Beauty pageants aired on TV have a love-hate reaction with viewers at home. Women often despise both Miss America and Miss Universe, calling it anti-women and disarm the praises that it sets up false values for ladies to be respected for their beauty and not their brains. But as a fellow pageant junkie, I ask – how is this any different than the red carpet during the Oscars, fashion week in Bryant Park or even American Idol? Maybe the reality shows of today have caused the fanfare of these pageants to be less than what they were in years past but there is no mistaking how gorgeous, talented and accomplished these young ladies can be.
Last night we gathered round as we watched Donald Trump's Miss Universe. Let’s start with the sponsors, we loved Farouk Systems, great hair on the contestants, it was long, bouncy and very healthy. Next, Carlos Alberto, his dresses often set the stage for glamour and something to be seen by the likes of Dynasty. Lastly, the jewelry, why Mikimoto pearls was not there this year is anyone’s guess (if you know email us), but we enjoyed the recession spin on the manufactured gemstones and the option for viewers at home to pick the “peace” crown from Diamond Nexus Labs.
As a beauty and fashion PR professional I usually tune in for these 5 reasons:
1.) How well did they answer the question asked of them (none of the contestants were really on message, call it lost in translation, even Miss Australia who spoke English didn’t nail it perfectly!)
2.) What was their body language like on stage with the audience (Miss USA, why did you tilt your head with that apologetic look going back and forth like a bobblehead, enough already!)
3.) Was their hair and make-up appropriate? (Miss Puerto Rico had the best hair and makeup.)
4.) Did the gown stay on trend for fashion this year? (Miss Kosovo, you had the best dress.)
5.) If they had cosmetic surgery, was it obvious? (Miss Venezuela, you looked like you had a little too much rhino.)
Communications tips for the contestants for next year:
As much as the contestants loved using their translators, it hurt them. I was shocked that Miss Puerto Rico, who hails from an unincorporated territory of the United States
that ranks #25 as being the most English speaking country in the world, felt the need to use one. I know they think they are buying themselves more time to answer those questions, but they’re actually making the judges confused. And in the case of Miss Kosovo, your translator didn’t speak your native tongue as well as you did. We know what she said was not what you did, you too could have won had you not used a translator. Why use them?
Things we loved:
- Kelly Rowland, from singing on the beaches of Fire Island to Miss Universe, you are one busy diva this year.
- Claudia Jordan, our favorite former Miss Rhode Island, we hope next year they let you host with a real leading man and not that little Billy Bush.
- Miss Kosovo, you looked like Aubrey Hepburn meets Elizabeth Taylor.
- Miss Puerto Rico, the pink dress and feathered hair was stunning.
Things we hated that NBC should reconsider for next year:
- The crown: Synthetic diamonds? Are you serious? I don’t care what kind of recession we are in, give the girl some pearls or emeralds if you can’t afford diamonds. But glass? No!
- The host, Billy Bush, we don’t quite get why he is the host, can you find someone who is at least as tall as the contestants? And his relation to GW makes our tummy sour.
- The singers: Flo Rida, wasn’t his first hit, “Bitch I'm from Dade County” and didn’t he tour with 2 Live Crew? We were horrified! Heidi Montag was the worst TV performance of all time. Lip singing should have given her more energy to focus on her dance moves, but it didn’t.
- The location: Sure Atlantis Resort was formerly owned by Donald Trump before he sold it to Merv Griffin. He then later resold it to Sol Kerzner and it was the home of Ricky Martin’s She Bangs video, as well as locale for several scenes of Casino Royal…but the bottom line is that the Bahamas are one of the most homophobic islands in the Caribbean. In February this year the courts allowed the gay panic defense to be used after a Nassau man stabbed a guy to death for hitting on him. Don’t pageants usually have a high homosexual fanfare? I for one have no plans in visiting that island.
Have your say! What are your take on these pageants? What were your thoughts on this year’s Miss Universe pageant?
Posted by Pierce Mattie on August 24, 2009 6:06 AM
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Comments (5)
Ah, Pierce -- always great commentary.
Having formerly been involved in the marketing of beauty pageants and the beauty queens to whom they give birth, life and sometimes fame and fortune -- I have some thoughts.
Couldn't agree more that Heidi Montag was hands down, the television disaster of the decade. An over-fed, over-medicated Britney Spears was more entertaining to watch at video awards several years ago than this. NIGHTMARE is all I can say.
Have to disagree with being in love with Kelly Rowland. Don't get me wrong, one of my absolute favorite performers and vocalists of all times, but truthfully? She sounded like she was singing with her head under water most of the time. The vibrato gave me agita. A lot of it. She looked amazing. Sounded just barely above average. That was disappointing.
As far as contestants go. Miss USA had ZERO business being in the top 10. Period. End of sentence. Frankly, she had no business winning Miss USA, but that's another story for another time.
Miss Kosovo - agree, gown, hair, makeup, all of it. Perfection. Dumb as a box of hair (I don't think it was a lost in translation problem...honestly). She looked like she had no idea how she even got to Miss Universe. Yep, it's a beauty pageant, but for this old guy, brains (even a little under dimly lit hair and makeup) makes me happier than just 'beauty'.
Miss Dominican Republic - truly, a physically beautiful woman. As I said on my own Facebook page - I missed the boat in picking her out of the website lineup for a top 15. Not sure how, but I did. Even old "hands" at this business miss every once in a while.
