The Brazil Files: Not So FIERCE – America’s Next Top Model Goes to Brazil
By Racialicious Special Correspondent Wendi Muse
Considering that I am presently living in Brazil, everyone and their mother sent me emails to alert me that this year the America’s Next Top Model “exotic” location was going to be São Paulo, Brazil. Of course, I was on it like white on rice.
I have previously covered ANTM’s behavioral faux-pas (read: extreme insensitivity in relation to the respective racial/ethnic/national identities and/or sexual orientations of the contestants, just to name one of many problems), but I felt the need to take another stab at their culturally-oriented failures considering I am living here in Brazil, visit São Paulo every other weekend, and could safely say, before even watching it, that it was going to end up a hot mess.
In light of the fact that some of the comments made during the show were quite obnoxious, I decided to return the favor. I say let’s squelch fire with fire, ladies. And no, I am not talking about the burning sensation during a Brazilian wax, which seemed to be about the only thing this season’s gaggle of beauties knew about the country that over 196,000,000 people call home.
I have decided to write a little ditty about my take on the show. Check out the clips to see for yourself. Footnotes are provided for additional information. I would have set it to the beat of “the Girl from Ipanema,” but I was too tired from watching the stereotypes and stupidity unfold before me to actually do that. Here goes:
In São Paulo, samba’s not the really the thing. (1)
But hey, at least the girls got flip flops with bling. (2)
Oh and Spanish, speak it they do not. (3)
And in São Paulo, it’s hardly ever hot. (4)
So if you really wanted a sun burn or a tan,
You should have gone to beaches of Rio, a clip of which they ran. (5)
And though capoeirista Eddy speaks quite clear,
They decided to run subtitles as not to offend our AMERICAN ENGLISH ONLY ear. (6)
And Carmen Miranda— for the eyes she’s a feast.
Yet too bad home girl is actually PORTUGUESE.
While made famous as the face of Brazil,
She cemented stereotypes and a fake idea of what’s real. (7)
“She’s always very sexy and Latin,” says Sutan (8)
During a photo shoot in the backdrop of which poor children ran.
A favela it’s called, “oh how cute!” (9)
Look at the poor people who have absolutely no loot.
“It’s touching to get a glimpse of how these people live” says Celia.
But oh, I’ve got some news for you, filha: (10)
On the outside, it may be ugly and covered in garbage galore,
But inside some houses, it looks more like home furnishing megastore. (11)
So don’t be fooled so much by the things that you see:
So-called Brazilian sex appeal or a non-existent sea.
Brazil is a country of its own and not necessarily what we want it to be.
(To watch the full episode, click here.)
1. Samba is actually not popular within every state in Brazil. Music tastes, in a general sense, vary from region to region and even city to city (i.e. larger cities vs. the interior, aka “the country”). In Brazil, samba is said to have originated and found its largest audience in Rio de Janeiro, and was primarily associated with Brazilians of African descent. While there are certainly samba clubs in São Paulo (city), the majority of the clubs for young people resemble clubs in any other large city (rock, hip hop/rap, electronica/dance).
2. The models received Havaianas (awesome, super comfortable Brazilian flip flops) embedded with Swarovski crystals. Value: $200 USD/pair
3. Employing a habit of many an uninformed tourist to Brazil, one of the models begins to speak Spanish to the cab driver escorting her around during a challenge. Many people still seem unaware of the fact that Brazil is a Portuguese-speaking country. If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me how good my Spanish was before moving here, I would be a millionaire.
4. It’s not hot all the time in Brazil, depending on where you live. São Paulo happens to be a city that actually gets super cold. Natalie, one of the models, continued to harp on her discontent with the cold weather, lamenting the fact that she would not be able to get as tan as she’d like. That’s why you go to the beach, honey (more on that in a sec). For example, today in São Paulo, it may rain and the low is 57ºF.
5. To further confuse American audiences, Tyra & the Gang run a clip of people on the beach in what looks like Rio de Janeiro. The state of São Paulo, of which São ‘Paulo (City) is the capital, has beaches, however, the city of São Paulo, mind you, is landlocked and does not have any beaches. But just in case people would get confused by seeing a city in Brazil that has nary a beach, they had to show one to appease the stateside audience.
6. Ok so first, capoeira is more of a northern Brazilian tradition. Much like the samba story, of course it’s practiced in Sampa (São Paulo’s nickname), but its origins trace back to Africa and have a greater link to northern Brazil, which happens to be where the largest concentration of Brazilians of African descent lives. Continuing on this note, Eddy, the capoeirista, speaks pretty clear English, but they still decide to provide subtitles for the dialogue. It’s like, um, it won’t confuse us too much if we hear English with a non-American accent. Not that difficult to wrap our heads around . . . or is it?
