Much ado is being made of the just-released Harper's Bazaar photo-spread of Tyra Banks as Michelle Obama — or, that is, as beaming and beatific First Lady to a black President. It's a pretty bold role to play dress-up (not First Lady, but this First Lady), and our pal Glynnis MacNicol hits it on the head about what, exactly, feels off:
Looking at the pics as a whole it becomes clear that the weirdness factor has nothing to do with Harper's Bazaar running a Obamas-as-First Couple photo spread so much as their decision to use Tyra Banks in the role of First Lady. If they had, say, decided to cast the part of Michelle Obama using an anonymous model, chances are we'd be discussing how the fashion photos perhaps signify that a black presidency (specifically an Obama one) has become culturally acceptable. However, by choosing Tyra -- a cultural force in her own right -- it feels like we're merely watching "Ms. Banks" play out some weird personal fantasy of her own making.
Then again, portraying living First Ladies is nothing new — see Elizabeth Banks as Laura Bush in Oliver Stone's W. Maybe what also seems weird about the photos is, again, the newness — the imagery of a black First Couple is still so damn new in this country. Not just as an idea, but as an image, so much so that the example that keeps coming to the fore is Dennis Haysbert in 24 (and, to a lesser extent, Morgan Freeman as a be-bunkered President in 1998's Deep Impact).
There's all sorts of parsing that can be done on these photos — the composition, the chosen tableaux, the multitude of individual choices and small but singular details that result in the finished product — all before even getting to the article. We'll leave the parsing to others (you can start with the his-and-hers Harvard sweatshirts here). As it turns out, there are some good nuggets in there (this is Tyra, after all). Tyra talks about Michelle Obama as a strong woman, talks about herself as a strong woman in a self-made career as a businesswoman after a high-profile career as a model. There is a lot to be read in here about gender roles and expectations — particularly interesting in a race in which a female candidate ran so famously (and so famously un-femininely). Here are a few excerpts:
On the woman behind the man:
"With Barack Obama, his becoming president is them becoming president because Michelle was there from the beginning. Without Michelle, he wouldn't be there."
On options for models after they age out of modeling:
"They don't have to marry a rich man and trade in their pretty."
On how she'd wear her hair:
As for hair, perhaps a Jackie/Michelle-style flip? "Nooo, my question isn't to flip or not to flip. Mine would be to weave or not to weave."
On an important skill Michelle Obama will need:
"I would also want her to know how to beat her own face. That means do her own makeup. "
On the role of First Lady:
"In the end, the first lady should be her man's rock and his boulder and his mountain. And she should be calling about 50 percent of the shots!"
It goes without saying that no one wonders if a president can do his own makeup, or how he'll choose to wear his hair.
Yes, Tyra is a supermodel-turned-reality-show-host-and-talk-show-host whom no one would call a shrinking violent, and who probably comes quite easily to inserting herself into this debate (cf. the one-time HuffPo feature, "Tyra's 'It's All About Me' Moment Of The Day"). But if you think it's an impossible journey from supermodel to First Wife, look no further than this month's cover of Vanity Fair.
Tyra is actually a pretty interesting person to ask about all this, because of how many of these roles she has inhabited (and may be the only former lingerie model to have told the world to kiss her fat ass). She knows what it's like to be judged solely on her appearance, and she knows about making herself be about more than that, and she doesn't seem to be particularly apologetic about either. Neither does Michelle Obama, who is also juggling different roles — career woman, mother, very public face of a presidential campaign, fashion plate whose View dress spawned a thousand knockoffs (and whose comments that day included thoughts on the wearing of pantyhose). To a certain extent, being First Lady is playing dress-up — but at the end of the day, Tyra can take the costume off.
AMERICAN DREAM [Harper's Bazaar]
PHOTOS: AMERICAN DREAM [Harper's Bazaar]
It's All About Tyra! You have to look twice to notice anyone else in this picture. (Oh yeah, there's the guy who's supposed to be president.)
His n' Her Harvard!
Domestic bliss (because that's what most moms look like. )