28 years and now this is always something with you i was too skinny then i was too fat then my
ass was too big oh but you all about that now huh the era of why a dystopian novels like the hunger
games the selection and the uglies it seemed that the last thing we could expect was retired banks
of all people to hop on the trend yet tyra threw her hat in the teen dystopian ring and gave us
model land model land is a 2011 ya novel written by tyra banks with the help of a ghost writer
i do think she had a genuine hand in writing a decent portion of the book though
because some of the quotes are just so cringy but in that unique unsettling way that could only
come from the twisted mind of tyra banks tyrus said of her inspiration 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 the little notepad and five years thousands
of pages and dozens of writing getaways later i finally get to call myself the author of modelland
as a reminder these are some of tyra's other magnificent ideas model land was
supposed to be the first book in a trilogy but currently is still the only installment
modoland follows the main character tuki de la crim a name you can't tell me tyra didn't come up
with who is gangly awkward and basically a genetic chimera for no reason other than tyra thought it
would be cool i guess and she is very tall very awkward super insecure she has one green eye
and one brown eye so she feels like a freak and on top of that her forehead goes on and on
and on and on irrelevant but tuki's mom's name is creamy de la creme creamy
creamy because tuki is so unique looking she's invited to join an elite class of
models called the intoxibellas along the way she joins a ragtag group of other
model hopefuls including a plus-sized girl a little person and someone with
albinism i think publishers weekly sums it up best in their review of model land
calling it over long campy and warped and a non-stop barrage of surrealism and wackiness
another magazine didn't hold back calling modelling 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 monolin is 600 pages long making it longer than half the books in the harry potter
series for the record i did try to read the book myself and it was so cringy and disjointed i
couldn't finish it and i remember lying to my mom and saying that i did because i had begged her to
buy it for me on my kindle a lot of my fellow classmates at the time who were 7th grade girls
also convinced their parents to buy them the book and it was always checked out at the library
now this isn't because the book was going to be the next y trilogy that preteen girls were
going to base their whole personalities off of it's because the book had been marketed to us
all through tyre's preferred method of torture america's next top model tyra cross promoted
modelling on an episode of cycle 17 coincidentally the all-star season where anjali was disqualified
the final four girls filmed a motion editorial aka a trailer for the book as their final elimination
challenge before the finale i didn't get far enough in the book to understand what them
being dressed like olympian cyborgs has to do with anything tyson beckford was also in the trailer
regardless i and other pre-teen girls thought this was art of the highest form and begged her
parents to buy his model in when it released tyra said her intention with modeling was to
show how despite how selective and exclusive the modeling industry was
girls with unique looks could still pave their own lane oh but it's oh no no no it's too late
it's too late because today i am wise enough to know that my beauty is not defined by you
beauty is all shapes and sizes all colors and genders young and old tall and short thin and
the book preaches themes of confidence and embracing one's uniqueness a sentiment tyra
also preached on top model when she felt like it do you really think you can have a covergirl
contract with the gap in your mouth yes why not this is all people say it's easy israel's
beautiful cover girl it's not marketable in 2019 to remind us that her book even existed and in
an attempt to revive her waning a and tm fan base tyra announced a model and theme park mind
you the other two books in the promise trilogy never came out so there was no modeling universe
it was just that one book that most people found too silly and too long to finish tyra herself knew
the book was too long because she also announced a modeling graphic novel was in the works
tyra said her intention with the real-life modelling was to bring modeling to the masses
she claimed she'd been working on modelling for the past 10 years and it was part of her mission
to expand the exclusive modeling world model land was set to open in late 2019 in santa monica
the 21 000 square foot attraction would allow fans to experience their modeling fantasy through
multi-level ticketed experiences restaurants and of course buying merchandise guests could
have access to catwalks professional photo shoots and an immersive theater experience
tyra claimed she was inspired by disneyland and universal studios and she wanted to bring
a sense of adventure to the world of modeling santa monica's model land would be the first of
many locations planned to open globally when asked to describe model land tyra said model
land is going to be a place where the modeling world meets fantasy meets entertainment meets
technology meets retail meets dining meets your fiercest best self you could ever imagine
she also said that model land would have a social media component that would allow people around the
world to see what model land was about and then hopefully want to visit in person aside from model
and merchandise other retailers could sell their products inside the attraction i'm assuming the
majority of these products would be makeup or beauty related which guests would be more prone
to buy after a day of pretending to be a model and getting made up with a lot of these same products
make no mistake tyra doesn't view modeling as just a cash grab she also considers it a movement she
said yes it's an attraction and a destination but above all it's the genesis for people with
all types of different beauty to feel seen and validated and tyra truly does want her guests
to feel valid or as valid as their payment for their tickets which could go for up to fifteen
hundred dollars the cheapest ticket to model land was for general admission which was 59
general admission includes a personalized lookbook a limited shopping experience and editorial photo
shoots directed by tyra herself there's not more of an explanation on this but i'm assuming it's
via video and not live the next tier is the fantasy photo shoot ticket which cost 549.
