Reality TV staple ¡°America¡¯s Next Top Model¡± recently hung up its Jimmy Choos after a stupefying 22 seasons, but its spin-off, Singapore-based ¡°Asia¡¯s Next Top Model,¡± is now in its fourth ¡°cycle,¡± airing locally on Fox Channel and . Fourteen tall, slender beauties from across Asia compete to win a photo spread, representation by a modeling agency and other fame and fortune. While contestants come from as far afield as Myanmar and Mongolia, local viewers may be surprised to see no Japanese in the mix; the show¡¯s English-fluency requirement is clearly a barrier, and it¡¯s no coincidence that previous Japanese entrants were all ³ó¨¡´Ú³Ü (half-Japanese).
¡°ANTM¡± is your usual reality-TV mix of rampant product placement, lifestyle envy and ¡°humilitainment.¡± Rest assured that each week someone will be reduced to tears as queeny-meanie fashionistas deliver their catty judgements. (¡°You look just like a frog to me.¡°) Some sort of limit was breached, though, in a recent episode when Subaru exec Kenneth Tan screamed at Korean contestant Kim Sang-in, ¡°Who the f¡ª- do you think you are to roll your eyes at me?¡± The resulting backlash shows that old-school Asian male chauvinism is not getting a pass.
As Twiggy-like Malaysian model Tuti Noor ¡ª a Muslim, who was herself trolled for her supposedly ¡°un-Islamic¡± behavior ¡ª says in the show¡¯s best throwaway line, ¡°You¡¯re being so irrelevant!¡±
For details of the next episode of ¡°Asia¡¯s Next Top Model¡± on Fox Channel, visit .
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