Digital Media: Art, Culture, and Theory
Doryana Robins
March 19, 2014
“Yankelovich, a market research firm, estimates that a person living in a city 30 years ago saw up to 2,000 advertising messages a day, compared with up to 5,000 today. About half the 4,110 people surveyed last spring by Yankelovich said they thought marketing and advertising today was out of control.”(8) The ads we see today are images of women who are beautiful, sexy, and something we strive for, but these are images that media companies have created to sell products. Our idea of what is beautiful has become so distorted, but can you blame us when the pictures themselves are? Media corporations in the 21st century United States are intentionally presenting images of women that are simply beyond what is attainable. The images that media and advertising companies are creating are having a negative impact on women today. In the movie Miss Representation “53% of 13 year olds feel unhappy with their bodies.”(7) Photo-shopped pictures that media corporations are creating make women question their own beauty. 
In today’s society, media companies are creating images that objectify and sexualize women. They are creating an “ideal women” who has been digitally changed so that it is impossible to attain her beauty because it isn’t real. The images we see every day make us question our physical attributes and give us something to hope or strive for. “Unfortunately, this is no simulated game. This is real life. This is what publications do every day” (9) Media companies are using programs like Photoshop to digitally alter images so that they create an unrealistic and unattainable image of a woman. They start out with a model who is already attractive but with Photoshop they create an extreme version of that image where in some cases one can’t even tell it was the same person. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XHEZwEhJvI ) Media companies may think they are creating a better version of the model or a more aesthetically pleasing image, but what they are really doing is creating an image that is physically impossible to attain. “No wonder our perception of beauty is distorted.”(1) The type of images media and advertising corporations are creating for advertisements depict women as if their body was the only thing the viewer was looking at, rather than what the model was actually selling.
The advertising companies create these images to get women to buy the products they are advertising. For example, they show an image of an incredibly beautiful woman who has Photo-shopped eyes with gorgeous make-up. The average woman looking at the advertisement doesn't have eyes that are anything like the woman in the advertising, but she wants to look like that. She might buy the eye make-up that is being advertised. Or the shampoo and conditioner, or the clothing, or the car, or the smart phone, or whatever it is the advertisment is selling, because she wants to be as beautiful as the model in the picture, just that the image isn't really what the model looks like. Women sometimes end up feeling frustrated because they can never be quite as beautiful as the image in the advertisement.
The advertising companies create these images to get women to buy the products they are advertising. For example, they show an image of an incredibly beautiful woman who has Photo-shopped eyes with gorgeous make-up. The average woman looking at the advertisement doesn't have eyes that are anything like the woman in the advertising, but she wants to look like that. She might buy the eye make-up that is being advertised. Or the shampoo and conditioner, or the clothing, or the car, or the smart phone, or whatever it is the advertisment is selling, because she wants to be as beautiful as the model in the picture, just that the image isn't really what the model looks like. Women sometimes end up feeling frustrated because they can never be quite as beautiful as the image in the advertisement.
In Dove’s new campaign “Dove Real” a short film documents how women perceive themselves based on a simple experiment. Women were asked to describe themselves, and then a sketch of them was drawn by an artist based only on the verbal description. Then another person was asked to describe the same woman, and another sketch was made based just on the second verbal description. After both drawings were done the two sketches were shown next to each other. In every case the second sketch, the one based on the description made by another person, not the description the woman made of herself, was so much more beautiful. The artist said “The women were very critical about moles or scars or things like that, and yet they were describing a normal beautiful person” (2) At the end of the video one women said “We spend a lot of time as women analyzing and trying to fix the things that aren’t quite right, and we should spend more time appreciating the things we do like.” (2) This campaign showed how women have developed a more negative view of themselves compared to how other people see them. I think that in today’s culture women have a lot of pressure on them and feel as though they have to be as beautiful as the people they see the in the ads. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=litXW91UauE
Every day women are subjected to ads showing them how they should act, look and be. Many women are influenced by this image of beauty and try to attain the impossible. In today’s society people criticize themselves harshly. In an article from Upworthy.com there is a video about four girls who get covergirl makeovers but don’t like the results. One of the girls in the video said, “You look at yourself and you know you can never attain that ideal.” (3) I think one reason ad companies create images that women strive for is because it creates desire and sells products. When women feel as though they need to look prettier or they need to change something about themselves they generally go out and buy a product they hope will make the change. If the ad companies create an image that is unattainable, women will always think the next new beauty product will help them to achieve “beauty”. http://www.upworthy.com/4-ladies-get-the-cover-model-makeover-of-their-dreams-and-then-hate-the-results-11113
Digitally altered images in the 21st century have become the norm. But Aerie, which is a branch of the company American Eagle, has launched a new campaign called ‘Aerie Real’. Aerie Real’s campaign is to use ad images that are not photoshopped at all. They feature women who are naturally beautiful. Although Aerie’s models aren’t Photo-shopped, they are presented in the same way as in other ads where the pictures have been altered. Even though the images are not digitally altered, they still portray women in a way that appears to objectify and sexualize them. Aren’t the models there to show off the product the company is selling? Maybe our attention should be turned to the products rather than the models.
