MJ: Photoshoped Bodies

For my last post I decided to take the obsession of the perfect body to a whole new level. In my previous posts I talked about the obsession of being beautiful in movies, Tv, and magazines. This post will focus on the new obseesion of the internet and programs like Photoshop. According to Definethat.com, photoshop is an image manipulation program that allows users to edit the photo to their desire. Thats just it, it's an manipulation that millions of people all over the United States are using to create the illusion of the perfect body. For example, a young woman can take a picture of herself and put it on photoshop. She can edit the picture how she wants. She can include her head, include J-Lo's butt, Pamela Anderson's breast, and Lindey Lohan's petite weighst to create a body that she feels is perfect. In my opinion this would be totally wrong because their body would be disproportionate. Never the less with the help of Photoshop it can be done. Millions of peole use these fake photos on social networking sites such as Facebook, Myspace, etc. This is scary because users on facebook are younger. This means that young girls are usin the program to create profiles that don't match their real bodies. Photoshopping is also a big tool used in pornography. On websites the women aren't how they appear, but through this program millions of male viwers are attracted to these fake bodies. Just like the last three blogs I hope everyone gets the point that our group is trying to make. The point is that the world has become obsessed with the "perfect body" or "perfect face" so people go to all measures to look a ceratin way. Feel free to respond to this post. -Marcus Jones

To be Plastic? Or not to be?

So. I figured for my last entry for the semester i'd look into writing about plastic surgery. Truth is, when people get plastic surgery they could be doing it for a few different reasons, which doesn't make me completely opposed to it. Now to go along with our whole blog topic is the first reason. People might get plastic surgery to look like or be like something that they weren't necessarily born with. They also, could be forking out the thousands of dollars to improve their appearance from ageing. I'm opposed to this reason of obtaining plastic surgery. You're born the way your born and if your not meant to have perfectly full round boobs that don't appear to fit your body type, well then .....maybe you just shouldn't have them. Many complications can come from this risky procedure, including infections and even death during surgery. Are you willing to take that large of a risk? And have you heard about the mother's that are buying their daughters boobs for graduation? What ever happened to a car or a huge party or a cruise? Nope, guess not. Mom's willing to fork over the dough to make her daughter fake when in reality shouldn't parents be raising their children with good moral values? As for the other reason someone might get plastic surgery, I'm all for. When people get in tragic car accidents or get horrible chemical burns on their faces or situations occur like this and they are disformed or part of their face is missing, I believe it's ok to go through this procedure. In life you know when someone looks a little different from the norm people sit and stare and I'm sure it makes that person feel a whole lot of not wonderful inside. Actually I haven't researched it, but I'm sure there have been suicides committed because of how people treat others differently just because of physical appearance. I think this is horrible! If the victim is injured and is willing to receive this surgery I'm all for having them enjoy their lives not having to worry about what other people are going to say about their looks. On the other hand, as far as the much "not needed" stardom attention of the plastic surgery I think if I had all that money I could put it to better use and help someone that's really in need for it.
-Ashley Kardynalski

True Life: I want to be perfect

In television, there are many shows like talk shows and comedy etc. that focus on the entertainment of viewers and ratings.  However, there are shows out in the mainstream that focus on more serious topics of your average everyday human being.  These topics could range anywhere from dreams and aspirations to life threating topics.  This show, True Life, on MTV focuses normally on teenagers wanting to be something there not or physically harming there bodies for a thrill or because of stress.  Some of the major episodes that caught my attention were the ones dealing with teenagers wanting to be exactly like one of their idols and putting there bodies through anything to achieve this.  One episode dealt with a young teenager girl who wanted to win a pageant so to achieve the pageant girl body she starved herself and ate absolutely nothing but cottage cheese for two weeks.  Its sad to think how everyone in society today has this idea in there heads of what a girl should look like and not how they really are in reality.  For example when you think pageant girl, i'm sure you don't think as your first thought a fat girl or a girl with a large zit on there face.  You think flawless, tall, skinny.   Or how about a male celebrity?  I know I have some preconceived ideas about what a male celebrity should look like.  Tall, ripped abs, gorgeous smile and teeth.  Why can't we just except our bodies for how they are? Why do we have to have those cut muscles and extra white teeth.  I mean c'mon I know I love those Crest Whitestrips too, but look how fast we in society are to drop $40 bucks on a few shades lighter on our teeth.  If you think about, whats going to happen 20 or 30 years down the road when everyone is botox'd out, there teeth are as white as you can get them, they contain no fat on their ripped bodies?  Where is there to go once you've totally altered your appearance and your as perfect as you feel you can possibly get?  I'm sure someone somewhere is going to think of something, but until then I wonder............. 

