10. The Burning Plain

Director: Guillermo Arriaga

Sylvia (Charlize Theron) is a successful Portland restaurant owner, plagued by trauma from her past and suicidal thoughts. She abandoned her daughter, until a reunion is thrust upon them years later. Gina (Kim Basinger), was a mother of four who betrayed her family in an affair with another married man, before they both were killed in a fire. Both stories are deeply connected, gradually pieced together through the film’s non-linear style. These women, flawed as they may be, nevertheless show depth, intelligence, and vulnerability. The story addresses the profound repercussions of adultery or promiscuity as a means of escape, and the complex bond that mothers and daughters share.

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“She’s a kid. I wouldn’t know what to do with her. I can barely look her in the eyes. … I can’t run away anymore.” – Sylvia, to the father of her child, when forced to face her daughter after years of absence.

9. The Hurt Locker

Director: Kathryn Bigelow

One of the biggest strengths of The Hurt Locker is the fact that it’s a film by a woman about men at war. Bigelow tells the unexaggerated story of soldiers doing one of the most dangerous jobs in combat: defusing explosive devices. She not only tackles adrenaline junkies who spar with testosterone-fueled roughhousing, she also delves into the fears and pressures of fatherhood, and the complexity of a person who falls in love with near-death experiences. Many Hollywood-funded war films exploit the institution, pumping as much horsepower as they can into a two-hour time frame. Bigelow instead opts for restraint and honesty, exposing her characters not as bad ass men with guns, but as people just struggling to survive. The film is pertinent to men and women alike, because it touches the core of our commonalities as human beings.

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“The rush of battle is a potent and often lethal addiction, for war is a drug.” - Journalist Chris Hedges, the opening quote of the film

8. Whip It

Director: Drew Barrymore

In spite of it’s occasionally cheesy overtones, Whip It is an otherwise warm story about a small-town pageant dropout, trying to figure out where she fits in. Bliss Cavendar (Ellen Page) is inspired by the rowdy women’s roller derby team, The Hurl Scouts. She defies her family and spends as much time as she can with them, hoping to one day join the team. The sport not only offers her camaraderie and acceptance, it also teaches her how to be straightforward and aggressive – traits that would really benefit her in other areas of her life. It’s a film about sisterhood, stamina, and developing self worth.

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“Well, put some skates on and be your own hero.” – Maggie Mayhem, to Bliss, after she tells the Hurl Scouts they are her new heroes.

7. Skin

Director: Anthony Fabian

This is the true story of Sandra Laing, born to two white Afrikaaners during apartheid in South Africa. As a result of unknown African ancestry, Sandra appears black. Even before the government classifies her as “coloured”, the white community persecutes and abuses her. Sandra’s father fights to legally define her as white, and wins. When she falls in love with a black man, however, the fight begins to redefine her as coloured – even if it means losing everything, including her family. Sandra maintains strength and dignity, despite her meek demeanor, and perseveres through abusive situations. Her story has also been told in the book When She Was White: The True Story of a Family Divided by Race and in the short documentary Sandra Laing: A Spiritual Journey.

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“Look at me. I’m not white. Those boys want a white girl to marry!” -Sandra, to her father, after a series of painful dates with white men

6. Phoebe in Wonderland

Director: Daniel Barnz

Phoebe Lichten (Elle Fanning) is witty and outspoken, just like every woman in her family. She wants to be a child prodigy, and longs to live in a world “where everything isn’t so fixed.” She also has apparent obsessive compulsive disorder, maybe even Tourettes syndrome. She acts out at school, and only feels at home living in her own personal Wonderland – a dream that gets realized when she wins the part of Alice in her school’s production of Alice in Wonderland. Her parents (Bill Pullman & Felicity Huffman) struggle to understand their daughter’s bizarre tics, and try to refrain from labeling Phoebe or medicating her. It’s a story about childhood imagination, and the social constructs that progressively destroy it. It’s also about a mother raising her daughters, doing the best she can to help them openly express themselves, without putting them in harm’s way.

