Race is a social grouping based on perceived biological characteristics. It is typically based on visually detected differences. Ethnicity is a social grouping based on cultural characteristics. On the October 28th episode of Top Model, Tyra took the six contestants to Hawaii, where they underwent ‘transformations’ to embody two distinct ethnic heritages for a ‘hapa’-inspired photo shoot. In the Hawaiian language, hapa means ‘half’. Therefore each girl was basically portrayed as biracial, and donned darker hair, painted skin, and color-corrective contact lenses to do so. Brittany Markert was Native American and East Indian, Sundai Love was Moroccan and Russian, Jennifer An was Botswanan and Polynesian, Erin Wagner was Tibetan and Egyptian, Laura Kirkpatrick was Mexican and Greek, and Nicole Fox was Malagasy and Japanese. Many people then have questioned, is this racist?
After all, America’s Next Top Model is known for being open and welcoming to all types of women. African American, Caucasian, Korean, tall, short, plus-sized, gay, straight, etcetera. On Top Model, it does not matter what or who you are, as long as you have what it takes to become a model. So was the photo shoot racist and offensive, or was it just a publicity stunt? Perhaps it really was just an innocent attempt to celebrate Hawaii’s diversity. Yet Brittany Markert, who was portrayed as Native American and East Indian, had a large feather headdress on her head. While there are many Native Americans who still dress this way, there are many who do not. Was that then considered offensive to them, as she was depicted as a stereotypical Native American? Then again, since Top Model has a history of being very fair, perhaps the photo shoot was taken out of context. Many people see this episode from both sides, yes it was a beautiful photo shoot, but they also see how it could be offensive as well. With a poll from BuddyTV, 33% of people thought the episode was “beautiful and celebratory” while only 11% found it “offensive”. The remaining percentage thought that the show was a publicity stunt or that everyone just needs to lighten up.
The messages that Top Model sent with this episode are very obvious indeed. Race and stereotypes were perhaps not the main focus of the episode (celebrating hapa was the main focus) but what the majority of people chose to focus on. I believe that this episode did not send negative messages about race or stereotypes, but positive ones. I think that the idea was embrace hapa, and they did that fully. I believe that Top Model was trying to show girls that no matter what your race, you are still beautiful. The majority of the world is not just “white” or just “black”, but a mix of everything in between. I think that with this episode, that is what they were trying to embrace. And I think they succeeded in doing so. Hopefully the viewers on the episode will stop focusing on the controversy and see the big picture. If so, then maybe more girls out there could learn to love themselves better.
Above is my paper.
We had to choose a TV show to analyze and a sociological topic (race, class, poverty, etc.) to focus on. I chose ANTM because on the October 28th, the girls were portrayed as biracial in their photo shoot.
The first half of my paper was just talking about the show and it's basic premise. I already have that finished, so did not post it. I posted the second half, because we had a series of questions to answer, and I'm a little iffy about what I wrote.
Here are the questions:
What is the sociological topic on which you are focusing?
How is the topic portrayed in your program?
What concept (inequality, stereotypes, etc.) related to this topic is evident in the show?
What messages is the show sending to the audience and how?
Are they obvious or subtle messages?
What are the implications of the TV show's message to broader society?
What are the possible effects of the ideas the show perpetuates?
Is the message reinforcing or challanging the status quo?
After all, America’s Next Top Model is known for being open and welcoming to all types of women. African American, Caucasian, Korean, tall, short, plus-sized, gay, straight, etcetera. On Top Model, it does not matter what or who you are, as long as you have what it takes to become a model. So was the photo shoot racist and offensive, or was it just a publicity stunt? Perhaps it really was just an innocent attempt to celebrate Hawaii’s diversity. Yet Brittany Markert, who was portrayed as Native American and East Indian, had a large feather headdress on her head. While there are many Native Americans who still dress this way, there are many who do not. Was that then considered offensive to them, as she was depicted as a stereotypical Native American? Then again, since Top Model has a history of being very fair, perhaps the photo shoot was taken out of context. Many people see this episode from both sides, yes it was a beautiful photo shoot, but they also see how it could be offensive as well. With a poll from BuddyTV, 33% of people thought the episode was “beautiful and celebratory” while only 11% found it “offensive”. The remaining percentage thought that the show was a publicity stunt or that everyone just needs to lighten up.
The messages that Top Model sent with this episode are very obvious indeed. Race and stereotypes were perhaps not the main focus of the episode (celebrating hapa was the main focus) but what the majority of people chose to focus on. I believe that this episode did not send negative messages about race or stereotypes, but positive ones. I think that the idea was embrace hapa, and they did that fully. I believe that Top Model was trying to show girls that no matter what your race, you are still beautiful. The majority of the world is not just “white” or just “black”, but a mix of everything in between. I think that with this episode, that is what they were trying to embrace. And I think they succeeded in doing so. Hopefully the viewers on the episode will stop focusing on the controversy and see the big picture. If so, then maybe more girls out there could learn to love themselves better.
Above is my paper.
We had to choose a TV show to analyze and a sociological topic (race, class, poverty, etc.) to focus on. I chose ANTM because on the October 28th, the girls were portrayed as biracial in their photo shoot.
The first half of my paper was just talking about the show and it's basic premise. I already have that finished, so did not post it. I posted the second half, because we had a series of questions to answer, and I'm a little iffy about what I wrote.
Here are the questions:
What is the sociological topic on which you are focusing?
How is the topic portrayed in your program?
What concept (inequality, stereotypes, etc.) related to this topic is evident in the show?
What messages is the show sending to the audience and how?
Are they obvious or subtle messages?
What are the implications of the TV show's message to broader society?
What are the possible effects of the ideas the show perpetuates?
Is the message reinforcing or challanging the status quo?