I don’t know how many of you even knew that America’s Next Top Model was starting, because I certainly had no clue. But, it did start last week, and through some sort of divine miracle ANTM is on it’s 18th cycle. This cycle is featuring two teams; seven girls from the United Kingdom and seven girls from the United States. This is hands down, the most contrived thing Tyra Banks has done since the last cycle with the “All-Stars”.

Not only did the episode start off with some intense national “rivalry” but the American girls had no idea that they were going to be competing against girls that had previously been in Top Model Competitions. Not only did ANTM not do an open casting call in the UK, they limited the amount of American girls that they were going to accept. This to me sounds like there was a lack of American talent, so they needed to go overseas to find more runner ups and reality T.V. has-beens.

There were so many things that pissed me off during the episode, that it’s almost impossible for me to pin-point any one thing that really angered me. I think the biggest downfall about the entire competition for me is the fact that it’s incredibly ignorant. Be it Tyra addressing all of the Americans as “Yanks” (even though there is a girl from Texas) or her mockery of the accents during deliberation (yes Tyra, we all heard you pull an awful British accent). The show is not only perpetuating stereotypes about both nationalities, it’s an embarrassment to the fashion industry as well.

You know what, I might as well make a list.

Mariah

I was happy when she was introduced as the first girl on ANTM to be of aboriginal descent. I think it’s amazing that they’re finally branching past the “status quo” nationalities, and picking someone that isn’t necessarily a face that is already represented in the fashion world.

Then for the photo shoot they made her Pocahantas…

And on top of making her Pocahantas, they claimed that this should have been an easy shoot for her, because she’s an aboriginal. So, should it have been an easy shot for the black girls that were portraying Janet Jackson and Mel B?

They would never EVER say that to any other competitor of any other ethnic origin, and it was atrocious that it was even suggested that she didn’t, “bring out her inner aboriginee” enough in this photo shoot. This is hands down the most disgusting thing I’ve seen on ANTM in all of the 18 cycles and I’m actually considering emailing someone about it.

The Ignorance of the Entire Production Team

I don’t know if they write Tyra’s scripts during deliberation of if she’s actually just that ignorant and oblivious all on her own.

I’m going to start off with the fact that not every American is a “Yank”. That’s actually a derogatory term for American, and I’m sure that if the few southern girls actually knew what a Yankee was, they might be a bit offended by it. Sure, they won the civil war, but that doesn’t mean that you can call every single American a “Yank”. If she says it more than once this season, I’m never watching television again.

I also had a problem with the opening credits when Tyra says that the UK accents are just, “so cuuute”. All I could think was, if you met Kate Moss, or for whatever reason had to work with Kate Moss, would you tell a modeling legend that her accent was cute? That you can’t understand her, but her accent is just cute? Not only is that EXTREMELY condescending, it’s incredibly ignorant. Especially when to top it all off, you start speaking to them in their own accent.

Cool it Tyra, shrugging off professionalism like that doesn’t make you look casual, it makes you look like a farce.

The Overall Quality of the Show

Not only do all of the girls practically look the same, there are only two nationalities represented. There are white girls, and there are black girls. There are Americans, and there are girls from the UK. There is no spice or variety to the show, it’s the same thing that we see every single other cycle except seven of the girls are from another island.

The photo shoot was less than mediocre and I’m quite sure that it produced some of the worst photos that ANTM has ever seen. The concept was horrendous, and the 3D photography? Come on. What on Earth is high fashion about that? Tyra Banks is becoming more and more irrelevant every day.

Watching this episode has not motivated me to watch any more episodes, and I found it extremely hard to sit through. Hopefully, in the next few episodes they start to settle into something a little bit more serious, although I really doubt that will happen.

ANTM isn’t a show about fashion, or fashion modeling. It’s a show about girls who want to take pretty pictures of themselves. If you want to be a model, I urge you to go about it the way every other serious model has done it.

None of the models that win this show have a career. Reality T.V. is not that way to get noticed or signed in the fashion industry, it’s how you full stop your career before it even starts.

Just think, would you really want to start your serious modeling career with KELLY OSBORNE as a deciding factor?