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“I have angst. … Mozart was 6 when he wrote his first opera. I’m 7! You don’t understand.” – Phoebe, to her parents, during a dinner party

5. American Violet

Director: Tim Disney

A single mother of four is the victim of racial profiling in a small Texas town. This is the true story of Dee Roberts (Nicole Beharie), who was falsely accused of drug dealing in 2000. She’s given two options: to plead guilty to a felony for a more lenient sentence, or go to trial and risk 16-25 years in jail. The ACLU suspects racism at the root of this indictment, and helps Dee sue the county, the District Attorney, and the Drug Task Force that arrested her. During the lawsuit, she undergoes a custody battle with the father of two of her children. The custody battle is moderated by the very D.A. she’s suing. Dee’s story is one of a persistent mother who endures a lot of stress, fear and intimidation, in a county where discrimination is secretly institutionalized. She holds her ground, hoping to keep this from happening to anyone else.

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“If you want to hurt me because I’m suing you, go ahead. … I am not an unfit mother.” – Dee, to the D.A., at her custody hearings

4. La Teta Asustada

Director: Claudia Llosa

This Peruvian film, whose title translates to The Milk of Sorrow, takes place in a war-torn region of Peru in the 1980’s. The militant group called the Sendero Luminoso were known for employing mass rapes as a war strategy. Many women suffered, raped by as many as 30 men at a time. Women who were raped were thought to pass their trauma down to their children, through the milk of their breasts, the Milk of Sorrow. The film follows Fausta (Magaly Solier), who lives in constant fear that she will be victimized. Upon the sudden death of her mother, she works hard to ensure she doesn’t suffer the same fate. It’s not only a socially educational film, it’s a profoundly emotional film that confronts the aftermath of sexual abuse.

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“Anyone born that way [is] without a soul, because it hid underground out of fear.” – Tío Lúcido explaining The Milk of Sorrow

3. Precious

Director: Lee Daniels

Claireece Precious Jones (Gabourey Sidibe) is an overweight, illiterate, depressed teen girl in Harlem. She’s abused by her mother (Mo’Nique) and raped by her father. During the most painful times, she escapes into a fantasy of being rich and famous, with a handsome and loving boyfriend. After being expelled from public school, she gets a chance to go to an alternative school, a chance to finally stop feeling invisible. Powerful performances by Mo’Nique and Gaborey Sidibe bring us to the depths of despair in Precious’ life, as we try to overcome these traumatic situations with her. It’s a beautiful and brilliant film about a girl who keeps trudging forward, come what may.

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“I wanna be in one of them BET videos. Mama said I can’t dance. Plus she said who’d wanna see my big ass dancin’ anyhow?” – Precious, thinking to herself as she walks to class

2. An Education

Director: Lone Scherfig

Jenny (Carey Mulligan) is a witty high school student growing up in 1960’s London. She’s a bilingual cellist, prepping for Oxford. Then, an unlikely relationship with a man 20 years her senior (Peter Sarsgaard) leaves her wondering if she should invest time and money into an education of her own, when he can clearly provide everything she needs. Avoiding college seemed especially practical in the ’60s, since even women with a degree had limited career opportunities. Her family supports this decision as well, but her school teachers and administrators balk. Jenny soon realizes the gravity of sacrificing personal growth for spontaneous pleasure, and the terrible position a woman can put herself in when she chooses a life of dependence.

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“Oh you’re my father again, are you? Well what were you when you encouraged me to throw my life away?” -Jenny, to her father (Alfred Molina)

1. Coco Before Chanel

Director: Anne Fontaine

From orphan to seamstress to stage performer, Danielle “Coco” Chanel (Audrey Tatou) strategically worked her way up the social ladder. At first, she raised eyebrows by refusing to wear restrictive corsets or garish frills, and often cross-dressed in men’s clothing. As her sister pined away for an unlikely marriage, Coco earned respect among the Parisian elite by establishing a strong point of view and an independent sense of style. That’s not to say she didn’t love, or allow herself to be loved. She wanted marriage and convention too, if only for a fleeting moment. But overwhelming ambition drove her to start a business, which grew into the fashion empire that bears her name. This headstrong woman established herself in an otherwise male profession, creating opportunities for countless female designers who followed.

