America's Next "Top Model"

Season 4 of ANTM debuted on Mediacorp Channel 5 on Monday. They skipped airing Season 3 entirely, but that's understandable, as Singapore is already 2 whole seasons behind the US, and the new season there is starting in September. What I don't understand the long hiatus between airing of the seasons. It seems so long ago since we saw Yoanna beat out Mercedes in Season 2 of ANTM, because it WAS very long ago. Surely Mediacorp could have found a way to squeeze it into the schedule. I am sure ANTM would have been preferred over a number of other shows ... oooh, let's see .... The Swan? Extreme Makeover? Fear Factor?

Anyway, about ANTM. First things first, people who win on this show do NOT become America's Next "Top Model". They get to become America's Next "Slightly-Less-Unknown-Than-Before Model". Adrienne of Season 1 mainly worked in South Africa and has done another reality show since winning, hardly top model stuff at all. Yoanna of Season 2 does catalogue work, and hardly any runway work. Eva, of Season 3, I know nothing about, so I presume she probably isn't a "top model" either. ANTM is less about finding a top model and more about making Tyra Banks even more famous than she already is (and I have to admire her for it).

Based on Episode 1 of Season 4 - the girls are ... err, let's see how to put this diplomatically ... not so conventionally attractive. If I am not bothered about mincing words, I might call a couple of them downright ugly. Brandy - she of the red, clownish hair-weave - has a huge gap between her front teeth and squinty eyes. Michelle - the wrestler - has no neck, disproportionately broad shoulders, and an excessively manly face, with prominent brow ridge and square jaw. LLuvy - the Liza Minelli clone - has crazy eyes and looks like a 12 year old with bad make-up.

Many top models are not movie-star beautiful, but isn't having an attractive face part of the job requirement? A few of the season 4 girls might not even get picked up in a bar, never mind a modelling agency. I know that with make-up and styling, most of them will look rather good. But by that standard, three quarters of the female population would be model material. Maybe there's hope for the rest of us.