-Ashley Kardynalski 

MJ blog: Obsession with tv star's bodies

In my previous post I discussed the obsession with body images in magazines and in movies. This blog will be about TV. TV is one of the most popular mediums we have. Many great shows have aired in our living rooms throughout the years that have created many stars such as Jennifer Aniston, George Clooney, Will Smith, Dick Van Dyke, Lucille Ball and many others. TV will continue to produce stars out of the shows, but they might look a little different. In the past stars like Mary Tyler Moore lit up the TV screen. She was beautiful, tall, and successful. All these are great qualities, but TV viewers were obsessed with her long dark hair, petite body, and perfect smile. During the 1970s The Mary Tyler Moore Show was one of the most popular shows on the air. Many women all over the country wanted her body and perfect smile. You could go to the supermarket, work, or go outside to garden without seeing women with her hairstyle. The show was shot in black in white so viewers couldn't see any of her flaws (if she had any). In the 1990s Friends was a mega hit. The most popular character on the show was Rachael played by now famous actress Jennifer Aniston. Aniston was beautiful like Moore. She had the perfect face, a petite body, and the most popular hair TV had seen in years. Millions of people all over the world were obsessed with her hairstyle that it got its own name. "The Rachael" as it was called had women all over the country racing to salons to look like her. Although she was perfect in the viewers eyes Aniston struggled with issues about her nose. It was reported that she hated it and had a nose job. During the 1990s a few young women in New York City went to a plastic surgeon to get her nose. This is just another example of how viewers are obsessed over celebrities bodies and try any any and everything to look like them. Curently TV shows are now being shot in HD and the famous celebrities are afraid of this. Not afraid that they will look fat or anytihng, but afraid of how they will look on camera. With HD cameras the small imperfections are displayed. Pimples that may have been covered up before through the help of make-up on stars like Jennifer Aniston and Mary Tyler Moore might not be so easy to hide on actresses like Eva Longoria or Tina Fey. This has led to many stars such as Patricia Heaton of Everbody Loves Raymond to get botox injections to get rid of the wrinkles in their faces that these new cameras would highlight. Now the whole world is crazy about the botox trend. Women and men as young as late teens are getting the injections to get rid of wrinkles before big events such as prom, school pictures or pageants. This trend is one example of how we are obsessed with looking perfect and being perfect. These stars are not perfect, but are in the eyes of the viewers so they do everything to be like them included shooting poison in their faces. Feel free to respond to this post. -Marcus Jones

Tight Clothes

MM
In todays society, people are trying to break away more and more from the norm, and whats considered acceptable. We are becoming a more liberal country and people are becoming more able to express radical ideas and express themselves artistically and freely. Probably the most common way people express themselves, is through fashion. The trend of extremely tight pants has made a huge comeback, probubly because it was the trend of the 80's punk movement. They were all about defiance, and in a sence thats what people are trying to achieve. Wev'e moved away from the paris hilton bimbo look, and more towards the nichole richie indi look. High waisted tight skirts have also come back, on girls such as katy perry. Katy Perry has the typical pin-up betty page look, in which high waisted clothes were the fashion on her era. Her time period represents the explosion of sex appeal. Again, fashion statements that once had revolutionary meaning are making a comeback in a hip new way. Peoples clothes are constantly getting tighter and tighter, which obviously makes one more body concience. Wer'e brainwashed to feel we need to look flawless even when naked, when in reality clothes are made to cover up our flaws!




