Now that Miss Universe is over, I must say that in as much as it pains me to say this as a Miss Universe follower, the 2019 edition was that underwhelming to say the least.
I can’t help but make comparisons to Miss Earth after it had one of its best editions this year. Miss Earth isn’t perfect by any means but it continues to evolve for the better and that’s largely due to Carousel’s ability to listen to feedbacks from its most dedicated fans. Sadly, I can’t say the same for IMG.
Just want to comment on a few things...
1. With 8 days of competition, there was barely time to get to know the Miss Universe delegates closer. Only about 10-15 women were highlighted by the sponsors. And good luck getting information from the main Miss Universe thread here where half of the posts were cringeworthy and the other half focused primarily on the perceived frontrunners with the utter exclusion of the rest. Contrast that to Miss Earth where we get to know everyone during the four weeks of competition and where everyone got enough attention from the org and its many sponsors. No one was ignored.
2. Miss Earth has been heavily criticized for putting a lot of weight on a delegate’s communication skills and intelligence which has led to less than popular results in previous years. Well...I must say that Miss Universe has outdone Carousel in this regard but not necessarily in a good way. Imagine how painful it is to cut the 20 semifinalists into half on the basis of 15 second rehearsed oratories. These women prepared so hard to make it through the first cut only to be excluded because they were not able to convey their messages as fluently and as spontaneously in English as those who grew up speaking the language. And now with the even heavier emphasis on Q&A more than looks, I really feel sorry for those don’t speak English well. These women are at a severe disadvantage. Whereas at Miss Earth, the 20 semifinalists are at least able to showcase themselves in swimsuit and evening gown first before the top 10 are chosen to continue into the hashtag segment and the final Q&A.
3. I find it unfair when the women’s background stories are given a lot of weight. In Miss Earth, all that matters is one’s environmental cause so everyone is almost on equal footing during the competition regardless of their backgrounds. In Miss Universe, some women are able to exploit their background stories to appeal to the judges’ emotions and we’ve seen them work.
Miss Universe remains the mother of all pageants in my books. I compare it to that older sibling who everyone looks up to. But I’m somewhat alarmed by some of the changes I’ve seen lately. Anyhoo...what say you?