7. Carmen Miranda, referred to as “the Chiquita Banana lady” for the majority of the episode, was born in Portugal to Portuguese parents with whom she immigrated to Brazil as a child. Despite living in Brazil for almost her entire life, she kept her Portuguese nationality until death. Though stateside Carmen Miranda is arguably one of the most recognizable Brazilian celebrities, her legacy causes great debate because her image helped usher in and perpetuate stereotypes of Brazilians, particularly Brazilian women, as overly sexual and joyous at all costs. Her choice of costume is also interesting, as she often employed elements of traditional Bahian* women’s attire.
*of or related to Bahia, a state in the northern part of Brazil known and respected for its preservation of many aspects from West African cultures following the end of the slave trade in Brazil)
8. Resident ANTM makeup artist
9. The word “favela” in Portuguese means poor neighborhood or, in other words, “ghetto”
10. “Filha” is the Portuguese word for “daughter;” often used to mean “girl” or “honey”
11. There is a misconception that every neighborhood in Brazilian cities that has homes with slightly unkempt exteriors equates to being a favela. There are a few neighborhoods within Sampa for example, which look terrible on the outside, providing the backdrop of what seems to be a favela, yet once inside one of these homes, one may be pleasantly surprised. Just like in the States, home construction and upkeep is a costly and time-consuming task, and some people choose to forego it altogether until additional funds or time allow.
Carmen Van Kerckhove is co-founder and president of
Deaf Indian Muslim Anarchist! wrote:
Dude, it’s a TV show about models and bimbos. Girls who think life is all about being thin, beautiful, vain, and shallow. Stupid girls who cry that they’re not oh so skinny or pretty enough! Of course they’re stupid and insensitive about a different culture.
Why do you expect any better from these bimbos? Cos I don’t.
and I’m ASTONISHED that people still think Brazilians speak Spanish…dumbasses! I read a recent article in the Global Post about Brazil, that President Bush asked if there were any black people in Brazil.
Posted 29 Apr 2009 at 10:20 am ¶
Julia wrote:
Thanks for this post. The whole “let’s have a photo shoot in a favela” also seemed very crass. You know, as if it’s some kind of set created just for them, not actually a place where people live…
I say all this, and yet I watch the show religiously.
Posted 29 Apr 2009 at 10:34 am ¶
Paz wrote:
True, a number of things weren’t paulista, but the trip is to expose them not just to paulista culture but to Brazilian culture, and things such as samba and capoeira form part of the national identity.
Re: Spanish, I heard one girl say “Obrigado” and Tyra welcomed them with “Bemvindos” but I think since it’s highly doubtful that any of them studied Portuguese in school, they were trying to communicate the best way they knew how. And Spanish is similar to Portuguese. Just giving them the benefit of the doubt. Maybe they’ll have to tape a Cover Girl ad in Portuguese.
Yeah, I could understand the capoeira instructor, but honestly there are people who are not used to particular accents. My mother has a Mexican accent and usually people in California don’t have trouble understanding her, but when we went to Canada, the cab driver could not understand her for the life of him. When I went to Brazil, people in Rio de Janeiro and Salvador could understand my Portuguese, but I later stayed in a tiny town in Minas Gerais, where I’m guessing the residents are not used to a foreign accent, and many could not understand me. I think they put the subtitles just for consideration of US audiences.
And no one called the favela cute, or anything similar. I think it’s important to recognize that favelas exist instead of conveniently ignoring them and focusing only on the highrises and such. I think the shots captured some of the beauty of it. And I’m thankful they didn’t use the kids as props.
Posted 29 Apr 2009 at 10:41 am ¶
Fiqah wrote:
I looooooooooooooved this post. While just about ANY stateside reality show that features a trip to another country is almost guaranteed to be a hot mess, ANTM just manages to make shit offensive on levels. I remember a coupla years back when a trip to Japan was announced by Tyra and punctuated by the ringing of a GONG. That was my “Check, please!” moment for ANTM; I haven’t looked back.
Posted 29 Apr 2009 at 11:49 am ¶
Hilary wrote:
Love the idea of putting your critique in poem form, very snarky in a good way XD
Posted 29 Apr 2009 at 12:04 pm ¶
Fiqah wrote:
Oh, that ditty was dope. Find someone to beatbox to it and you gotta YouTube hit on your hands.
