Monday, March 16, 2015

Body Image Group #4 Presentation Summary

Body image is a serious issue that comes to the forefront of the way we react to the influence of the media. The media, especially advertising, shows us an idealized image created by manipulating reality through Photoshop and the like. And because of that, the way we treat and view our own bodies is affected. Celebrity focused media even goes so far as to retouch pictures of famous toddlers such as Prince George to look more like the ideal child. It's not so far fetched to see a society which does this has a generally negative default outlook on body image.

Social media and the way we represent ourselves to onlookers reflects these effects. We are, in a sense, our own celebrity PR group. We try our very best to control our presence in the media, to only show the side of ourselves that we want (literally) by culling out the pictures that show us in unflattering situations. Some people take this even further and pose as "catfish" to lure people into relationships with false personalities posted online.

The hook is that once we see these idealized images, there is no turning back. Everything that is real seems so foreign, so passé if you will. Sometimes the differences in the ideal vs. the reality are shocking (as seen in the Photoshop Effect video). How do we deal with this discrepancy in our daily lives and how does it affect the way we view ourselves?

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