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America's Next Top Model: New Settings And Old Problems
Rankings by Jacob D.
As of October 30, 2008
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This week's episode of America's Next Top Model took the girls to new settings, but saw old problems remaining.
The girls were faced with an, "Amazing Race," style challenge right after arriving in Holland. The girls, working in pairs, completed various tasks while racing to their new living quarters and the winners, Samantha and Elina, each received 25 extra frames for the next photo shoot.
The main challenge saw the girls posing in brothel windows in the infamous Red Light District, modeling designer clothes. Once again, the girls worked in pairs and this time, Samantha and McKey were the winners. Their prize was the chance to walk for various designers during Amsterdam's Fashion Week.
The photo shoot payed homage to Holland's ties to the shipping industry by having the girls pose on ships at sea.
At judging panel, McKey was called first when Tyra was handing out the photos while Sheena and Elina were left as the bottom two. Though Elina's posing in her film was stiff and she still had control issues, Sheena was eliminated for being unable to find a balance between her sexy and her modeling sides.
Only five girls remain and next week, they will have a photo shoot with Tyra as the photographer and do their foreign go-sees.
Here are my rankings for the week...
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Analeigh
Current Ranking: 1 Previous Ranking: 2
I feel like Analeigh is on a path to victory right now. After a close call in the beginning and a lot of missed potential, her fortunes have really turned around. In the last few weeks, we've seen the judges really begin to respond to her pictures, so she began to prove that she can take a good photo. Last week, she turned in what Tyra called, "the best commercial in Top Model history," so she definitely proved she can be a commercial model. As far as personality goes, she's an incredibly nice, relatable girl, and none of the other girls have really complained much about her, except for the pity party stuff that Hannah got annoyed with, so there's no major flaw there.
This week, there was a lot more stuff that impressed me and made me think she has a definite shot at winning. Number one was her revelation at the photo shoot. This is where she finally got the message and said that trying to be the figure skater is not the way to go. No, she finally figured out that you have to just move naturally and let it come from within. Then, the judges raved about her photo and Paulina made the comment that Analeigh has improved a great deal. The judges ALWAYS favor a girl who has improved considerably, especially when that girl has personality and shown herself to be well-rounded like Analeigh has done. Personality and improvement have carried girls like Cycle Five's Bre, Cycle Six's Furonda, Cycle Eight's Natasha, Cycle Nine's Bianca, and Cycle Ten's Dominique to high finishes in the past. Finally, I realized that in the last five weeks, Analeigh has been called first once and second four times when Tyra has been handing out the photos. She now has a better track record than every girl left, except possibly Marjorie who has been called first twice.
On a side note, just like in poker there are also various, "tells," that you can look for in the way a reality show is edited to give yourself some kind of clue as to what will happen. For example, one of the most basic tells is that if someone who has been in the background for a long time suddenly starts getting a lot of airtime, that usually means their position will change dramatically very soon, whether that be in a good or bad way. As far as Analeigh is concerned, she started out as the girl with missed potential, the one the judges were concerned about and almost let go, someone at the bottom of the pack, but has now gotten the turnaround edit where she is one of the girls at the top and the judges now speak highly of her. Also, I noticed that if you look at the group photo at the end, and a lot of ANTM fans do to try and figure out who wins by how they're placed and what they're doing, the other girls are spread throughout and looking pale while Analeigh is holding the center and glowing.
So for showing improvement, showing personality, taking good photos, and being recognized by the judges, it'll be hard to knock Analeigh off of her perch, especially if she rocks next week's go-sees. She's the one girl remaining who seems closest to being the total package, the most well-rounded chick, so keep an eye on this one.
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McKey
Current Ranking: 2 Previous Ranking: 4
I've always liked McKey and the past couple of weeks have really shown her potential to me. This week, she was on a mission to be called first when Tyra handed out the photos and that gave her great focus. She did a fantastic job at the photo shoot and turned in a photo that had the judges raving up and down. Not only that, but her style and the way she was dressed at panel really impressed the judges and that netted her a bundle of extra brownie points. I can see her making it to the final three, especially if she does well in next week's go-sees. For now we'll just have to wait and see, but I have high hopes for Ms. McKey.
