This advertisement popped up on my dashboard while I was ogling over beautiful pictures of Kevin Ray from the best band ever, Walk the Moon. Talk about a distraction. It is an ad for a professional photoshopping company, that is trying to cover up the "blemishes" on the girl's face. The company is probably trying to portray the explicit message that small facial imperfections are not attractive or are socially acceptable. The funny thing is, that's what makes us humans, right? What would we be without imperfections? A society of robot-esque people from Brave New World?
I think the implicit message that is being portrayed in advertisements such as these is that you are not socially acceptable, meaning your face is ugly, and that you will be lonely because you will have no friends unless you buy this cosmetic product or photoshopping software.
I know that before I began looking at the media critically, ads like these wouldn't even faze me. It was like looking at the sky and seeing that it was blue. Looking at a billboard on the freeway or the dashboard on your computer and seeing something like this didn't really affect me, which is scary. Have we become so immune to the media's portrayal of normalcy that we not only have accepted it, but it has become our own standard?
I think the implicit message that is being portrayed in advertisements such as these is that you are not socially acceptable, meaning your face is ugly, and that you will be lonely because you will have no friends unless you buy this cosmetic product or photoshopping software.
I know that before I began looking at the media critically, ads like these wouldn't even faze me. It was like looking at the sky and seeing that it was blue. Looking at a billboard on the freeway or the dashboard on your computer and seeing something like this didn't really affect me, which is scary. Have we become so immune to the media's portrayal of normalcy that we not only have accepted it, but it has become our own standard?
Let's not forget about the men now, either.
George Clooney is like, what, 53 years old now? Dear photoshop industries, stop trying to erase the lines on George's face. They're pretty and I like them, ask any other woman on the street. He probably likes them, too. What if each one has a story? That's like erasing parts of his life. That is morbid and inhumane, you're making him into a robot. JUST SAY NO to dehumanizing George Clooney and his face!
Nice analyzation! I've never thought about it the way that you said.. "What if each one has a story?" So true! Every wrinkle, scar, and fault has a story behind it and IS a part of the person. Ok, the picture of George Clooney on the right looks SUPER FAKE.Like unnaturally fake and kinda gross... I much prefer the real picture of George Clooney, wrinkles and all! Being asked if you want your face to be "retouched" (like on our picture forms in the beginning of the year) is kind of rude actually... Like 'hey your face isn't perfect but we can make it perfect for you!' No, thanks.
ReplyDeleteChrist, that is creepy as hell. The scary thing is that in the direction we're going, that is going to become the idealized norm. Pretty soon that won't even look that bad of a photoshop job. Soon we'll be making Newt Gingrich look like a supermodel if we keep on the same path. Maybe I wont be alive at that point. One can only hope.
ReplyDeletePhoto shopped George Clooney looks so weird. It is definitely not him any more after being retouched. I agree that "imperfections" make a person a person, like wrinkles and scars, and they definitely tell stories. I also agree that erasing those imperfections also erase a part of that person and makes them extremely artificial, without any personality or history or humanity. It creates an object in place of a human being and replaces a whole person that has a story with a depthless and superficial product.
ReplyDelete