Posted 29 Apr 2009 at 12:47 pm ¶
wendi muse wrote:
hey paz,
just fact-checking. i don’t watch antm anymore, but it was brought to my attn that the girls were going to be in sp…so i was like, ok HAVE to say something about this, bc i recall the prior international location episodes being borderline offensive if not totally inaccurate. i recognize that antm is not national geographic or discrovery or something from the travel channel, but there are culturally rich things that relate to sp that they could have talked about and shown…in an accurate way. they could have taken this opportunity to explain how sp is different from the rest of brazil (i.e. how is nyc, despite having many cultural elements of other regions in the states is different from some of the other major cities). tyra always goes on and on about stereotyping on her daytime talk show, but antm is still used to harp on, if not exaggerate pre-existing ones that she criticizes during another part of the day.
i don’t expect anyone to be perfect, but i also think that shows like this, though campy and light, could still use the opportunity to educate viewers about places to which they may have never been in an accurate way. brazil is not all carmen miranda and favelas, and they could have used this opportunity to expose the other sides too.
Posted 29 Apr 2009 at 1:35 pm ¶
Wendi Muse wrote:
hey deaf (comment 1):
yes, it’s a show about models
no, not all models are dumb “bimbos”
nor do i have high expectations of a show like antm
BUT
pop culture can use this type of opportunity to educate people, and it was a disappointment. we talk about pop culture and its intersection with race, ethnicity, politics, etc here on this site…so be prepared for that.
and despite what the girls say or do, the editors, creators, directors, writers, etc, o seja, people behind the scenes, have a hand in this too. so i think the responsibility for quality program, even if on a “reality show,” goes beyond the participants themselves.
but speaking of participants…did you all see natalie’s comments after she got booted? she basically called tyra out for favoring black contestants on the show. interesting twist.
check the link: http://jezebel.com/5226292/antm-contestant-accuses-tyra-of-being-shady (via jezebel)
Posted 29 Apr 2009 at 4:31 pm ¶
Paz wrote:
@Wendi Muse — There are a couple of episodes left, so we’ll see what else they decide to portray. One thing I am grateful about ANTM is that they go on go-sees to local designers, especially countries like Thailand, South Africa and Brazil, because it shows that the country has a fashion industry and isn’t just a backdrop for “exotic” photoshoots.
@Deaf — I have known people who are models who are intelligent and cultured, and are not self-absorbed or looks-obsessed. I don’t know if you’ve ever watched the show, but there have been contestants who seemed to have made an effort to be respectful to the culture they’re being introduced to. Stereotypes are not cool.
Posted 29 Apr 2009 at 7:38 pm ¶
Heather Leila wrote:
Another thing that was all over the internet was how, in announcing to the girls they would be going to Brazil, Tyre had this male model come out in a sunga but when he opened his mouth it became apparent from his accent he was from Portugal, not Brazil. It would be like having an Australian telling visitors welcome to the U.S.- it’s just not the same thing!
Posted 29 Apr 2009 at 11:10 pm ¶
Ashmo wrote:
I’m going to have to talk about what Deaf wrote – I mean you can’t just go on playing into these stereotypes! Not all models are dumb bimbos… They aren’t all vain and shallow! Playing into stereotypes does nothing for society – it just makes things worse, so things never change. I also have to agree with Paz – do you even watch the show? I watch it every season, and even though they may not always portray the counties they go to in the best way, I do think they do try to show different parts of many countries, even the countries that some people don’t think have very much to offer. I don’t think the models are going into these countries and purposefully trying to be disrespectful – when you go to a new country, do you automatically know what to do? Because I sure don’t… and I surely wouldn’t want anyone calling me dumb or insensitive because I didn’t know everything about their culture. Now honestly, what do we really expect from a reality show? I don’t its ANTM’s job (or any other pop culture reality show for that matter) to educate us about other cultures – many people watch so much TV that they are cultivated into thinking that’s really how people act. For those people who watch so much TV (or any other media outlet) and come to the conclusion that ALL models are stupid, insensitive bimbo’s has just become another one of those people affected by the cultivation and mainstreaming effects of media. Instead of being passive readers of the media, we need to become active, in that we read past the socially constructed essentialist view of models, and see that they are trying portray a smart, respectful image.
Posted 29 Apr 2009 at 11:18 pm ¶
Wendi Muse wrote:
heather…i can’t view this episode for the life of me. the cw site is being evil and none of clips are available at youtube.com anymore (cbs took them away
so i can’t watch it to confirm your claim. are you sure he wasn’t just from rio? they do the slur thing with words that have single S(es) involved. i.e. portugues = (sound) portuguesh
and some folks in other regions of brazil sound super portuguese too…so he might have actually been brazilian, just from a region with a more portuguese-sounding accent…
but, since the internet hates me, no way to confirm…damnit
Posted 30 Apr 2009 at 12:48 am ¶
LaurynX wrote:
“hey deaf (comment 1):
yes, it’s a show about models
no, not all models are dumb “bimbos”
nor do i have high expectations of a show like antm”
I agree stereotyping models doesn’t get us anywhere. I don’t think cultural (or general) ignorance knows any specific profession. Most people are culturally ignorant of other places until they are taught about it. This does not excuse it however.
