Customer Reviews

Shut Up and Smile: Supermodels, the Dark Side

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Perhaps it's the English major in me, but I'm always on the lookout for typos or mistakes in the books I read. When I find one or two, I usually dismiss them, but when they appear with great consistency I begin to wonder how much faith the book company or editor had in whatever work I'm reading. Such is the case with Shut Up and Smile, a supposed journalistic account of the behind the scenes world of supermodels, a book as riddled with problems as it is rife with typos and formatting problems.

First of all, the subject is very interesting, and Halperin does discuss some truly frightening aspects of the trade, a definite wake up call to those considering entering the business. But a lot of what he writes is inconsistent or seemingly random - a chapter on the 'bad' years of the mega-supermodels merely catalogs some well known incidents without delving any further. And while he reiterates constantly about certain problems, he again just touches them on the surface, providing only a few examples to back up, for example, his claims that many, many models are murdered each year. One of the strangest chapters is one about Stella McCartney, and whether she is famous for her own talent or by virtue of being Paul's daughter. Not uninteresting, mind you, but what on earth does it have to do with the dark side of supermodels? And for that matter, if the author went undercover to 'discover' the true world of modeling, how come he uses mostly anecdotal and not personal references?

The only reason I gave this book three stars is because the topic is interesting - its presentation may be below par, but that doesn't change the importance or relevance of the subject. It's fascinating to learn about rampant criminal activity behind the scenes, drug use, virtual prostitution and so forth, and for that the book is worth reading. I suppose I just wish that he'd dug deeper, provided more insight or evidence or details, repeated less and proven his startling, and significant, claims. As an overview, it's a good introduction, but it only skims the surface. Its structural, language and editorial problems unfortunately undermine it's power yet it remains a fairly intriguing read.

"Shut Up and Smile" attempts to cash in on the success of Michael Gross's superb history "Model: The Ugly Business of Beautiful Women." However, it falls far short of the mark.

For one thing, the book design is hideous and amateurish: the cover looks like it was put together in twenty minutes copying pictures from websites. Inside, there are plenty of misspelled words, which, though it does not take away from the quality of the book, disheartened me a lot. Names were often misspelled (Gisele Budchen, Kyle McClaughlin, Cheryl Crow.) I found it appalling that although Katharine Hepburn is listed as a coauthor, Halperin didn't even spell her first name right. Also, the chapters on Stella McCartney (how much did she pay him for that glowing profile?) and the late Gianni Versace seemed to have little to do with the rest of the book.

Halperin totally overuses the word "supermodel", which is usually used to describe the greats of modeling (Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss, etc) the greats of modeling and is even appropriate for other major models like Shalom Harlow and Gisele, but he uses supermodel as a replacement for model, which is just about any girl who happened to do some ads and runway.

What was shocking in "Model" (drug use, sexual abuse, agency wars, etc) is made utter trash in "Shut Up and Smile." There are ubiquitous and lascivous descriptions of sex acts scattered throughout the book which I found to be in poor taste.

However, since "Shut Up and Smile" was published several years after "Model", it has a lot of new information, like about Naomi Campbell's supposed suicide attempt and Kate Moss's struggles with addiction. And since it is more of an expose than a history, there are more extensive and shocking cases listed of models (often underage) who were killed, raped, abused and/or harrassed, which further convinces me that anyone who's less than razor sharp is eaten alive in the business; and how an industry verging into prostitution is already crossing the line. The subject of racism in the modern day fashion industry is also interesting.

"Shut Up and Smile" is worth a read, to further convince yourself that you really don't want to be the "gorgeous" girl on the cover of Elle, but only after the much more in depth and serious "Model: The Ugly Business of Beautiful Women."

Perhaps it's the English major in me, but I'm always on the lookout for typos or mistakes in the books I read. When I find one or two, I usually dismiss them, but when they appear with great consistency I begin to wonder how much faith the book company or editor had in whatever work I'm reading. Such is the case with Shut Up and Smile, a supposed journalistic account of the behind the scenes world of supermodels, a book as riddled with problems as it is rife with typos and formatting problems.

First of all, the subject is very interesting, and Halperin does discuss some truly frightening aspects of the trade, a definite wake up call to those considering entering the business. But a lot of what he writes is inconsistent or seemingly random - a chapter on the 'bad' years of the mega-supermodels merely catalogs some well known incidents without delving any further. And while he reiterates constantly about certain problems, he again just touches them on the surface, providing only a few examples to back up, for example, his claims that many, many models are murdered each year. One of the strangest chapters is one about Stella McCartney, and whether she is famous for her own talent or by virtue of being Paul's daughter. Not uninteresting, mind you, but what on earth does it have to do with the dark side of supermodels? And for that matter, if the author went undercover to 'discover' the true world of modeling, how come he uses mostly anecdotal and not personal references?

