America's Next Top....President
Bu2
Posts: 1,693
(WARNING: Heavy irony)
When I’m not focused on politics or on my job or on my friends and family members or on everything else in between, I tend to enjoy being distracted by Tyra Banks’ hit show America’s Next Top Model. It’s not because of the cattiness; after all, I could find that in ANY reality television show. It’s not because of the modeling industry; I don’t subscribe to any magazines and only find myself reading them while I’m waiting in a, quite aptly-named, waiting room. I can correctly name and match up with their picture perhaps 5 top models that I know of over the past 20 years.
I like ANTM because sometimes the underdog that I have been routing for wins. Of course, I usually start out the season picking favorites based on looks alone, without yet knowing what their personalities are like. Take Renee, for instance (and don’t ask me to remember which season she was in -- but Jaslene was the eventual winner). I thought Renee had the right look, she had modeling experience under her belt (and made no effort to hide the fact) and she had no doubt that she belonged in the competition. But once she started showing her true colors around the house with the other girls, I was ashamed of my first choice, and started shopping around amongst the other girls for the next winner.
The reason I bring up America’s Next Top Model is because the next cycle starts next month, shortly after the Tuesday, February 5 Super Duper Spectacular presidential primaries.
Before voting on anything, whether it be our next president, or our next top model, I always like to be prepared. So I went searching cwtv.com for the photos and information about this newest cycle’s models, but before taking my first ever glimpse of the next go-round, I found myself looking at last cycle winner Saleisha’s portfolio first, sort of as a “refresher“ after last season.
That’s when I stumbled upon this photo of Saleisha posing with Tyra Banks herself:
http://www.cwtv.com/thecw/gen-gallery-antm09-saleisha-winner/1/6
Something about this picture made me think of…….grace.
Here’s why:
Tyra looks beautiful in this photo, of course, as does the current Next Top Model winner, Saleisha. But look at the angles of their faces. Notice that we see Tyra head on, to the left and slightly behind, and we see Saleisha closer to us, looking at us from over her shoulder. Why is that a statement? Because Tyra is allowing her face to be seen “un-vogue”, and is taking a slight backseat to her new protégé.
Now compare the two faces themselves, starting from the top, and note that the pores in Tyra’s forehead are visible. Saleisha’s skin looks dewey in comparison. Tyra’s eyes, a lovely shade, look almost “squinty”, compared to Saleisha’s wide open and more innocent gaze, almost as if Tyra is telling us, “I’m the wiser, and she is younger”. The lighting gives Tyra’s nose more sharpness; Saleisha’s nose is more a childlike hint of the adult nose yet to come. Tyra’s full lips are closed, her mouth seems resolute; Saleisha’s lips are slightly open, and yet she looks confident too. Saleisha, overall, appears to have more “new-ness“, and the kiss of youth about her.
I am not, by any means, dissing Tyra here. I know full well how successful and deserving of that success she is. Her ANTM series does, if nothing else, help give young, talented and capable girls a chance of gaining recognition and earning a well-deserved boost up into a very tough and competitive industry.
What I’m saying here is that Tyra seems to be, in this photo, portraying what I can only narrow down to “grace”.
She’s being a “woman of substance”, a “woman of character“ (I put these in quotes because I‘m pretty sure they are both book titles, and I don‘t want to infringe on any copyrights). In this photo, Tyra is both proudly and humbly passing on the torch to a younger woman who deserves the same chances that she once got. She’s allowing her protégé to slightly upstage her, without giving away any of her own well-deserved spotlight. She is stating in this picture: “I’m still good. But this girl has the potential of being JUST AS good, so I want you to have a real look at her, compared to me, and see what I see.”
Tyra, you rock, girl -- and I thank you for having the grace that many other women (many other VERY INFLUENTIAL WOMEN RIGHT NOW) sometimes lack.
When I’m not focused on politics or on my job or on my friends and family members or on everything else in between, I tend to enjoy being distracted by Tyra Banks’ hit show America’s Next Top Model. It’s not because of the cattiness; after all, I could find that in ANY reality television show. It’s not because of the modeling industry; I don’t subscribe to any magazines and only find myself reading them while I’m waiting in a, quite aptly-named, waiting room. I can correctly name and match up with their picture perhaps 5 top models that I know of over the past 20 years.
I like ANTM because sometimes the underdog that I have been routing for wins. Of course, I usually start out the season picking favorites based on looks alone, without yet knowing what their personalities are like. Take Renee, for instance (and don’t ask me to remember which season she was in -- but Jaslene was the eventual winner). I thought Renee had the right look, she had modeling experience under her belt (and made no effort to hide the fact) and she had no doubt that she belonged in the competition. But once she started showing her true colors around the house with the other girls, I was ashamed of my first choice, and started shopping around amongst the other girls for the next winner.
The reason I bring up America’s Next Top Model is because the next cycle starts next month, shortly after the Tuesday, February 5 Super Duper Spectacular presidential primaries.
Before voting on anything, whether it be our next president, or our next top model, I always like to be prepared. So I went searching cwtv.com for the photos and information about this newest cycle’s models, but before taking my first ever glimpse of the next go-round, I found myself looking at last cycle winner Saleisha’s portfolio first, sort of as a “refresher“ after last season.
That’s when I stumbled upon this photo of Saleisha posing with Tyra Banks herself:
http://www.cwtv.com/thecw/gen-gallery-antm09-saleisha-winner/1/6
Something about this picture made me think of…….grace.
Here’s why:
Tyra looks beautiful in this photo, of course, as does the current Next Top Model winner, Saleisha. But look at the angles of their faces. Notice that we see Tyra head on, to the left and slightly behind, and we see Saleisha closer to us, looking at us from over her shoulder. Why is that a statement? Because Tyra is allowing her face to be seen “un-vogue”, and is taking a slight backseat to her new protégé.
Now compare the two faces themselves, starting from the top, and note that the pores in Tyra’s forehead are visible. Saleisha’s skin looks dewey in comparison. Tyra’s eyes, a lovely shade, look almost “squinty”, compared to Saleisha’s wide open and more innocent gaze, almost as if Tyra is telling us, “I’m the wiser, and she is younger”. The lighting gives Tyra’s nose more sharpness; Saleisha’s nose is more a childlike hint of the adult nose yet to come. Tyra’s full lips are closed, her mouth seems resolute; Saleisha’s lips are slightly open, and yet she looks confident too. Saleisha, overall, appears to have more “new-ness“, and the kiss of youth about her.
I am not, by any means, dissing Tyra here. I know full well how successful and deserving of that success she is. Her ANTM series does, if nothing else, help give young, talented and capable girls a chance of gaining recognition and earning a well-deserved boost up into a very tough and competitive industry.
What I’m saying here is that Tyra seems to be, in this photo, portraying what I can only narrow down to “grace”.
She’s being a “woman of substance”, a “woman of character“ (I put these in quotes because I‘m pretty sure they are both book titles, and I don‘t want to infringe on any copyrights). In this photo, Tyra is both proudly and humbly passing on the torch to a younger woman who deserves the same chances that she once got. She’s allowing her protégé to slightly upstage her, without giving away any of her own well-deserved spotlight. She is stating in this picture: “I’m still good. But this girl has the potential of being JUST AS good, so I want you to have a real look at her, compared to me, and see what I see.”
Tyra, you rock, girl -- and I thank you for having the grace that many other women (many other VERY INFLUENTIAL WOMEN RIGHT NOW) sometimes lack.
Feels Good Inc.
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