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“I want it tighter.” / “You’d prefer not to breathe?” – A customer’s complaint, and Chanel’s response, refusing to make the garment uncomfortable.

Note: Some films were completed in 2008, with a USA release dated in 2009.

Formulaic throughout, these networks perpetuate clichés for both sexes. It’s why films on WE are called “Cinematherapy,” and films on Spike are called “Cinemassacre.” The networks don’t always create these messages themselves (many buy previously aired series for syndication), but their compilation of material is cemented in stereotype.

MOTHERS & FIGHTERS

(Click images to view sources)

(Not to be confused with NBC’s “Momma’s Boys”)

SUCK IT IN & BLOW IT UP

She measures her waist, he measures his horsepower.

DRESS UP or CRACK DOWN

Wedding bells for her, police sirens for him.

BEAUTY & THE BABEWATCH

Obsession with self vs. obsession with sex.

Conger and Rockwell on Larry King Live (2000)

Reality “stars” with criminal records are nothing new.

• Saaphyri Windsor (a.k.a. Wanda Scott) made appearances on 16 shows before authorities took notice. The former Flavor of Love contestant was a fugitive under suspicion of identity theft and grand larceny. She was then arrested, but ditched her court date and went on the run again. [2]
• Real Housewife of New Jersey Danielle Staub was arrested in 1986 for extortion, kidnapping and drug possession. The news broke after Staub’s ex-husband wrote the book “Cop Without a Badge”, which outlined her past in detail. [3]
• Shandi Sullivan, of America’s Next Top Model fame, was charged in 2001 with burglarizing a Kansas City candy store. [4]
• Andre Birleneau, Russian hothead from America’s Most Smartest Model, was charged with sexual misconduct and aggravated harassment. [5]
• Janelle Pierzina, a member of Big Brother 6, pled guilty to shoplifting and driving under the influence. [6]
• American Idol finalist Bo Bice was arrested for possession of marijuana and cocaine in 2005. [7]
• Real World Austin cast member Nehemiah Clark was arrested for assaulting an attendant at a Best Wurst hotdog stand. [8]
• Scott Soval was arrested in 2001 after appearing on American Idol, for domestic violence. [9]
• Paola Perales, one of The Girls of Hedsor Hall, has a record for repeated assault in bar brawls. [10]
• Former Making the Band with P. Diddy contestant Sara Stokes‘ bloody mugshot emerged two weeks ago, after she stabbed her husband. [11]

A few weeks ago, history repeated itself again, when VH1’s “Megan Wants a Millionaire” found itself tied to a murder-suicide. Contestant Ryan Jenkins was rejected by self-proclaimed gold digger Megan Hauserman on the show, and shortly thereafter married former model Jasmine Fiore. Two months later, the marriage was annulled, and within days Fiore went missing. After her mangled body was found stuffed in a suitcase in Southern California on August 15, Jenkins was named the primary suspect. He fled to Canada, but before he could be caught, he hung himself. VH1 immediately stopped airing the show, and pulled the plug on the new season of I Love Money, in which Jenkins was also cast. [12]

The late Jenkins and Fiore

Reality-based TV, unlike scripted shows, thrives on unstable and unpredictable personalities. So the question is not if, but when, these people will act out irrationally or put others in danger.

Jason Cornwell, a former cast member of The Real World Boston, now works as a Real World casting director and Road Rules writer. According to him, deviant behavior has to be rewarded with media coverage, because that’s what makes the most money. “If you wanted to sit around all day and read a book, you could,” Cornwell says. “But you’re not going to get on TV doing that.” Producers are willing to take risk in the name of ratings. [13]

So, in spite of everything, raunchy reality shows are still in high demand. Let’s just hope they get a bit more thorough in their background checks from now on.

