The presentation today about beauty and the makeover really stood out to
me. Personally, I was repulsed by the bridal show and the trash that is shown
on tv. However, I think sometimes they are so extreme that most people don’t
take them seriously or look to them as role models (at least I hope) but it is important
to realize what stereotypes are out there and how they are influential.
Although I don’t want reality plastic surgery shows, I do read fashion
magazines, pin about fashion on pinterest, and read fashion blogs so to an
extent I am influenced and I thought the presentation did a good job of
creating discussion and made me think twice about what I learn from tv shows
and fashion magazines. Later today I was reading this article about how a woman
had to take 35 minutes to be prepped for tv while the man next to her took 3. I
think that speaks to our society and values, but that is nothing new. However,
she does argue that although she could refuse make up and look like a Walking
Dead character as she references, she doesn’t. Instead, she politely asks for
light make up because it’s a means to an end. She wants her voice to be heard
and without the proper make up she won’t be allowed on TV or people will be too
distracted to listen. While I don’t necessarily think this is true, I do think
it’s accurate. Sometimes, the smaller flights like make up on tv aren’t worth
sacrificing not being heard on a more important issue. However, does this
reinforce the problem and keep women silence by choosing to go along with the
35 minutes of make up? If woman continue to stay silent for “a larger purpose”
will the problem ever be fixed?
Also, i dont think these shows about beauty make overs empower woman at all. It doesnt encourage them to do anything except take the easy way out and get plastic surgery or spend a large amount of money on certain types of clothes. So why do these shows exist? someone must be watching them? i think these shows are definitely targeted towards woman, probably with low confidence. The idea of societys standards of beauty is highly debated in todays world. I think shows like What Not To Wear could benefit from helping contestants find their own personal style in an appropriate way instead of telling them what to wear and that they loook awful. (i'm thining of episodes i've seen of overweight women showing too many body parts).
Todays presentation also made me think of the Dove evoltuion commerical that showed how an average person went through a complete transformation to become an add that we see daily. I think this clip shows really well how everyday people are manipulated and how what we see is being sold to us as an image and unrealistic ideal. I think it's great that companies like Dove raise awareness.
Below is the link to the dove commerical.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hibyAJOSW8U
Below is the article I read today about TV make up.
If you like the Dove "Evolution" commercial, I would definitely recommend to check out another Dove video, "Onslaught." The video poses a series of arguments of how we are all impressed upon at such a young age by the fashion and beauty industry. By combining images of a young girl with flashes of fashion advertisements and commercials, the video suggests that advertising of beauty products and the representations of women in advertising constitute an "onslaught," which generates in viewers an unhealthy fixation on appearance at the expense of other concerns. I think it does a great job in highlighting the damages of consumerism and the extensive amount of incentives to consume that we encounter every day.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I think it is also interesting to note that both "Onslaught" and "Evolution" are publicity videos for the Dove brand. While the videos do not mention buying Dove's products or even show their products, the videos were produced to, first and foremost, increase audience awareness of the Dove brand and to align the brand with a positive message that would, in turn, encourage customers to buy Dove products. These commercials, therefore, perpetuate the very thing that they are attempting to create awareness of - mass consumerism at the expense of self-esteem and self-worth. It's interesting to note this contradiction.
Here's a link to the video:
http://vimeo.com/4097693