Posted 30 Apr 2009 at 12:56 am ¶
Joan wrote:
I totally agree with this post but I don’t want to condemn all of ANTM. I’m currently researching the representation of Africa in pop culture and this show poses some particular challenges. The girls of Cycle 4 go to Capetown and although it does of course show some stereotypical safari images that you always get when Westerners go to Africa, the show also makes a point to visit Robbeneiland and give a history lesson about Nelson Mandela. They also visit a township (and not in a “Look at these poor people” way) and learn dances at a community center (and not “tribal” dances, as you would expect). Even the “animal” photo shoot (each girl dresses up as an animal) has some historicity and specificity–instead of using these sort of blanket stereotypes that make Africa seem like one big homogeneous place, the animal shoot includes a springbok, which is the national South African animal and can only be found around that area. And it does, of course, show Capetown as an international cosmopolitan fashion capital, which is probably not the first thing most viewers think of when they think of Africa.
I’m not saying let the show off the hook, cause it has some fucked up things, but it’s not all bad.
Posted 30 Apr 2009 at 1:44 pm ¶
Marianna wrote:
Nope,the guy is Portuguese not Brazilian,that’s for sure.I’m Brazilian and it’s not hard for us to know when someone is speaking Brazilian Portuguese or Portuguese from Portugal,and I’m from Rio too.
Posted 30 Apr 2009 at 8:49 pm ¶
wendi muse wrote:
lol marianna,
oh well. i guess they figured no one of brazilian descent or who speaks brazilian portuguese could have been watching the show. i mean portuguese is portuguese, right?! (kidding)
but i guess the good part is that @ least he wasn’t speaking spanish!
Posted 01 May 2009 at 12:35 pm ¶
Paz wrote:
Yeah, I speak Portuguese, and I could NOT understand the guy, but I showed the clip to my Brazilian bf, and he immediately called it out. Cuz it’s super hard to find a Brazilian model?
Posted 02 May 2009 at 12:02 am ¶
Adam wrote:
Ok, so you got me…I’m going to watch the show (ps – if you want a link to watch it streaming, I can provide it). I was reading the post and the comments and didn’t figure out until almost the end what antm was. Guess I’m not with it..
Let me watch it, then I’ll do a post about it and link you to it. I usually steer clear of pointing out Western stupidity when it comes to South America but sometimes I can’t help it…afterall, the whole point of my site is to inform “gringos”.
Regards
(oh yeah, and I replied to your comment about ‘right of way’)
Posted 02 May 2009 at 1:49 pm ¶
c.n.edaw wrote:
I just have to ask… as someone who watches ANTM usually and Tyra’s talk show occassionally…do any of you really believe Tyra truly knows much of anything about anything other than modeling and capitalizing on her celebrity brand?
On her show she routinely makes these grand statements about taking on some stereotype or misconception and then in the next breath is stereotyping someone/some group or saying something factually incorrect her damn self.
I just don’t expect much from her…in fact for me it is part of why watching her is so entertaining.
She desperately wants to be perceived as more knowledgeable than she actually is and just ends up making her self look ridiculous in the process.
Posted 02 May 2009 at 5:52 pm ¶
RCHOUDH wrote:
Thank you again Wendi for bringing to light more insightful facts about Brazil! I greatly look forward to your posts because of that!
As for ANTM, usually their portrayals of different cultures are either hit or miss. One particular bad miss happened in Japan when one of the contestants rudely spat out a Japanese dish she was supposed to advertise about.
Sometimes they do try to show aspects of another culture beyond the local fashion scene however. I liked for example how they brought to light Mandela’s imprisonment in South Africa. That in turn brought out some long held questions about mixed race identity (when a black American contestant did not believe a mixed race contestant was “black enough” to have the honor of learning more about Mandela’s struggles).
Another time when they were visiting Thailand Tyra made sure to take the contestants to visit the place where the tsunami struck which I thought was good of her so that people are at least temporarily taken out of watching the usual ridiculous antics characteristic of reality shows.
Tyra herself seems fascinated by issues regarding race and identity. She touches upon it quite often on her talk show. And she sometimes has it brought up on ANTM (like the time this white Republican girl almost got into an argument with a past ANTM winner and when in Spain a contestant believed that a male model did not want to kiss her because she was black). I agree though that oftentimes she doesn’t come out looking very well informed about the issues she brings up on her shows.
Posted 03 May 2009 at 5:37 am ¶
jo moses wrote:
um, paz:
when you went to canada the cab driver couldn’t understand your mother?
where were you in canada? what was the nationality of your cab driver?
Posted 03 May 2009 at 9:12 pm ¶
Chris Diaz wrote:
For less than the price of a cup of coffee, you too can feed a model.
Posted 09 May 2009 at 1:38 pm ¶