Julie C. sent us a promo for Canada’s Next Top Model (Cycle 3). It claims that their 20 new contestants “break the mold”:
However, in her estimation, these models fit the mold pretty well (maybe they’re a bit less blonde?):
I also think, and I’m just talking off the cuff here, that the “break the mold” metaphor is possible only because we objectify models (they are identical, industrially reproduced, assembly line products — notice the imagery at the beginning of the commercial). And the notion that they are break-able (notice how they are shattered into pieces in the promo) seems to reproduce an easy violence against women.
UPDATE: Some people in the comments are saying that this last point is speculative and, perhaps, reading too much into the “breaking the mold” metaphor. They may be right. I was just thinkin’ out loud. Anyway, I still think it’s interesting to think about.
