Conformity is defined as the process by which an individual’s attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors are influenced by other people. Remind you of anything? Maybe buying that plaid shirt because your friend convinced you to try it out. Wait until the goverment starts convincing us to “try” things out. Anyway, I think this photo goes along with my theme of cosmetic surgery. One gets surgery, recieves attention, others want attention and the cycle continues. Nice way to view society today, right?
Filed under Humoresque
Above is a Dove “film,” in which in a little over a minute exposes the meaning of beauty as deemed by society. One blink and a whole division of “beauty” will be missed. Although I am thoroughly amazed by this commercial, I cannot get over the hypocrisy of it all. For those who are not aware, Dove is a brand of the company known was Unilever. Other familiar personal “care” brands of Unilever are Axe and Slim-Fast.
How can a company have a brand that supports “inner-beauty” distribute products that use over-sexualized women as a means of advertisement?
This form of advertisement is exactly what is fostering that little red-head’s definition of beauty.
Further, how can Unilever discriminate the ads used in its commercial for supplements and pills when it markets it’s very own weight-loss product.
Some may say that Dove cannot control what Unilever does, seeing as it is the parent company. Even so, can Dove still claim to be moral? But then again, what does morality have anything to do with capitalism? When I first watched this commercial I was in awe. I could not believe in a single minute I viewed “beauty” become enhanced, improved, impaired and then mutilated throughout its years of development. I thought Dove was amazing for bringing this problem to attention and promoting self-esteem programs, then it hit me. This commercial is nothing but a marketing idea to increase sales. Yes, the Campaign for Real Beauty may have influenced a few girls life’s but in all honesty, if a mother in high-waisted jeans were to sit down and talk to her daughter, absolutely nothing will be accomplished except one thing. What will be accomplished? Think about it. What will both parties remember? Dove. They will remember the name Dove, in which case the commercial achieved what it set out to do. Personally, I find using something has susceptible, as self-esteem, to markets one’s product revolting. Yet it is the society in which we live.
Filed under in the media, just the start, PROP-aganda
As I have already discussed, human beings strive to stand out in a positive way. Americans, especially, will seemingly go through what ever necessary surgeries or procedures they must to gain acceptance from society. In this commercial, a girl probably in her early twenties is sitting at a bar with a man pouring her a glass of water. Right from the start this commercial oozes with pathos. The location, an empty, rather nice café with its own bar, and situation, a woman alone with a man, initiates the pathos feeding into the viewer’s brain. In this type of location, humans’ hormones are in the rise which is clearly demonstrated between the eye contact and “flirtatious” smiles between the two. It’s human nature to desire the attention of the opposite sex and as the commercial furthers, it is realized that the woman feels the only way to receive male attention is to have the perfect look. In this case to achieve this she has decided to uplift her chest by stuffing. The man notices this and makes a face at the woman in dissatisfaction. At this point another woman walks in and the man, still pouring the glass of water, is obviously pleased with the augmentation of her breasts and becomes distracted and overfills the glass. At this point the commercial is using the idea of acceptance and rejection to play into the viewer’s emotions. The viewer, most like sympathetic and embarrassed for the first woman, does not want to be caught in a similar situation, most likely coming to the conclusion that in order to be accepted by society the perfect look must be obtained. The commercial attempts to convince its viewers that the only way to achieve this look and acceptance is through plastic surgery.
Filed under just the start, PROP-aganda
For all of you that have had work done and are no longer allowed to compete in beauty pageants, DON’T SWEAT! There is a new type of pageant just for you, Miss Plastic Surgery. These pageants are being held worldwide with the next one starting its first round on October 9th in Budapest, Hungary. This upcoming contest is open to women between the ages of 18 and 30 that have had a series of cosmetic surgery. All that is required in order to be judged by the selected five top surgeons are the contestants’ medical records and an application. Winners could receive a new apartment, a new car or a get-away vacation!
China's Miss Plastic Surgery 2004
Although it is not clear and standard advertisement, I believe that cosmetic based beauty pageants add a sense of pathos to society today. Media constantly pressures us as humans into what is the “norm” and like I’ve already suggested, in America the norm is to maintain beauty. I feel that beauty pageants, in general, force teens to go through extreme measures in order to be what is known as beautiful, but now these cosmetic based beauty pageants propose that any measure necessary for attractiveness is alright. I’m not trying to say that cosmetic surgery is immoral and people should not alter their body, because it is their body why would I, a simple student blogger, want or care what other people do. I, however, do not like the way these events are pushing society’s mindset further away from the ordinary that we know today, freckles, frizzy hair, braces etc., and closer to a new “norm” which suggests ordinary is what we see as perfect today.
