pleasure, yes. guilty, no.

pleasure, yes. guilty, no.

High fashion, exotic destinations, makeovers, cat fights, and tears... tis the new season of America's Next Top Model now on its 12th cycle. Self consciousness and body image has never reached its peak until now.

Now I often ask myself why this is one of my favorite shows. It has potential to be awful in so many ways. Tyra Banks is full of herself and the title may as well be analogous to "America's Next Top Unrealistic Standards for Women". The way I see it, it's a social experiment. The winner isn't as important as the hormonal fight to the top and quite frankly people prefer to experience drama through their television screens than living it themselves. After 12 cycles, a trend is apparent on the different girls who live in the house. There is always the ghetto fabolous girl from the mean streets of New York, pursuing the dream of modeling to fight the prejudices associated with impoverishment and to preach that there is a calm after the storm. Then, there comes a conservative girl from the small hick town of Kentucky, completely abashed by the urban lifestyle and most often clash with her competitors. She is also likely to be the push-over. Alternatively, there will be an extreme liberal, always ready to challenge your worldly views. The most fluctuating of them all comes in the form of the beautiful African queen. Occasionally, some arrive from their roots in Kenya and Nigeria. Some are sincere, while others are catty, yet they both have the same drive to "pick people off one by one". Lastly, there is the underdog. The punk rock girl or the one who is obsessed with hemophilia, the "weird" one if you will. Yet, she is always the one to shock the judges, seeing as how she is expected to do the worst. 13 girls in a house is a recipe for disaster. Similar to other seasons, the producers already created tension from the start...creating a lovely game of musical beds, always one short. Here's to a new season and the drama to come.