this experience includes an extravagant photo journey complete with hair
makeup wardrobe refreshments and access to limited edition products
the fantasy dream ticket is the highest priced at fifteen hundred dollars in this package you get a
hair and beauty consultation prior to arrival as well as a designer wardrobe and a luxury gift bag
each level of ticket works kind of like an add-on with guests getting everything in the level below
it too i guess that somehow justifies fifteen hundred dollars for an amusement park ticket
like that's not an entire month's rent at this point i truly don't even see how most of this is
logistically possible unless they were counting on very few people to be careless enough with
their money to go all out on those higher priced tickets instead of really explaining how the park
would operate tyra and her team responded to most questions about modeling by repeating how
revolutionary and inclusive the experience would be like what is this gonna be i'm it's gonna be
great model land is to be insane it's going to be bananas what it is is it's about you coming
and joining the uprising that we are tired of this one defined narrow beauty and everybody that comes
to monoland is joining the uprising to take down the people that say we are not good enough okay
the entire thing seems too good to be true and like it could never live up to how tyra
had sold it remember she was promising beauty consultations and high fashion photo shoots and
designer clothes modeling actually has a website and i signed up for it because that's the only way
to actually access the website but after signing up i was regretfully informed that the webpage
no longer existed but not one to be deterred i did click on the ticketing page that came up as
the second google result this page actually does direct you to the model and site a message on the
homepage states that modeling won't open until the governor deems it safe so i guess disneyland and
all the other amusement parks in california are operating illegally at this point or maybe it's
just more plausible to think that the website just hasn't been updated in over two years
the faq page explicitly states that they're unsure still when the park will open
despite this tickets that were purchased could still be honored when or if model land opens
guests also have the option to be issued a refund though ticket sales are currently closed because
there's no park yet to buy tickets to you can still become a model and member which seems
to work kind of like a season pass one could join the beauty model squad for about seventeen hundred
dollars a year and get four general admission and four fantasy photo shoots a year or you could join
the couture model squad for fifty five hundred dollars and get twelve general admission visits
and 12 fantasy photo shoots the memberships also come with a hoodie there's also a job application
linked to the site but it redirects to an indeed page that no longer exists and of course as one
could imagine there are no pictures of modeling on the site but you can find multiple pictures
of tyra banks on the site they do clarify that model land isn't technically a theme
park because there are no rides yet according to them but there will be ever-changing themes
i'm not sure what their definition of a theme park is but i guess they're technically right
that modeling isn't a theme park because it's yet to exist so it isn't anything the guest experience
fact doesn't answer any logistical questions but it does again remind guests that modeling is for
everyone and to make sure they download the modelland app to personalize their experience
tyra also reminds her guests that while she's worn the finest couture in the world
you're still allowed to come to the park looking crusty as long as your check doesn't bounce
monolin was due to open in may of 2020 but in march of that year tyra announced that
the opening would be delayed due to the pandemic so we were unfortunately deprived of the social
media fallout that would have rivaled firefest had this place actually opened
it doesn't seem like tyra has given any official updates on model land or when it will finally open
if it does i don't think it'll do too well especially considering the outrageous prices
it's obvious tyra is trying to capitalize on how diverse the modeling industry is becoming
and it feels like she thinks she has some sort of ownership over that because of antm
tyra never misses an opportunity to say she was leading the charge on there being models of
all shapes sizes and ages in my opinion turning inclusivity into a commercialized experience makes
it seem like more of a financial opportunity than a cause that's near and dear to her heart since
tyra's public image has shifted in the past couple of years i don't even think modelling
would be popular even if it were priced affordably this isn't a case of where the harry potter books
are so compelling and beloved people are willing to look past the unsavory actions of the author
a lot of people are anti taiwan now and the book flops so there's really not much of a draw there
places like harry potter world or even the world of avatar are based on global phenomena
and creates an established world for fans to immerse themselves into modeling wasn't
a global phenomenon by any means it's hard to find any genuinely positive reviews of the book
and hard too to find people who even finish reading it also it provides a different experience
than every day yes but not a fantastical one that can't be recreated elsewhere even at a regular
amusement park i can get on a ride and do things that i couldn't do at home honestly for the ticket
prices you'd be better off just buying your own outfits and makeup and doing your own photo shoot
i genuinely don't think model lamb will come to fruition the idea itself misses the magic
of adventure parks like harry potter world or even willy wonka's chocolate factory modeling
doesn't compare to the clandestine foreign world of a magical boarding school or chocolate factory
unvisited by the general public modeling really isn't the secret inaccessible world anymore that
tyra acts like it is let's talk about how i had to mix my own makeup colors because if i left it up
to the people that you chose for me i'd look like an ashy clown oh don't get me started on the hair
do not get me started on the hair tyra also doesn't have some sort of insider perspective
on modeling that the rest of the world doesn't especially not to the degree that justifies her
asking people to pay thousands of dollars to attend her theme park it honestly just
seems like another vanity project of tyra's and an elaborate scheme for her to earn a pat on the back
if motoland does open though it is where we're having our first fan meet up so you better
start saving your money let me know down in the comments if you've read or even finished model
land and what you thought of it also especially let me know if you were ever trying to go to
monoland theme park or know anyone who did and how that worked or didn't work out as always thank
you for watching and i will see you guys super soon be sure to like comment and subscribe bye