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Samantha
Current Ranking: 3 Previous Ranking: 2
Samantha was a part of the winning team in both of this week's challenges, earning herself 25 extra frames at the photo shoot and a chance to walk the runway in Amsterdam's Fashion Week. She also turned in a great photo that really impressed the judges, again showing that she is a consistently solid competitor. So why isn't she ranked any higher? Well, the judges are impressed by the model she can become, but not by the model they see before them. They hated the outfit she was wearing and expressed concerns that she seems too commercial when she's standing before them. Samantha will really have to hone her fashion instincts and come on strong on all fronts if she wants to push her way into the final three.
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Marjorie
Current Ranking: 4 Previous Ranking: 5
I was very curious to see how Elina and Marjorie handled things when the competition moved to their turf. Yes, it can be argued that though they are in Europe, they're still a part of an American competition, but it'll be very telling to see how they function and interact when they're finally in Europe after using their European upbringings as excuses anytime they didn't do well in the competition.
For the most part, Marjorie was fine. She drew raves for her posing in the Red Light District and her photo was well-received. However, it was very telling that the guest judge, who had just met her, found her to be too meek and equated her to Bambi. Mind you, this was a EUROPEAN woman saying this, which means the statute of limitations on Marjorie's, "I had a European upbringing," victimhood is just about used up. The judges took notice and also pointed out a few composition issues in her photograph, i.e. the placement of her arm and hand.
In the end, Marjorie was safe for the week, but her biggest test will come in next week's go-sees. Many stunning high-fashion girls and judges' favorites have been eliminated in the foreign go-see round, including Michelle from Cycle Seven, Brittany from Cycle Eight, and Heather from Cycle Nine because they couldn't bring a strong personal presence to their meetings and wow the designers. Well, in Michelle's case, she fell on her sword for her sister, but she was still eliminated despite being a favorite of the judges. If Marjorie can't even make it in a European setting and interact with people, then she will no longer be able to use her upbringing as an excuse and she WILL be in trouble.
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Elina
Current Ranking: 5 Previous Ranking: 6
Something struck me about Elina this week. For the third week in a row, counting the clip show, she has shut down anyone who expressed an opinion. In the clip show, she scolded Sheena for her opinion about eating animals, last week she scolded the girls about how they don't understand her upbringing, and this week she scolded Samantha when Sam tried to express an opinion about the Red Light District's history with prostitution. Anytime these girls express an opinion around Elina that differs from Elina's opinion, she shuts them down and acts hostile, as if these girls are foolish little creatures. While watching her spat with Sam, I thought to myself, "Elina is acting just like her mother!"
We've heard Elina talk about how controlling her mother is and how she, Elina, wasn't allowed to do a lot of things or be/think certain ways and now we're watching her stomp on the other girls. It's often a reoccuring trend that kids echo their parents in some way as they're growing up, especially when they've had tough upbringings, and I feel like, even though I don't fully know her situation, Elina is turning into the person she despises most right before our eyes. Elina needs to be careful!
As for her performance in the competition, her stiffness is reaching a breaking point with the judges. They thought her picture was nice, but her pose was a bit stiff, her film was very stiff according to Tyra, she practically ignored Jay at the photo shoot, and her presence in judging panel does not inspire them. This is the point where Elina seriously needs to re-evaluate what she's doing and burst out of her shell because she was in the bottom two for the second week in a row for pretty much the same reason. Elina has potential, but she also has a lot of work to do.
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Lauren Brie
7th Elimination
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Jacob D. is a twenty-something native of Austin Tx who spends his time
listening to music, posting on Austin based messageboards, playing
video games, and watching TV. Jacob also enjoys reading Shonen Jump,
Garfield and Calvin & Hobbes strips, playing Texas Hold 'em, drawing
cartoon chickens, and tending to his neopets. Though shy in real
life, he loves to sound off on his favorite shows and enjoys
interacting with other fans.
You can contact Jacob at Jacob@RealityTVCalendar.com
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