THE
RECURRING AND CONTINUING THEMES
(Series 3 of 4)
By
Rolando Rafael
In my Miss Universe history
lessons in 1993, I suggested that had Miss Colombia answered with something
about the children and the future she would have clinched the title instead of
Miss Puerto Rico. In the 1994 edition, I cannot help but notice that the
prevailing thoughts and aspirations of those times were of peace, children,
education and the future. There was also a concern on environment albeit taken
only sparingly.
On
Peace:
Sushmita Sen talked about multiculturalism of
India and yet there is peace amongst its people of varied cultures, religions
and languages during her preliminary interview. And on the Top 6 interview,
Minorka Mercado of Venezuela answered in response to a question of Mona Grudt
of what is the revelance of the Miss Universe pageant to woman at that time
answered about peace. She said that Miss Universe is a way to send the message
of love and peace to all humanity by bringing all the nations together in one
pageant.
On
Children:
In the last 2 pageants
(1992 and 1993), Michelle Mclean and Dayanara Torres won their respective
pageants with answers relating the children as the hope and the future
themselves. In the preliminary interview of this years’ Top 10, Miss
Switzerland tried to use this possible connection of her loving kids very much
and thus she hoped to become a pediatrician someday and her concern is to
support the needs of the children because they are the future. On the other
hand, Miss Italy wants to become a teacher because she loves being with
children, short of saying that they are the future of the world too.
On the other hand, Miss
Slovak Republic cannot escape the topic about young people. Miss Slovak
Republic’s discussion on the young as the hope of the future takes on a deeper as
she talked about how she was part of the young people who made a mark on social
change for her country. She said she joined street protests with other students
to help liberate her country from the shackles of communism. She would rather
again comeback on answering a question about women being unfulfilled if they do
not have children. If at the outset during the preliminary interview she was a
libertarian, she showed conservatism when she gave an answer that a woman
should have children to become fulfilled and she looks forward to being one.
Even Sushmita
Sen of India cannot help but take a dig on the issue about children. When she
was asked a question by Florence LaRue on what was the greatest adventure she
would embark upon if she had the means to do so? She remarked that it would be
about children because she enjoys the adventure that comes with them.
On a
related front, when Miss Colombia Carolina Gomez was asked during the Top 6
competition of the question what was the biggest problem facing young people,
she retorted that it was the lack of security in them. In order to learn how to
be secure, they should look up to the older generation because of the wisdom
they have acquired through the years. As
such she is telling everyone that although the young is the future, they should
learn from the experiences of the past.
On
Education:
The issue on education
seemed like a variant on the topic of the young as the future of the world. Take
for example, Miss USA advocating Helping All Teens Survive in her program. In
the same way, Miss Colombia talked about supporting young women. They talked
about teenage and unwanted pregnancies and the need to educate them. Miss USA
further stressed during the Top 6 interview that she would focus on
disadvantaged kids and trying to make a difference in their lives. Don’t you
think therefore that this is a variant in helping the kids to be more
productive citizens of the world?
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On
the Environment:
Miss Sweden talked
about the beauty of her place in Northern Sweden. She talked about the beauty
of her surroundings, the northern lights, the midnight sun and the beauty of
nature. She did a very nice description of her place of origin and we are just
waiting for her to say that we must preserve it.
The
Final Question:
What is the essence of
a woman?
All three candidates to
the Top 3 answered adequately and that anyone of them can be Miss Universe 1994.
If we dissect the answers of the three, their answers revolved on 4 topics – Love,
Children, Femininity and Motherhood. All the candidates talked about love for
their children. Sushmita touched about love for their men too. They talk about
giving birth to children, living their lives and the joys of motherhood. The
winner therefore was the candidate that delivered the best spiel among them and
that morning (night in other parts of the globe), the winner was Miss Sushmita
Sen from India.
Final Note:
Final Note:
It seemed like the
candidates for the Miss Universe 1994 edition had learned their lessons by
watching previous pageants. They tried to go the way of peace, children,
family, love and hope. However, they did not expect that there others who
thought of the same route too. What mattered in the end is the crowning of the girl
who had still one ace up in her sleeves.
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