She was the Simon Cowell of “America’s Next Top Model“–the judge who everyone hated but whose acerbic, insensitive responses were a central reason for high ratings. Then on “The Surreal Life,” she clashed with “The Apprentice’s” Omarosa, to the glee of the celebrity-meltdown-watching audience. Now, Janice Dickinson has her own modeling agency, and a reality series about having her own modeling agency.
The show premiered June 6, with new episodes airing Tuesdays at 10. And per the manner of most “reality” shows, it’s hard to know which idea came first, the show or the agency.
Having herself overcome obstacles that threatened to prevent her own modeling career from developing–and then becoming “the world’s first supermodel”–Janice feels qualified to take the “raw material” of these wannabe models and breathe life into them. “I can see a model that the model doesn’t even know that they’re a model,” she says in the second episode. The result is that her agency/show isn’t just a conduit for modeling jobs: It’s part Janice as Creator/Deity Filling the Earth With Models, and part The Janice Dickinson College for Pretty People.
But why would we want to watch? We value beauty and fashion, which models professionally (and literally) embody, but, on some visceral level, we also want to see them bleed. Because they make a living promoting unattainable standards of beauty, we need to see them destroyed. So when Janice yells at one of the models for not having buffed her fingers (“your cuticles look like Martha Stewart on crack”), and tells another that she is too fat (“you need to do some shrinkage or go for a plus-size look”), we feel a mix of revulsion and revelry. “I will destroy their self-esteem and then rebuild it,” she promises. Poor models, under verbal attack from a cosmetically-overhauled diva. But then again, maybe they deserve it, for trying to be–and promote–perfection.
But the biggest irony might just be that the show airs on Oxygen, the women’s television network that claims to offer empowerment and entertainment for women. Perhaps this is Oxygen’s attempt at balance, creating a contrast with more empowering shows like Mo’Nique’s F.A.T Chance and reruns of Oprah and Ellen.
We gawk at people who represent the parts of ourselves that we filter out of everyday discourse—the vain, the image-obsessed, the unobstructed brutality of honest criticism without worrying about whether the object of criticism will burst into tears as his or her dreams are destroyed. Janice sells her show on her brutality, and her drive to succeed. We would hate her in real life, but on television, we love to watch.
posted June 14, 2006 at 8:22 pm
In talking about what to watch, Television viewing by 6-11 year olds will increase some 150% during the summer months. In addition, adult and adult female viewing patterns during that time remain unchanged during the summer, implying that much of the increase in children’s viewership is unsupervised. (Nielsen Ratings) The impact of this increased viewing could be quite bleak. Consider: Adolescents who watch more than three hours of TV daily are more likely to engage in aggressive behavior as adults. (CNN reporting on Columbia University study published in the journal, Science; March 2002). A University of North Carolina Study concluded that the earlier children are exposed to sexually charged television and other media, the earlier they have sex. Nearly 61% of all television programming contains violence, with children s programming being the most violent (www.parentstv.org) The Parents Television Council (PTC) recently released a study showing there are more violent images on children s television in the U.S. than on adult-oriented T.V. Parents need to be aware of the dangers they are inviting into their home each day particularly during the summer months. TiVo, through its new feature KidZone being rolled out on Thursday, provides parents with an easy-to-use tool for determining what programming will be available to their children in consultation with programming guides from respected experts. Here is what people are saying about TiVo KidZone and the issue of children and T.V.: The TV remote can be as dangerous as a stick of dynamite in the hands of an 8-year-old. TiVo KidZone is the safety valve parents need-to guard the minds, hearts, and sensibilities of their most precious gift: their children.” Max Lucado, New York Times best-selling author There s a big difference between children s media and what children watch. In the future, blocking will become less important than trusted guides. David Kleeman, President, American Center for Children and Media Parents have a right to have their kids watch T.V. without being shocked at what s on. Easy-to-use tools need to be in place for parents to use. F.C.C. Commissioner Michael Copps If a person walked into your house and said and did some of the things children have access to through the media T.V. and internet you d call the police! We have to admit that our children are becoming more tech savvy that their parents can ever hope to be. Technology is out-pacing our ability to respond to it. TiVo is another example of enabling parents to control what their kids are exposed to. U.S. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) As a father of two teenagers, I understand that parents are the first line of defense I commend TiVo for providing parents such a valuable and easy to use resource to determine what programming is best for their kids. This major breakthrough of technology through public and private cooperation directly addresses the goals that Congress and the FCC had in mind when they created the Children s Educational and Informational programming category. U.S. Representative Fred Upton (R-Mich), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet More resources about the topic and related articles: For detailed statistics on children s TV viewing habits, KidZone fact sheet, high-res photos, and a complete online press kit, visit http://www.DeMossNewsPond.com/TIVO. For additional information about how TV affects our children, visit http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/family/tv_affects_child.html TiVo Announces New Enhancement to TiVo KidZone (http://tivo.com/cms_static/press_83.html) What do I need to know about children and television? (University of Michigan Health Systems – http://www.med.umich.edu/1libr/yourchild/tv.htm) Common Sense Media Family Movies Reviews, Movie Rental Reviews, Family Movies, TV Reviews, Web ( http://www.commonsensemedia.org/) Interviews are available with TiVo executives and partner organizations. Contact: Tiffanie Wallace or Karen Dye (770) 813-0000.>