The only reason I gave this book three stars is because the topic is interesting - its presentation may be below par, but that doesn't change the importance or relevance of the subject. It's fascinating to learn about rampant criminal activity behind the scenes, drug use, virtual prostitution and so forth, and for that the book is worth reading. I suppose I just wish that he'd dug deeper, provided more insight or evidence or details, repeated less and proven his startling, and significant, claims. As an overview, it's a good introduction, but it only skims the surface. Its structural, language and editorial problems unfortunately undermine it's power yet it remains a fairly intriguing read.

I'm shocked by the lack of proofreading. It's easy enough to check how names are spelled, but instead of "Kyle MacLachlan," Halperin comes out with "Kyle McClaughlin" (pg. 34). Instead of "Rande Gerber," we get "Randy Gerber" (pg. 29). And WHO is "Giorgio Ferrari"? Someone who dresses cars? (pg. 31) Could the author mean Gianfranco Ferre? Who knows. But when an author can't be bothered to check that he has names spelled correctly, I suspect the rest of his research is sloppy too. Very disappointing.

The way the author describes how teenage models are recruited to be sex slaves and prostitutes is incredible. Very well researched and documented, I recommend this book to anybody who want to cut through the gloss and hype of the fashion industry. The chapter about racism in the fashion industry stands out. It's incredible that in 1999 fashion editors admit that they would rather use a white model for a cover shot instead of a black.

There is no doubt that people in the modeling and fashion industry will be upset by this book. It's about time that these people are exposed for who they really are. People will be buying this book for years - it's a keepsake of a great read. The multitude of anecdotes, stories, observations leave you grasping for breath. A wonderful, tasteful and dark book about fashion's taboo.

Halperin offers a shocking and poignant account of what life as a model is really like. This illuminating book reveals the devestating impact sleazy agents, designers and husterlers in the industry have on models' lives. Well-written and exciting. I reccomend this book to anybody who wants to know the truth about being a model.

Okay, first off, as someone already pointed out, the writing was horrible. Whoever edited this should be ashamed of themselves. Given that it was rife with errors, I suspect it was rushed to market as quickly as possible. As far as the 'shocking' revelations found within, the book comes nowhere near meeting its titillating promise. All we get are sob stories about the hard life of the beautiful models, complete with pretadory agents and heroin shot between toes. Halperin seems infatuated with his subjects, to the point where he portrays them as lost babes in the woods of a cruel world. Not once did he question the need for models and our obsession with the cult of beauty. He also makes rather short shrift of any discussion of anorexia or feminism or anything beyond the pretty-picture world he is so enamoured with. (It was all about cleaning up the industry, how to make it safer for our favourtie waifs.) Never once was the idea posited that an industry based on petty self-indulgence of the decadent ego serves no actual purpose and has no other avenue to tread than corruption. All in all, a weak, disappointing book with barely enough gossip to make it worthwhile.

A book like this should tell tales and name names.

It does, in some way. But it name more victims' names than the predators' names. And I found that disturbing. There are too many chapters that are copied from Michael Gross's "Beautiful women and ugly business". Mr. Gross's book is a good read. "Shut up and smile" is not. It is a waste of time, many references other than the copy from Gross's book are public informations.

It is said that you can't judge a book by its appearance. But for this book, you can. Most pictures of the cover as well as inside the book are not of right proportion. And if an author and publisher are serious about a book, they will take good care of the looks. It may not be glamorous book cover but you can at least get the picture right! Also, the author is supposed to be under-cover. Why bother showing his pictures in the books? ( twice)

This is not a book worth your time. Read "Beautiful women and ugly business". "Shut up and smile" should have shut up.

Readers unfamiliar with the fashion world will find the "revelations" interesting. Others may find the chapters on Versace and Cunanan, the model wars between competing agencies and Gia Carangi old hat. I did not get the impression of reading a whole book - it felt more like reading a series of disjointed chapters. A chapter on Stella McCartney is abruptly sandwiched between a chapter on modelling agents and another on the new breed of models. By the way, Stella McCartney is definitely part of the fashion scene, but I fail to see the significance of devoting an entire chapter to her career in a book on the dark side of the modelling world. Ditto for the now-obligatory Versace and Cunanan chapter. I can only hope that an earlier reviewer is correct in suspecting that this book was rushed for publication. I find it disconcerting that a so-called probing expose by an investigative journalist would refer to k.d. lang as K.D. Lang. At this stage, I can only be amused by the spelling of the name of another singer as "Cheryl Crow".