People just aren't perfect. Everyone has their flaws, even models. The last words to flash across the screen at the end of this video are incredibly true: "No wonder our perception of beauty is distorted." The images we are shown of models in ads are not what these women really look like.
Buying whatever product an ad is trying to sell will not make you look like the flawless woman shown in the ad. Sometimes it's hard to look at these images and not automatically think that you want to look like that person. Images like these can have a serious negative impact on a person's body image.
A few days ago, I was working on an open-genre assignment for creative writing. It was a collage about body image and the media, made of images cut out of magazines. Looking through these magazines specifically to find things that i found problematic was really interesting to do. Usually when I'm looking through a magazine, I don't pay that much attention to the ads. This time, I saw countless ads that showed a woman with flawless skin; perfect, shiny hair; and perfect proportions. Equally bad were the ads that objectified women. This ad for Orbit gum was one that really stuck out to me.
There is just so much wrong with this. Is it really necessary to show a woman taking her clothes off to sell a pack of gum?
Ads don't portray reality. They show us what they want us to believe, which is a skewed version of what's actually true. I'd like to say that I'm not affected by these skewed portray of women, but that wouldn't be true. There's always something to strive to be, even if it's completely unachievable. I've been trying to look at images that I see in the media more objectively. I look for things that can't possibly be real. As I'm bombarded by images of flawless people, I try to hang onto the notion that it's a lie. Nobody is perfect.
There has always been a distortion of beauty in the world; advertising and media just make it worse. Trying to sell something is just manipulating someone's view of it and making it memorable. For example, even though we recognize that the Orbit ad is bad because it has a women stripping to sell gum, we remember the brand. So, next time you buy gum, you might not remember that you didn't like the way it was sold, you'll only remember the brand which will sell more gum for the company.
ReplyDeleteThe video you linked to about how a model looks before and after the use of makeup and Photoshop is startling. Instead of including models who their audience can relate to in some way, advertisements often portray an "ideal" person that draws in buyers with envy. What is sad to me is how effective this tactic has become; like Brigitte said, we have fallen for this distorted sense of beauty that is fostered by the media, and we let companies profit off of it.
ReplyDeleteYou make some great points here, Alana. I also think it's terrible to imply that this woman is a product whose "outer wrapper" you can remove when it's time to consume/enjoy her. I realize it's done in a joking way, and I'm a fan of edgy humor, but this isn't edgy. It's just tired.
ReplyDeleteI love Photoshop! I saw this one mock makeup ad parodying the uses of Photoshop and it was great...here it is. When I was in Korea, I saw an advertisement in the street and I assumed it was for plastic surgery (it had before/after pictures, and plastic surgery is huge in Korea), but it was actually for a professional Photoshop business. Geez.
ReplyDeleteIt's really sad that the industry is seemingly running out of ideas, and that provocative images are the way to go now (see: graphic images of breastfeeding advertising milk). Personally, I think some great music, humor, and cool imagery is all you need for a successful ad. Internet Explorer is terrible, but I've watched their ad for IE8 enough times to want the software that they're selling. Maybe I'm just a geek, but it just goes to show that Photoshopped women are not the only path to success.
Let me just say, BRAVO ALANA!! Not a lot of people are so keen to pick up on the absurd objectification of women in advertising and I think that you do a great job in opening up the topic. I also looked at the video that Gloria posted and was horrified. There is definitely something wrong with our culture if we want everyone to look like a Photoshopped version of themselves.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post, Alana! I think you are completely right. These unrealistic, flawless images of women (and men for that matter) have become so mainstream in our culture that we don't even think about how completely unnatural they are anymore. Instead, we compare ourselves to them and feel inadequate for not looking like a photo-shopped, air-brushed image. I think it's great that your so in touch with this and your blog post alone is one step toward reminding people that just because they don't look like the person in some glossy magazine, does not mean they aren't beautiful.
ReplyDeleteGrace Anastasio