 First edition cover | |
| Author | Tyra Banks and Michael Salort |
|---|---|
| Cover artist |
|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Modelland trilogy |
| Genre | |
| Publisher |
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Publication date | September 13, 2011 |
| Media type | Print (hardback) |
| Pages | 576 |
| ISBN | 978-0-385-74059-3 |
| 813.6 | |
| LC Class | PZ7 .B22646 |
Modelland is a young adult novel written by model Tyra Banks and ghostwriter Michael Salort, published in 2011. [1] [2]
A young, awkward-looking girl by the name of Tookie De La Crème is kidnapped, and forced to attend the legendary boarding school Modelland for a chance to join the Intoxibellas, the most celebrated models in all the world. Along the way she meets a plus-sized girl named Dylan, a 4-foot-7-inch (140 cm) girl named Shiraz, and an albino girl named Piper. Together they form a strong bond as they face the trials and tribulations of Modelland and endeavor to find the truth about why they were all accepted to it...and why a mysterious impostor seems to want nothing more than for them to be gone. [3]
Banks has said that the inspiration for Modelland happened one day while she was driving down on a street in New York City. She had been thinking about why supermodels are "super" and the idea of Modelland came to mind. [3]
She wrote on her website, talking about the idea for the book:
"I’m always dreaming up ideas, like when the words “modeling boarding school” floated into my head while I was driving on the FDR highway in Manhattan. I wrote them down in a little notepad and, five years, thousands of pages and dozens of writing getaways later, I finally get to call myself the author of Modelland." [4]
Publishers Weekly considered the book "overlong", "campy and warped", and a "nonstop barrage of surrealism and wackiness", but conceded that it could serve as a guilty pleasure. [5] The Stony Brook Press praised Banks' approach of allegorically describing the process by which contestants are selected to appear on America's Next Top Model , but criticized the book's "inner conflict of (...) purpose", and described it as "tacky, predictable and superficial" and "exhausting" to read, [6] while the Georgia Straight called it "a befuddling piece of dreckitude" and evidence that Banks is "certifiably batty." [7] Bitch noted that although Modelland "promotes self-esteem and confidence in girls, it is less than empowering since it is all to a depressing consumerist end", calling it "a nonsensical, nightmarish, acid trip that seemed like it would never end" with "more made-up words and terms than a Klingon translation of a Dr. Seuss book", and emphasizing that it "stops being funny when you realize just how long it is". [8]
In America's Next Top Model (season 17), Banks instructs the four remaining contestants in episode "Tyson Beckford" to perform as characters in the novel, in a short film based on the book, with part 1 of the film broadcast in that episode, part 2 was broadcast in the season finale.
In May 2021, Conor Lastowka and Michael J. Nelson selected this book for analysis on the podcast 372 Pages We'll Never Get Back , a podcast dedicated to books the hosts do not expect to like.
Modelland is the first installment of a proposed trilogy. [9] [10] However, no news has come out about a sequel.
Tamora Pierce is an American writer of fantasy fiction for teenagers, known best for stories featuring young heroines. She made a name for herself with her first book series, The Song of the Lioness (1983–1988), which followed the main character Alanna through the trials and triumphs of training as a knight.
Tyra Lynne Banks is an American television personality, model, producer, writer, and actress. Born in Inglewood, California, she began her career as a model at the age of 15 and was the first Black American woman to be featured on the covers of GQ and the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, on which she appeared three times. She was a Victoria's Secret Angel from 1997 to 2005. By the early 2000s, Banks was one of the world's top-earning models.
America's Next Top Model is an American reality television series and interactive competition in which a number of aspiring models compete for the title of "America's Next Top Model" and a chance to begin their career in the modeling industry. Created by Tyra Banks, who also serves as an executive producer, and developed by Ken Mok and Kenya Barris, the series premiered in May 2003, and aired semiannually until 2012, then annually from 2013. The first six seasons aired on UPN, before UPN merged with The WB to create The CW in 2006. The following sixteen cycles aired on The CW until the series was first cancelled in October 2015. The series was revived in 2016 and has been airing on VH1 ever since. The series was among the highest-rated programs on UPN and was the highest-rated show on The CW from 2007 to 2010. Advertisers paid $61,315 per 30-second slot during the 2011–12 television season, the highest of any series on The CW. The first 22 cycles of the series and cycle 24 were presented by Banks, while cycle 23 was presented by Rita Ora. The series also employs a panel of two or three additional judges, a creative director and a runway coach.
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Germany's Next Topmodel is a German reality television series, based on a concept introduced by Tyra Banks with America's Next Top Model. The competition is hosted by Heidi Klum who also serves as the lead judge and executive producer of the show. It is currently the longest-airing Top Model adaptation at 18 years and the second Top Model series to have the most cycles.
America's Next Top Model, cycle 1 was the first cycle of America's Next Top Model. It originally aired on UPN from May to July 2003, and was hosted by Tyra Banks, who additionally served as its executive producer and presenter. The judging panel consisted of Banks, Janice Dickinson, Kimora Lee Simmons, and Beau Quillian. The cycle's catchphrase was "One girl has what it takes."
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New Zealand's Next Top Model (NZNTM) is a New Zealand reality television series in which a number of young women compete for the title of New Zealand's Next Top Model and the chance to start their career in the modeling industry.
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James William Ross IV is an American drag queen and reality television personality who performed under the stage name Tyra Sanchez. A frequent drag impersonator of pop star Beyoncé, Ross is best known as the winner of the second season of RuPaul's Drag Race, where he won $25,000. As of March 2020, Ross retired from his drag character Tyra Sanchez after making a public post on Instagram. Two years later, on September 14, 2022, Ross announced his return to drag, once again under the name King Tyra, exclusively on his OnlyFans. In August 2023, Ross dissolved all of his subscription content for King Tyra, stating that his drag could exclusively be seen on Instagram.
Eva Marcille Sterling is an American actress, fashion model and television personality. She rose to prominence after she won the third cycle of America's Next Top Model. Afterwards, she starred as Tracie Evans in Tyler Perry's House of Payne (2007–2012), and landed the role of Tyra Hamilton on the CBS daytime soap opera The Young and the Restless (2008–2009). Sterling later returned to reality television as a cast member on the Bravo television series The Real Housewives of Atlanta (2018–2021).
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Olivia Gatwood is a poet, writer, and educator on topics that include coming of age, feminism, gendered violence, & true crime.