Sources:

[1] “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” (Andrew Gumbel) The Independent, UK. February 23, 2000
[2] “Saaphyri From Charm School Was a Criminal Fugitive?” Dallas Black News Online. February 14, 2009
[3] “How Danielle Staub Became Scandalous ‘Wife’” (Robert Rorke) New York Post. June 7, 2009
[4] “Fine and Shandi”  (Gary Susman) Entertainment Weekly Online. February 12, 2004
[5] “Reality Hunk in Sex Bust” (Jamie Schram) New York Post. October 26, 2007
[6] “Janelle Pled Guilty for DWI and Petty Theft” (Andy Dehnart) Reality Blurred. July 21, 2005
[7] “‘Idol’ Singer Bo Bice Has Drug Rap Sheet, Court Papers Show” (Corey Moss) MTV News. April 28, 2005
[8] “‘Real World’ Rap Sheet” (Kevin Brass) The Austin Chronicle. September 2, 2005
[9] “‘American Idol’s Scott Soval Domestic Violence Rap Sheet” (Michael Prieve) The Recapist. April 3, 2005
[10] “Paola Perales – The Girls of Hedsor Hall” Pop Tower
[11] “Mugshot Mania – Making the Band Alumni Stabs Hubby”  Show Hype. August 11, 2009
[12] “Slain Model’s Missing Car Found in West Hollywood” (Raquel Maria Dillon) The Associated Press. August 26, 2009
[13] “The Spin on ‘The Real World’” (Paul Farhi) Washington Post Online. November 4, 1999

Baby Beauty Queens (BBC)

This feature-length documentary, created by the BBC and People Documentaries, looks at contestants with a greater depth than most reality shows.
To stream the full film for free on YouTube, see Parts [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] and [6].

Toddlers & Tiaras (TLC)

“Toddlers & Tiaras” shows how pageantry can breed conflict and resentment between mothers, daughters, and sisters. (Each featured clip is under 1:30)

Mother/daughter pageants seem less about bonding and more about beating down the competition.

With mom picking favorites, AshLynn fades into the background, while BreAnne can barely fit her head through the door. It’s a good thing pageantry pays well; they’ll need it for therapy in a few years.

Megan has no problem telling America where her priorities are.

Conor Knighton from Current InfoMania recaps more pageant show highlights, in his segment “Itsy Bitsy Beauty Queens.”

TRIBECA FEMALE DIRECTORS 2009

“It is a great year for women filmmakers at Tribeca”, says Genna Terranova, Senior Film Programmer of the festival.

Get a glimpse of some of the newest indie films out there,
and the strong women who called the shots.

“Le Bal Des Actrices” (All About Actresses)

Director Maïwenn Le Besco, France

Director Maiwenn Le Besco

Maïwenn Le Besco credits “This is Spinal Tap” for inspiring her mockumentary on the film industry. Le Besco, an actress herself (Haute Tension, The Fifth Element), invited all of her coworkers to join in on the project.

Some humor might be lost on viewers unfamiliar with French film culture, but Le Besco assures us that it still reflects American Hollywood culture. ”Everything is fake,” she declares. “I’ve been famous, and I’ve been forgotten.”

Ironically, that same disillusionment with fame has now relaunched her cinematic career – only this time, she’s in charge.

“Serious Moonlight”

Director Cheryl Hines

Director Cheryl Hines

“They just went for it,” recalls director Cheryl Hines, referring to her leading ladies, Meg Ryan and Kristen Bell. “Watching two blondes rolling on the floor [in a fight scene] was very fun.”

“Serious Moonlight” is the Curb Your Enthusiasm actress’ directorial debut. This dark romantic comedy revolves around the failing marriage of a couple, played by Meg Ryan and Timothy Hutton, whose problems only get worse when Kristen Bell and Justin Long enter the picture.

