Ouellette Reading

This quote from Ouellette made me think of Khloe Kardashian’s show Revenge Body, The Biggest Loser, and America’s Next Top Model. The premise of America’s Next Top Model is that there are 20 aspiring models that compete for the title of “Americas Next Top Model” and the prize of a modeling contract, magazine spread, and campaigns with either Revlon, Sephora, CoverGirl, and Guess. In each season, models undergo a “Ty-Over” or makeover as decided by host Tyra Banks. In this specific episode you see an obvious transformation as girls are given buzzcuts, shaved heads, weaves and the guys are given hair dye, buzzcuts, and hair extensions. Throughout the season viewers see these average Americans from small towns be transformed into top models that could grace the cover of Nylon. Additionally, Ouellette discusses the role of social and economic hierarchies depicted in reality TV and I think America’s Next Top Model is the good example of these divisions. In the makeover episode, the judges and Tyra Banks decide how the model’s appearance should be altered. This is an explicit example of people in a superior economic and social class “helping” change an average or lower class person. Tyra and her judges are providing services for the extreme makeovers that many of the contestants could not afford themselves. Despite the class and race issues that are shown throughout the show, there is still a level of aspiration that the show creates. The aspirational effects of America’s Next Top Model encourages viewers that regardless of their race, hometown, ethnicity, religion, sexuality, and gender they could be the next top model.