Living in our world today and surrounded by a materialistic culture, we are constantly being bombarded by ads about beauty. It is no doubt a pressure on females, especially on young girls as they are exposed to beauty ads and in their minds develop their own theory about what"pretty" is. Upon viewing this Dove video, it truly is frightening to see how deceiving a beauty ad can be with all of the technology that man has developed, such as photoshop, to erase away a woman's blemishes. This video encourages us as the viewer to take the position that true beauty is natural beauty. What we see in beauty ads is deceiving and unrealistic because of editing software such as photoshop and this video really exposes how dramatically different an ad can be from its original product. In the beginning of the video, we see a female with no make up on and by the end of the video, we see a billboard ad with her face on it where her features are noticeably different by the editing of photoshop. It is mind boggling to see how different the subject looks...her lips were made larger, neck was raised, shoulders more defined, her eyes larger and eyebrows more arched, etc...the list can truly go on and on. When we consider the concept of identity in this case from the "Circuit of Culture" by Stuart Hall, the producers are cosmetic companies and us humans are the consumers. Females are more vulnerable to these pressures about beauty but we must remember that what we see in these ads are unrealistic and deceiving. The words, "No wonder our perception of beauty is distorted" sums up how manipulative cosmetic companies can be and how obsessed our culture is about physical appearance. To tackle these pressures that a person faces, especially a young girl, is to build healthy self esteem and know that true beauty is natural beauty...not the unattainable standards that our media has bombarded us with.
Your post is really interesting! I always respected Dove for using women in their ads who weren't the "model" prototype.The woman in the video truly does completely evolve from the way she started in the beginning. In each culture, beauty is viewed in a different way. Unfortunately in ours, most people think that beauty comes in a size zero and wears tons of makeup. However, in Victorian England and for many years before, "beauty" was much different. Their teeth were not so white they could blind someone. The women were not stick thin. Hairstyles were completely different. Across the globe, there are different perceptions of beauty. It's all subjective.
ReplyDeleteIn Film Studies, the Apparatus theory is the idea that the viewers of a film are unaware of the technological apparatuses which create the film that they passively look at as something 'just happening in front of a camera'. This post reminds me of that in the way this advertisement brings to light the changes this women went through in order to look beautiful for the billboard. That is exactly why these billboards and ads are so unhealthy to young women; people look at these images of women and just accept that these people look the way the camera makes them look. It is so important that consumers look at these ads actively, rather than passively accepting them as natural.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was very interesting how the woman evolved from a makeup-less face to a stunning woman in an advertisement with the help of makeup and editing. It makes me think really of what society’s view of beauty is and that nobody is perfect and flawless in the eyes of advertisement. It’s unfortunate that society has placed that high standard on what looks good enough to post on a billboard, making any average person feel like they are not good enough when they pass by.
ReplyDeleteI saw an ad in a magazine that I posted in my room with a Barbie doll and the words, “At what age does ‘I’m too fat’ actually start?” It goes along with the topic because it’s an image of something unrealistic and for the most part unattainable – that starts at such a young age with little girls. It is unfortunate that younger audiences think that the advertisement shown is what 'pretty' is, instead of your natural beauty and that looks instead of brains are what is important. I could go on and on about the subject...
I’m glad Dove does this campaign and advertisement to show how unrealistic expectations are and that true beauty really does come from within.