These 20 seconds sum up the fundamental weirdness of this year's Miss America Pageant

These 20 seconds sum up the fundamental weirdness of this year&#039;s Miss America Pageant

(Image credit: YouTube)

last updated 8 January 2015

The Miss America Pageant is a relic from an older time — a competition in which 35 percent of a woman's worth is still appraised by her appearance in a gown and a swimsuit. Last night's 94th annual Miss America Pageant saw New York's Kira Kazantsev take home the big prize — and if you missed the show, these 20 seconds will basically get you up to speed.

Here, Kazantsev sits on the stage and performs a cover of Pharrell's "Happy" while flipping a plastic cup, emulating a popular routine from the movie Pitch Perfect. A few people half-heartedly clap along in the background.

In the midst of the performance, a helpful pop-up explains that Kazantsev "loves anything Jane Austin." Assuming Kazantsev is a fan of the English novelist behind Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility — and not the obscure mid-1800s American author behind stories like A Nameless Nobleman and Betty Alden: The First-Born Daughter of the Pilgrims — they presumably meant "Jane Austen," with an "e."

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Scott Meslow is the entertainment editor for TheWeek.com. He has written about film and television at publications including The Atlantic, POLITICO Magazine, and Vulture.

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