America's Next Top Exploitation

Putting my hand on my heart I say that I despise reality shows. Ridiculous is the least I could call them. But they are an excellent combination of strong marketing tools, cheap production and pop culture promotion. You have probably recognized some of that behind the immaculate styles of Tyra Banks, Tyson Beckford, Paula Abdul and whoever else you want. No matter how extensively I would like to talk about all that, I should stick to my theme: travel. America's Next Top Model is definitely corrupting my idea of travel.
This evening I was sitting in front of the TV with my two Chinese friends, who decided to take advantage and catch up on the show while VH1 was running an inexhaustible marathon for a couple of days now. As every girl, I immediately chose a favourite but changed my mind at least three times after the beginning of the episode. I also thought it was interesting and new to see that the models were in Thailand. Needless to say, I changed my mind about that, too.
The judges assigned the catwalkers a challenge to learn a Thai dance in one day, and reinterpret the art in front of audience. You can never have an exact idea of how long this process took but, judging from what I saw, it was not more than 4-5 hours. During this short episode, the emphasis was again on the models - their thoughts, personalities and arguments.
"Hey, you are introducing a new culture here! To thousands of young viewers," I wanted to shout out. They could have as well stayed in New York or Los Angeles and hired a Thai choreographer, couldn't they? Yet, they needed the authenticity of the environment and the exotic images your imagination can bring to life. The fashion icons conquer the elegant moves without knowing much about their history and meaning. So, are you familiarizing audiences with Thai culture, or are you presenting them with a distorted and limited perspective of the country's appeal? I think the answer is clear.