social analysis and why I majored in psychology.
No comments:
Post a Comment