Every day women are subjected to ads showing them how they should act, look and be. Many women are influenced by this image of beauty and try to attain the impossible. In today’s society people criticize themselves harshly. In an article from Upworthy.com there is a video about four girls who get covergirl makeovers but don’t like the results. One of the girls in the video said, “You look at yourself and you know you can never attain that ideal.” (3) I think one reason ad companies create images that women strive for is because it creates desire and sells products. When women feel as though they need to look prettier or they need to change something about themselves they generally go out and buy a product they hope will make the change. If the ad companies create an image that is unattainable, women will always think the next new beauty product will help them to achieve “beauty”. http://www.upworthy.com/4-ladies-get-the-cover-model-makeover-of-their-dreams-and-then-hate-the-results-11113
Digitally altered images in the 21st century have become the norm. But Aerie, which is a branch of the company American Eagle, has launched a new campaign called ‘Aerie Real’. Aerie Real’s campaign is to use ad images that are not photoshopped at all. They feature women who are naturally beautiful. Although Aerie’s models aren’t Photo-shopped, they are presented in the same way as in other ads where the pictures have been altered. Even though the images are not digitally altered, they still portray women in a way that appears to objectify and sexualize them. Aren’t the models there to show off the product the company is selling? Maybe our attention should be turned to the products rather than the models.
The film ‘Miss Representation’, is about how women are misrepresented in society today and what it means to be a powerful women. The movie quotes women in today’s society who are considered to be in a powerful position or who have power. One woman says that “to be a women is to be the unattainable idea of beauty.” (6) If beauty has become unattainable then what exactly are women trying to attain? “When is it going to be enough?”(6) 21st century girls are judging themselves so harshly by standards that are unreal. “Not only are they seeing others as objects they see themselves as objects.” (6) http://www.greys-anatomy.cz/wp-content/uploads/ženy-6.jpg
The media and advertising companies may have gone too far in how they use and modify images of women in advertisements. They create images that are Photo-shopped to make women look beautiful in a way that can never be attained by most women. Many women will still want to look like the images and buy the products being advertised but for some women the images are so unrealistic that they might stop caring about buying the product. Women may start to resent some of the companies that sell products with these unrealistic images because the images make them feel bad about themselves instead of wanting to look like the Photo-shopped images.
Some companies like Aerie are now using pictures of models that are not altered, but they are still presenting the models in a way that are objectified and sexualized. I don't think it makes much difference whether the images are Photo-shopped or not, it's the way the companies are portraying the women in the images that is as big an issue as the altered images.
http://www.policymic.com/articles/79585/watch-this-woman-get-a-complete-photoshop-makeover-in-3-minutes-flat
The media and advertising companies may have gone too far in how they use and modify images of women in advertisements. They create images that are Photo-shopped to make women look beautiful in a way that can never be attained by most women. Many women will still want to look like the images and buy the products being advertised but for some women the images are so unrealistic that they might stop caring about buying the product. Women may start to resent some of the companies that sell products with these unrealistic images because the images make them feel bad about themselves instead of wanting to look like the Photo-shopped images.
Some companies like Aerie are now using pictures of models that are not altered, but they are still presenting the models in a way that are objectified and sexualized. I don't think it makes much difference whether the images are Photo-shopped or not, it's the way the companies are portraying the women in the images that is as big an issue as the altered images.
http://www.policymic.com/articles/79585/watch-this-woman-get-a-complete-photoshop-makeover-in-3-minutes-flat
Bibliography
1. Dove. "Dove: Evolution." YouTube. YouTube, 02 May 2011. Web. 26 Mar. 2014.
2. "Dove Real Beauty Sketches." YouTube. YouTube, 14 Apr. 2013. Web. 25 Mar. 2014.
3. Gilkey, Melissa. "4 Ladies Get The 'Cover Model' Makeover Of Their Dreams ... And Then Hate The Results." Upworthy. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2014.
6. Miss Representation. Dir. Jenifer Siebel Newsom, Kimberlee Acquaro. 2011. Film
7. "Mind-Blowing 'Body Evolution' Video Dramatically Alters Woman's Body With Photoshop." YouTube. YouTube, 31 Oct. 2013. Web. 26 Mar. 2014.
8. Story, Louise. "Anywhere the Eye Can See, It's Now Likely to See an Ad." The New York Times. The New York Times, 14 Jan. 2007. Web. 24 Mar. 2014.
9. Wallace, Tracey. "Watch This Woman Get a Complete Photoshop Makeover in 3-Minutes Flat." PolicyMic. N.p., 24 Jan. 2014. Web. 26 Mar. 2014.