“TiMER”

Director Jac Schaeffer

Director Jac Schaeffer

New technology helps lonely hearts find love in the not-so-distant future. A wrist implant, called the “TiMER” lets people know the exact time they’ll meet their soul mate. It leaves the audience amused and perplexed, begging the question, “would you really want to know?”

Director Jac Schaeffer described her creative process, saying,  ”I wrote TiMER because I couldn’t wait any longer.  I had made this vow to myself that I would direct a feature before I turned 30, and I wanted to stop just saying that I was a filmmaker and actually make a film.”

“Queen to Play”

Director Caroline Bottaro (France)

Director Caroline Bottaro

Kevin Kline and Sandrine Bonnaire lead this film about “internal change, empowerment and evolution,” says director Caroline Bottaro. Kline said he took on the film as an excuse to work with “this lady who I admired for years.”

Bonnaire’s character, a woman from humble origins, has ability to master the game and ultimately beat her male teacher. Typically, “chess is associated with men, with the elite,” Bottaro says. So, she set out to challenge that standard and to shape a stronger image of women in her film. Bottaro hopes this film can send a message of empowerment for all women.

“Handsome Harry”

Director Bette Gordon

Director Bette Gordon

Steve Buscemi, on his deathbed, desperately seeks forgiveness from his past Navy crewman. It’s a story of breaking life’s comfortable monotony to finally confront the past.

“El Niño Pez” (The Fish Child)

Director Lucía Puenzo, Argentina

[no English trailer available; for Spanish trailer, click here]

Director Lucía Puenzo

“I was always fascinated by legends; they’re created from a very dark crime, an unsolved story,” says Argentinean director Lucía Puenzo. Such was the starting point for her new film, ”The Fish Child”.

It follows two young lesbian lovers who disregard all social hierarchies or boundaries of class. Puenzo is both brazen and non-judgmental in her directorial aesthetic, and often leaves situations open-ended. She insists, “People should have the freedom in it to see what they want to see.”

“Variety”

Director Bette Gordon

[no official trailer available]

Director Bette Gordon

This racy film comments on voyeurism and the porn industry, from a female perspective. A porn theater ticket-taker, played by Sandy McLeod, is infinitely curious about the underbelly of human sexuality, and begins to stalk a male patron.

Gordon made the film in 1983, and the restored film print was re-screened to accompany her newest feature, “Handsome Harry”. The film was provided courtesy of the Women’s Film Preservation Fund of NYWIFT and The Museum of Modern Art, Department of Film.

“Playground”

Director Libby Spears

Director Libby Spears

Libby Spears’ documentary, backed by George Clooney and Steven Soderbergh bravely explores the child sex trade right here in America.

The most common trafficking locales are New York, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. However, the epidemic is rising rapidly in Oregon, as well.

Spears went to Oregon, searching for one girl in particular: an abused foster child, who “disappeared” years ago into this nationwide network of child prostitution.

“Which Way Home”

Director Rebecca Cammisa

[no official trailer available]

Director Rebecca Cammisa

Two Honduran pre-teens go to any lengths to cross the U.S. border through Mexico. Their optimism and perseverence transcends even the most dangerous conditions. In this transient, modern-day underground railroad, it’s not uncommon to come across gangs, gunfire, drugs and murder.

Cammissa said she made the film because, “People are [trying] to get to the U.S. any way they can. And they’re making dangerous, dangerous decisions.” By highlighting the journey from a child’s point of view, she hopes to raise awareness and further American debate on reevaluating border control.

“Entre Nos” (Between Us)

Directors Paola Mendoza & Gloria La Morte, Colombia

Director Paola Mendoza

Director Gloria La Morte

Director Paola Mendoza admitted that it wasn’t easy getting Entre Nos made. This intensely dramatic film was based on own mother, and required her to explore the complexities and flaws of her personal hero.

It’s a story of poor immigrants attempting to raise several children in an unwelcoming American culture allowed the audience to “learn about what it is to lead a hard life, … that you don’t always have to be rich to be happy.”

