Bravo, Project Runway, & Crazy Women

I had an interesting conversation with a friend this morning. What did we discuss? Global warming? Trouble in the Middle East? The current mortgage crisis? The answer to all these questions is . . . no. We were talking about Project Runway. My friend was, to borrow a phrase from Michael Kors, quite underwhelmed with the first episode of PR. He was so disappointed that he suggested not watching the show on a regular basis. His words elicited a reflexive response from me—I was ready to slap the crap out of him. But I didn’t. I don’t resort to physical aggression to solve problems or resolve disputes. I’m all about peace and love and all that good stuff. Anyway, my friend is not alone. A number of people in the blogosphere found this episode a tad boring.

I understand what they’re saying, but, honestly, I think some people had unreasonable expectations. Consider the following. I dare you to approach your friendly neighborhood drug addict. Ask him or her to describe the first time they tried their favorite drug of abuse (psychostimulants are quite popular with the kids). In many cases, they’ll describe feeling immense pleasure. However, after repeated drug use, it takes even higher doses of the drug to experience the same effects, and, in many cases, the person eventually stops experiencing pleasure all together. Ok, I’m not sure that’s a good analogy. Honestly, I just wanted to use the phrase “friendly neighborhood drug addict” in this post. My point is: we’re talking about the fourth season of Project Runway, for crying out loud. Did you expect to be blown away? We’ve seen a lot of it before. The divas, the drama queens, the assholes, the nut jobs, and the list goes on. And, as the years go by, some of the designs are starting to look awfully familiar. Aren't they? Again, the novelty effect has worn off. I thought the first episode of PR4 was entertaining and predictable. But that’s ok.

Sorry, I went off on a tangent there. Ok, let’s get back to the task at hand—obsessing about Bravo reality television. Anyway, I’ve already complained about the lack of female talent on other Bravo shows; so now I’d like to say something positive about Bravo. I’ve noticed a few interesting trends in Bravo land. For starters, they sometimes select contestants who don’t conform to certain stereotypes. Exhibit A: lesbian hairdressers! Seriously, before Shear Genius, I had never thought of combing the words lesbian and hairdresser in the same sentence. Bravo managed to find two lesbians for Shear Genius 1 (my beloved Tabs and Daisy). Also, what’s with over-achieving Vietnamese Americans? Cloe (Project Runway) and Hung (Top Chef), both Vietnamese Americans, won the top prize in their respective shows. Don’t get me wrong. I’m happy for them. I really am. But the chances of two Vietnamese Americans succeeding on Bravo aren’t that high. Why not Chinese Americans, Mexican Americans, or White women? It’s just interesting. That’s all I’m saying.




Well, Bravo has done it again. They’ve managed to find another stereotype to mess with. Instead of the tired stereotypical Hispanic woman, Bravo now offers us the crazy, rebellious Hispanic woman. At first I thought Lupe was an isolated case of craziness. Of course, a handful of unstable Latinas exist in this country, but Bravo found another one. Yep, I’m talking about Elisa Jimenez. Ok, she’s not exactly like Lupe. Elisa appears capable of formulating coherent sentences; I can’t say the same for Lupe. I like Elisa. She’s the crazy, artistic type. I can dig that. However, if she’s going to play that part for the next few weeks, she’ll need to produce some great designs.



Wow, this post is getting kind of long. I know; you’ve got other things to do. So . . . I’ll stop beating around the bush. This episode wasn’t horrible. It was predictable but still entertaining. As stated in the previous post, I love Rami. Did he deserve to win? Well, that’s debatable. I think he has great taste, but his design was kind of safe and not very original. Two dresses caught my eye. The one below was designed by Chris.



I agree with Ms. Place; his dress was fierce. The man certainly has talent. Also, I noticed that a handful of gay bloggers are going crazy over Chris. Why? He seems like a nice guy, but it’s too early to tell if he’s a character to love. I’ll give him a chance. Who knows; he may win me over. Christian is turning out to be a little bitch, which isn't always a bad thing. Although I didn't like his design, I admit that he is creative and confident, but I suspect he may have trouble competing against more experienced designers. He’s a kid compared to many of the other designers.




I also liked Kit’s dress (pictured above). She may be one to watch. Of course, it really is too early to pick favorites. Now, I’m off to Pink Navy. See you there!