Sorry Pierce - LOVED Miss Venezuela. Wasn't shocked at all that she won. Actually right from the website line up she was my choice closely followed by Miss Colombia (who didn't even make it into the top 15, yes, I was shocked). Rhinoplasty or not; Miss V was near perfect, and frankly, when it came down to it, the only one who answered her question with enough conviction to make me pay more attention. My only 'nit? Did it occur to anyone that the evening gown (red) given the primary focus of the MUI organization is HIV/AIDs awareness was a completely pre-meditated choice on her part (or that of her handlers). The jaded me says "uh huh." The nicer me says...oh forget, there's no such thing as a nicer me.
My big disappointment of the evening? Miss South Africa. I truly thought (even ahead of Miss Venezuela) that she was the most elegant, poised and graceful of the top 10. Not classically 'beautiful', but truly "put together". I was disappointed the judges didn't see her a strong enough competitor to get her into the top 5. Or, maybe that was the problem...HAD she shown up in the top 5; Miss V might not have run away with it. That's my conspiracy theory and I'm sticking to it.
Miss Puerto Rico? Again, I disagree. The place has turned out some of the most gorgeous (and eloquent) beauty queens ever, but this one was really neither. She looked really mousy to me. And, pink with red and black sequins? Seriously? Wait, and the bangs. Huh? I actually thought it was a mess, and felt like she should have been replaced by Miss South Africa in the final five.
As far as the rest of the entertainment -- speechless.
What I hated most about this year's event? The choreography and staging. Wait, there WAS NONE...what am I saying? I've never seen so many knock-kneed, uncoordinated, pigeon toed-looking women on the same stage at the same time. Was I the only one?
Thanks for sharing this with us, Pierce.
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Thom Brodeur |
August 24, 2009 7:15 AM
Posted on August 24, 2009 07:15
"Miss Kosovo - agree, gown, hair, makeup, all of it. Perfection. Dumb as a box of hair (I don't think it was a lost in translation problem...honestly). She looked like she had no idea how she even got to Miss Universe. Yep, it's a beauty pageant, but for this old guy, brains (even a little under dimly lit hair and makeup) makes me happier than just 'beauty'."---Thom Brodeur:
Thom,
I don't think you have a clue what you are talking about here. First, do you speak Albanian?
The question to Miss Kosovo was essentially: Since fame has negative effects on privacy, why do you want to be famous? However, it was translated as what makes you famous. I agree, the question as asked by the judge was not answered at all, however, Miss Kosovo did answer the question the way it was translated to her. To me, and many others, this was a pure 'lost in translation' moment. I think she knew some English, she shouldn't have used the translator at all. She deserved to place higher than she did. She is gorgeous, elegant, and smart.
Cheers!
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Kujtim |
August 24, 2009 11:52 AM
Posted on August 24, 2009 11:52
lol
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tracie |
August 24, 2009 5:35 PM
Posted on August 24, 2009 17:35
it's a shame really, because miss kosovo should have won the pagent. she was not less smart than any of the others but she has no one to blame other than the people who picked her translator. god, i would have done it for free. shame on them, its a pitty, really, she was definitely better looking than the one who own.
i speak both english and albanian, and yes she was totally lost in translation, i mean she was no albert einstein either but come on, who there really is?!.
the question was: what makes people including you want to be famous.
the translation: what makes you famous.
and she answered that but even her answers werent translated correctly, poor thing must feel terrible from such bad luck, i do feel bad for her but no worries she is young and beautiful and after all she is albanian, the biggest bless of all. so, she has a lot to be proud off.
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irena |
August 25, 2009 4:35 PM
Posted on August 25, 2009 16:35
:)
Kujtim:
Thanks for your thoughtful reply. Maybe I was a little harsh with "the box of hair" comment. Maybe not. But, again, I used to work for Miss Universe so I've seen a lot of pageants; helped produce several years of them with Miss USA, Teen USA and Universe. My point? I've seen a lot of girls at Miss Universe get caught in the 'translator / translation' trap, and a number of them (real contenders, I like to call them) deftly work their way through those challenges. Miss Kosovo, as beautiful as she was (and I will give you that ALL DAY LONG, my friend...stunningly gorgeous), was not skilled at managing or working her way through the translator. And, to be clear, these girls aren't only and first introduced to the use of translators on national telecasts. They work with their translators all through rehearsals; they go through drill after drill after drill during these rehearsals, and don't forget...they also compete in prelims (with a different panel of judges) who select the Top 15 to begin with, and yep, you guessed it...with the same translators they work with during the final telecast. The judges who pick your winner aren't the same judges who pick your semifinalists. Not typically anyway.
But what does remain constant? The translators, and the relationship between them and the contestants. My point? Miss Kosovo wasn't on her game. Period. And while I don't speak Albanian - that was as plain as plain could be.
Now, that said, and sorry to bring it back to my favorite pick from the beginning; let's use Miss Venezuela as a 'contrast' to compare to Miss Kosovo. Did you happen to notice that she was the only contestant who the translator/s did NOT have to interrupt when she was giving her answer? While she, like the others, didn't answer her question 'exactly' as it could have been answered; she answered in short, digestible bites of dialogue (that the translator could easily follow, keep up with, and convey to the audience), and she answered with conviction and clarity - again, not something the others (particularly Miss Kosovo) did with aplomb. My point? Miss Venezuela "got it". She understood not only her audience, but her vehicle for communicating to that audience, and she managed and mastered that vehicle (the translator) flawlessly.
Even in Corporate America we see this happen. Pretty gets you to one place. Pretty with strong communication and management skills can get you right to where you want to be -- the top job. Miss Kosovo was no Miss Universe. Sorry.
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Thom Brodeur |
August 26, 2009 6:11 PM
Posted on August 26, 2009 18:11