Sources:

Tribeca Film Festival 2009: Director Q&A Section

Tribeca Film Festival 2009: Roundtable Female Filmmakers

Admit it. You watch. Whether you’re cooking in Hell’s Kitchen, Dancing With the Stars, or Keeping Up With the Kardashians, chances are you’re one of the millions who swallow the barely digestible reality programming that dominates television today.

Obsession with appearance hollows out many women on Reality TV. According to a Media Ethics Online investigation of reality television producers, the goal during production is to wrangle attractive people who will “create entertaining stories,” because health and normalcy are ratings killers.

The premiere of ABC’s 2003 series “Are You Hot?“ was the network’s highest rated debut in 9 years, since “My So Called Life” in 1994.

The unabashedly superficial series was cancelled after just one season. The chairman of ABC’s entertainment division told Reuters the show was dropped because “ultimately … it was in bad taste.”

Howard Stern sues ABC over reality series “Are You Hot?”

What he didn’t say was that Howard Stern was suing ABC, claiming the show was “a blatant rip-off” of a segment on Stern’s radio show called “The Evaluators”, in which contestants are judged on whether they are “hot” enough to appear in Playboy or Penthouse. ABC was legally required to pull the program due to pending litigation, but they naturally chose a more image-friendly justification for doing so.

The three-season nightmare that was “Extreme Makeover” featured incorrigibly desperate people pleading with ABC to give them a plastic surgery overhaul. From 2003- 2005, the network treated 91 patients, and gave them an average of seven plastic surgeries per person.

Dr. Jon Perlman became one of the show’s resident plastic surgeons, and was often criticized for performing hyper-critical and unnecessary diagnoses on the patients. In 2007, two years after the show was cancelled, he conceded to these accusations. He said “participants could benefit from experts in hair, makeup, styling and fashion” and usually didn’t need the “dramatic changes” through plastic surgery.

In 2004, Fox and Freemantle Productions teamed up to create “The Swan”, a reality competition in which self-proclaimed “ugly ducklings” vied for the chance to be made virtually unrecognizable. The girl with the greatest apparent transformation, through plastic surgery and a stylist makeover, would win the title of “The Swan”.

From student to Stepford: “Swan” contestant Beth L.

Executive Producer Cecile Frot-Coutaz defended the series from its many critics, saying “This is a positive show where we want to see how these women can make their dreams come true once they have what they want.” The reason why it promoted physical change to achieve happiness – rather than emotional, mental or otherwise – was not something she was willing to elaborate on.

Spring 2009 brought a controversial reality show to FX in the United Kingdom: “Pimp Up My Wife”. Here, husbands compete for the chance to get their wives plastic surgery. Some of the women seem pleased, others are unpleasantly surprised by a camera crew at the door. Of course, the show producers are quick to say, “it is a voluntary program, and the wives are free to refuse our offer.” So can they also refuse the public humiliation that comes with it?

According to the London PR Newswire,

“Pimp Up My Wife” has been created following FX Channel market research, indicating:
– before marriage, 20% wished their other half was better looking
- 52% of married men find their wives less attractive after five years of marriage
- 81% of married women are unhappy with their current body image
- 49% of women would consider a tummy tuck if they could afford it
- 59% of married men have considered cheating on their wives for  younger, sexier woman
- 3 in 10 men admitted to thinking of someone else in the bedroom

Advertised by producer Ashton Kutcher as “the ultimate social experiment,” “Beauty and the Geek” pairs “hot” ditzes with awkward “geeks” in an attempt to make the hotties smarter and the nerds sexier.

The shameless stereotypes rule out any possibility of someone being attractive and intelligent, or being attractive because they’re intelligent.

Production on the 13th season of “America’s Next Top Model” began in Spring 2009. While the photo shoots can be creative, and the judges insist the show goes more than just “skin deep”, the CW has a hard time convincing critics that ANTM is harmless. After all, it advises the contestants to be hyper-critical of their already waif-like physiques, and if they waver in the competition, they need to “spend more time in the mirror”.