Filed under Humoresque, in the media, just the start
When is enough really enough?
According to Bob Whitehead, a free lance writer specializing in body art, body modification has been practiced for thousands of years and is still being practiced today. Some call it “a universal art form.” It has been done for several reasons including:
- Religious affiliation
- Rite of passage
- Ritual/Ceremonial practices
- Sexual Enhancement
- Denote trust/loyalty
- Self expression
In his article, The History of Body Modification Throughout the Ages, Whitehead writes that ear and nose piercings would denote a person’s rank in society. Ear stretching and plugging was started by the Mayans long ago. Scarification, the permanent altering of skin, began in Africa as a rite of passage as well as to serve for further attraction. Whitehead concludes his article by making the statement that body modification has history to the past and can tie us to our ancestors.
Body modification covers a rather large range of skin manipulation, but one thing most body modification specialists exclude is cosmetic surgery. Personally, I feel cosmetic surgery is one of the most universally known practices to enhance or modify one’s own flesh. Why isn’t cosmetic surgery accepted as body modification then? Is it because it is a “modern” practice, or because it doesn’t directly connect us with the past? If, however, you were to type in “body modification” into a search engine many links will lead you to a page involving some type of cosmetic surgery. Obviously the internet using society disagrees with the experts. Now I pose two questions for you. Do you think cosmetic surgery is body modification and when is the line from modification or enhancement drawn between mutilation?
I came across a quote by Alfred Kinsey, the father of sexology, which reads:
“It is a characteristic of the human mind that it tries to dichotomies in its classification of phenomena. Things either are so, or they are not so. Sexual behavior is either normal or abnormal, acceptable or unacceptable, heterosexual or homosexual; and many persons do not want to believe that there are gradations in these matters from one to the other extreme.”
This directly applies to how humans, especially Americans, view the topic of appearance. A person is either are beautiful or they are not. And the definition of beautiful is very limited; it changes from person to person. Therefore if a person were to strive to be beautiful they would just be chasing after something that will constantly recreate itself. I’ve come to the conclusion that they would be chasing their own self-worth. Every time a doctor or a surgeon tries a new, unique surgery the definition of beautiful is rewritten by the norm, and now that doctors, many like Dr. Kluska in the post before, are more likely to view cosmetic surgery as an “art” the line between modification and mutilation of the body is theoretically blurred just as the definition of beautiful is.
Filed under just the start
It’s only natural for human beings to want to stand out in a positive manner. It’s Social Darwinism, or whatever theory you want to fault. For Americans standing out refers to looking good or being “attractive.” In this commercial, Dr. Michael Kluska wants to help everyone with this indispensible need of standing out and looking good. For many viewers he is believable. Americans tend to believe those who they respect, people who are credible sources. The viewers have a sense of trustworthiness towards Dr. Kluska because he is a board certified plastic surgeon. Many Americans and people in general, have a positive connotation with the word doctor, because most were raised with doctors trying to help patients and cure the sick. There is also an encouraging word association with the expression “certified.” When people hear this word they think, he’s been tested and has obviously passed. This all deals with ethos, or persuasion focused on credible sources, which in this case, Dr. Kluska is perceived as a reliable source. Further ethos is also applied to this commercial as the audience views the words “Real Artist. Real Surgeons.” Dr. Kluska is, as mentioned before, trusted by his viewers because he is a board certified surgeon, but not only is he that, he’s also an artist. People from all over view their body as art work or something special, and when they need a little touch up they don’t just want anyone poking, pinching, peeling, their prized possession. What they need is someone who understands the human body, not only scientifically but artistically as well. Now after hearing Dr. Kluska honestly speak about creating art in motion and viewing the words “Real Artist.” viewers believe him completely in the expertise of plastic surgery.
Filed under just the start, PROP-aganda
Why are reality shows and television commercials so appealing to Americans? It’s because they use pathos, one of the three modes of persuasion in rhetoric. Pathos appeals to an individual’s emotions, emotional appeals. Reality shows, such as “Extreme Makeover” or “The Swan,” often lead viewers to think cosmetic surgery is going to solve their problems. Viewers believe, having a straighter nose or a bigger chest is going to result in more attention, better paying jobs, etc. Meredith Jones, a lecturer at the University of Western Sydney and Ph.D. candidate, took part in several interviews in order to diagnose why Americans are drawn to cosmetic surgery due to reality shows. Jones found that “Often, cosmetic surgery is seen as a ‘reward’ for hard work and for suffering in some way,” a sort of fairy tale, “…wherein a woman has been selfless and hardworking. We then see them as the meritorious poor who are rewarded with a ‘magical’ transformation.”
Filed under just the start