Heres a video making fun of hipsters: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsEVY-83RXA

Movies and Perfection

In the movies, you will never find an actor such as Brad Pitt extremely overweight or unattractive nor will you find Angelina Jolie sporting red hair.  Ok, what I'm getting at is this.  In the movies, certain actors and actresses are hired based on certain roles they are looking for.  Ana Ferris was hired to play a stereotypical blonde bimbo in the movie House Bunny.  She sports the classic tight little outfits and the bleach blonde hair that give her the look of a Playboy bunny.  Her body in this movie is very petite with very defined abs.  I have no doubt that she wears a water bra in this movie for the extra oomph!  Unlike in the magazines, in the movies editors aren't able to use photoshop to take off a few pounds.  So they are forced to train actors and attresses into there prototype for their perfect role.  Or on the other hand, starve themselves.  With the film industry being so competitive for vital roles to make it big there are males and females out there starving themselves and depriving themselves from basic food that is essential for life.  You would think with the big dollars they make to film even as little as thirty minutes of a film that they could afford a personal trainer that is able to have them eat healthy and workout to achieve their desired look.  For large roles in hit movies, I wonder if females would be willing to get Botox?  Or breast implants?  I hear these days men are getting pectoral implants instead of hitting up the gym for a couple of months.  To me, that's crazy.  If you have enough money to spend on ridiculous things such as boobs, or calf muscles then try to think about someone other than yourself for a minute and try to look at the larger picture.  There are people dying from starvation out there not by choice, not for movies, but from being poor and not being able to afford even the basic necessities for life.  So keeping this in mind, and you look at these people who made it big, how really good-hearted are these men and women?  Sure they look "perfect" physically, but deep down they need to re-evaluate themselves.  

-Ashley Kardynalski

Actors gaining/losing weight for movie roles

MJ Blog #2. Some of our favorite actors have underwent body transformations for movie roles that they wanted. Each year thousands of actors gain or lose weight for films that get us in the theater. For the movie Syriana, a good movie by the way, George Clooney gained about 30 pounds and grew out a thick white beard for the role. It was the first time that women didn't see the skinny handsome Clooney that appeared in the Oceans 11 and Oceans 12 movies. After the movie Clooney went back to his slim looks and lost the weight for Oceans 13 the third installment of the movie franchise. For the movie The Machinist my favorite actor right now Christian Bale made a huge transformation. Bale lost about 70 pounds in three months for the role. Bale isn't a big guy to start with, so when he lost 70 pounds he looked sort of like Paris Hilton. With a strick diet Bale shrunk down to under 125 pounds, which is underweight for a full grown healthy man. Bale is dedicated to his film roles, which is why only a few months later he gained wight for Batman Begins. In a few short months bell went from under 125 pounds to about 200 pounds. This doesn't seem healthy at all. Bale was reportedly falling at during the production of the Batman movie. Bale and Clooney aren't alone in the body transformation for movies. Beautiful women such as Charlize Theron have done the same. For the movie Monster Theron turned into an unrecognizable crazy killer. Theron gained over 25 pounds for the role and transformed herself into the character that ultimately won her an actor for leading female in a motion picture. With all the weight problems that Americans all over the world face these actors that we love continue to take advantage of their weight. If they want to gain weight for a role they eat the best food in the world knowing that they have the best trainers in the world to help them lose it. Average Americans donsn't have access to those same resources so when they gain weight it usually sticks for a while and leaves them depressed or develop eating disorders. What these actors are doing is very dangerous to their health. You cant drop down to 125 pounds in few short months and bulked back up to 200 pounds later. Its not healthy. feel free to respond/comment. -Marcus Jones

