LIFEdevelopment.info - Chasing Utopia

Visage

This episode presents a set of issues surrounding the marketing of cosmetics, fashion design, the arts, and entertainment. It highlights the existence of exploitation and illusion in advertising, and of dependence on skin-deep personal appearance and body form to superficially convey what beauty is in the entertainment and fashion industries.

 

A - The Image

The world of acting and modelling portrays a certain image of men and women, driven by the profit motive. Here are some perceptions of this image.

• It was just a world totally absorbed with how you looked. That was all that mattered.

• I have friends that are 22 and lie about their age and that’s silly.

• What it is to be sexual and a woman in France is to be thin, glamorous, gorgeous and cellulite free at all times.

• I think they are always presenting images of people that are a bit too perfect.

1. Do you agree that the media images of models and entertainers are often unkind to older people, particularly women? Is ageism a real problem?

2. Are you sympathetic with advertisers who have to sell products through the best possible images in a competitive world?

3. To what extent are the images false, manipulated, unbalanced, misleading and hence damaging to the population, particularly young females?

4. Why do you think youth and "the body beautiful" sell things so successfully?

 

B - Behind The Image

Those interviewed held strong opinions about how their industry manipulates the image of actors and models to its advantage.

• So many of my clients are women….who are so critical of themselves….They have beautiful wonderful bodies but they compare themselves to model magazines or on TV or whatever.

• They are clients and you’re just a product, not a person…a commodity or tool to market their product.

• There seems to be a trap that they fall into where they think they have to look a certain way…and they become clones of each other.

1. The models complained that they felt like products, commodities and not real people. However they agreed to model for money. Do you think they want to have their cake and eat it too?

2. Do you agree that the cosmetic and clothing industries survive by playing on making women’s insecurities, partly through their seeing unobtainable images of females?

3. Do you think men are allowed to age more gracefully than women in movies?

 

C - The Deeper Woman

All the women in the video objected to being seen as just beautiful faces and bodies. All wanted to be appreciated for whom they were deep down.

• For the first time in my life I feel personally affected by advertising which I really object to, strongly object to.

• I feel that I have great depth within me that I would like to be able to express to people. I want to fight to make the world a better place.

• I’m slightly irritated by that I’m not seen for what I am inside. It’s all about a pretty face and a pretty body picture.

1. All the women felt manipulated to fit a superficial image. Where do you see this image coming from — a highly creative minority, or the wishes of the larger society?

2. Do you think Selena is correct in saying that society and the media do not wish to explore inner beauty? Could it be because the cosmetic industry is selling a form of "recycled beauty"?

3. The opinions here indicate that whatever their circumstances, people are searching to fulfil some deep life purpose. Is this fair enough in your view?

 

D - That Other Reality

Many comments highlight the view that the reality portrayed by the media images in a number of entertainment industries is false and misleading.

• It’s hard for a model to attain that level of so called beauty every day of her life — it’s not realistic.

• One has to be careful about all these images of beautiful women we see on TV….Women with big breasts and firm butts, because often they are images that are not real. And they are often photographically enhanced.

• One of the most profound illusions that people have to confront is "what is reality" when most of reality is presented by the media and you are looking at a very distorted picture.

1. Are the images alluded to in the episode purely the product of a materialistic superficial view of things, one that is opposed to the spiritual side of life? Isn’t beauty a partly spiritual thing?

2. Why do you think the electronic images advertising beautiful people cause so many, particularly women, to lose their individuality and seek a particular identity? Shouldn’t they realise that these images are largely illusion?

3. Do you think anything could be done to make images of entertainment and advertising more authentic and genuine?

 

E - Reality

A number of tips are given for seeking and finding a form of reality that is more genuine than the reality of media images designed to market products.

• I can depend on my belief structures and I can depend on my skills in other areas. I can depend on being a kind, warm and compassionate person, and people will like me for those reasons.

• We should hold diversity up and not suppress it. Then they realise that they are a unique and special person.

• People should learn to accept who they are and realise they can be accurate in determining where they fit in society.

1. What do you think of the advice about how to create a better reality?

2. Much is said about people needing identity and losing it through the influence of the media. Can schools and churches do much to sensitise people to evaluate the media and develop a healthier self-identity?

 

F - Coping With Change

Whether we are connected with the entertainment and media industries or not, we all face constant change in our lives.

• I find myself in a predicament these days where my world is constantly changing. My utopia for things that I search for is constantly evolving.

• I was surrounded by all these really cool people telling me I was going to be rich and famous and I believed them and began to …try to change myself into the kind of person and image of what a client would be looking for.

1. In the episode we see models changing their image and "kind of person" to get contracts. What dangers and benefits could lie in changing ourselves constantly to please others or meet their demands?

2. Does the pace of change in society impact negatively on our identity as humans? If so, what do you think we can do to stabilise our identity?

 

G - Overview

1. How much are we being sucked in to compare ourselves with the images conveyed by the "beautiful people"?

2. Explain how values and belief structures can create a more balanced view of beauty than that shown in the episode?

Could anything be done to make images of entertainment and advertising more authentic and genuine?

 

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