"America's Next Top Model", Season 9

Of course, some say any show rooted in the modeling world is inherently superficial. Executive Producer Tyra Banks urges critics to blame the fashion industry, not her TV show. With one glance at the number of model-hopefuls in line, ANTM’s impact is undeniable.

What she doesn’t address, however, is the fact that she repeatedly contradicts herself. Her passionate rants about promoting self acceptance and being angry with the modeling industry stand in blatant contrast to the unhealthy and degrading stereotypes cycling through her very own modeling show. How can Tyra hang girls’ dreams on the very industry you admit is hurting them?

The Spring 2009 ANTM casting call in Manhattan broke out into a frenzied stampede when a prankster yelled “There’s a bomb!”

The success of ANTM has spawned a host of copycat modeling shows. Bravo wrangled Tyson Beckford and Nikki Taylor (later replaced by model Nicole Trunfio) to host what’s generally referred to as the “bastardized ANTM”.

In “Make Me A Supermodel”, you’ll find much more emphasis on sex, especially since male and female models are competing. You’ll also find less emphasis on creativity, and no concern for harvesting emotional honesty on camera. This show actually makes “America’s Next Top Model” seem mature and profound, which is a frightening reality for us all.

Bravo's "Make Me A Supermodel", Season 1

E!’s “The Soup” host Joel McHale mocks the ridiculous and empty sexual nature of “Make Me A Supermodel”.

VH1 lowered the bar even further with their own reality model competition. Cheap, gimmicky exploitation has defined the network of late, and “America’s Most Smartest Model” is a prime example. The premise is rather basic: cast uneducated and delusional model-wannabes, ask them difficult questions, then laugh at their expense. Thanks VH1, for always keeping things classy.

VH1's "America's Most Smartest Model"

TV Land’s modeling competition “She’s Got The Look” features women over 35 who want to prove they’re still attractive. The show focuses primarily on projecting a youthful appearance, and rarely highlights their many other beautiful traits. But then again, who cares about being an accomplished CEO or a healthy mother of five, when you can look cute in a two-piece?

TV Land's "She's Got The Look"

Janice Dickinson, in all her desperate attempts to brand herself as “the world’s first supermodel”, is primarily known for crude language and an angry demeanour, above all else. After she was booted from the “America’s Next Top Model” judging panel, she decided to create her own modeling series on Oxygen, simply named “Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency”.

On the show, she lives with the models, monitors what they eat, who they sleep with, what they buy, how they exercise, and then strictly inspects each individual model’s body before a photo shoot.

A behind-the-scenes example of how money and sexism dominate advertising today.

Article Sources:

“ABC Says ‘Are You Hot?’ Was In Bad Taste” Wade Paulsen (Reality TV World Online) July 15, 2003

“America’s Next Top Model” Official Website

“Beauty & The Geek” Official Website

“Fox Seeks Female ‘Ugly Ducklings’…” Steve Rogers (Reality TV World Online) October 10, 2003

“Howard Stern Sues ABC’s ‘Are You Hot?’ For Copying” Wade Paulsen (Reality TV World Online) March 15, 2003

Janice Dickinson’s Blog (Oxygen Network / “Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency”) October 21, 2008

“Make Me A Supermodel” Official Website

“Naughty and Fleiss: ‘Are You Hot?’ Producer Addresses His Critics” Allison Hope Weiner (Entertainment Weekly Online) February 2003

“Participants of Extreme Makeover” (iEnhance Online)

“Pimp Up My Wife” FX UK Official Website

“Premiere of ABC’s ‘Are You Hot?’ Draws 10mil+ Viewers” Steve Rogers (Reality TV World Online) February 14, 2003

“Talking with an Extreme Makeover Team Member” (iEnhance Online)

“The Ethics of Reality TV Producers” Richard Crew (Media Ethics Online) July 1, 2007

“The Spin on ‘Real World’” Paul Farhi (Washington Post) Novemb 1999 er 4,; page C01

“She’s Got The Look” Official Website