AK : Female Perfection In the Magazines

In today’s society the human body is viewed by many as an obstacle or more so a piece of art to be sculpted into what many consider perfection.  In magazines many women and men are viewed only in their tip top shape.  Flawless skin, toned abs, perfect muscles are just some of the features that these ideal human beings possess.  For this post I skimmed through the magazine called “Bazaar.”  The cover of the magazine features Tyra Banks.  Her face is flawless, eyebrows perfectly trimmed, and ideal full bust are some features that make Tyra the idolized image that females tend to try and strive to be.  Although Tyra appears beautiful her face seems to have been retouched with the design program called Photoshop.  In television shows Tyra’s face does not seem to look that skinny.  In this cover she looks like she has not eaten in weeks.  Apparently the media according to this magazine makes woman think that they have to be skinny.  The models in the clothing adds all appear to be tall and slender most likely having the pants size of zero.  As far as skin, being tan in the model world especially in magazines is not a good thing.  This type of media would rather have the perfect woman portraying a natural dewy glow.  Long wavy locks and sexy modern cuts are the hairstyles that are found on these perfectly slender sculpted bodies.  These features are  all found on the ideal magazine female.  These ladies even though they may appear to be perfect with a little help from Photoshop may not necessarily have all the aspects of  truly becoming a perfect human being.

-Ashley Kardynalski

MJ Blog #1 Body Images In Magazines

Magazines are one of the most well known media formats alonmg with tv, film, print aand radio. Magazines give us an insight on many topics such as : new cooking recipes, housing tips, and sports. Today ther are thousands of magazines that focus on fashion and looking "perfect" Magzines such as People, Variety, and Vanity Fair portray celebrities as the standard of beauty. Many young women and even men go to great lengths to emaluate their favorite celebrities. There is no harm in wanting to improve your apperance, but the problem arises when the audience can not reconize fact from fiction. Many of the celebrity photos are photoshopped. Actress such as Jennifer Lopez (J-Lo) are not a size 2 nor is her skin that flawless. The help of computer programs and airbrushing assist the celebs. Many young Brittney Spears and Jessica Simpson fans will try to get plastic surgey to be like them. many young women will even starve themselves to fit in the new Gucci dress that they saw Miley Cyrus wearing in Cosmo Girl. These magazines make millions of dollars by selling young women fake images that they believ they have to copy to be considered beautiful and perfect. the consequences are not always what they want. There are thousands of young women suffering from eating disorders in the United States and the age group continues to get younger. ther are also Thousand of botched platis surgey stories in the United States that leave these women and young girls looking worse than before. Marcus Jones

PERFECTION IN THE MEDIA PROPOSAL

The topic our group decided on is the image of perfection and what people go through to achieve it. We may touch on perfection in one lives, such as jobs and relationships, but mostly focusing on looks. Our target audience would be teenagers to young adults of every race and gender. We are focusing only on what Americans perceive as perfection, but may touch on another location for reference. We will be using a straight forward blog format. Since all four of our group members have different opinions in looks and what is considered perfect, it will be interesting to see what we all agree and disagree on. Also since America is so diverse the things our group members agree on can be looked at even deeper. We will all give our opinions and what we feel towards the subject, moreover why we think we all have these images we seem to have to fulfill.  Our main focus will be looks and body image. The extremes   We will also be exploring this topic with television shows, videos, advertisements, etc.  All of these forms of visual media contain stereotyped images of idealized perfection.  As far as television shows go, many of the new reality shows are perfect to use for analyzing our topic.  This image of perfection is ideally what producers are looking for when choosing their contestants.  On the television show The Bachelor, I have not yet to see one unattractive person as the bachelor.  There are many shows to choose from and one that I might choose to analyze, compared to one of those that a group member will choose will give us a wide spread collection of ideas and thoughts from all points of view.  With the use of movies and advertisements, we will be able to notice patterns in how race, gender, and class are portrayed. Either we’ll see a trend in the different forms of media or significant differences.  I would like to hope that there is a dramatic difference in each form of media.  Therefore, making our topic of conversation more interesting. Overall, our group has chosen this topic based on the idea that it is a category that will be good to see the outcome of each group members opinions in being that we half two girls and two guys.  Also this topic was chosen, because image and appearance in today’s society is everything.  People will go to any extent to ‘fit in’ or stand out and will completely alter their looks and body to do so.