Go check it out, and make sure to give the post lots of comments, so that she'll ask me back again another time!
EDIT: Below is the post as it originally ran at One Brownie at a Time...
We've all talked- ad nauseum- about body image and the media, particularly concerning women. We all know that the media and pop culture emphasize the idea that women must be thin to be beautiful, but unfortunately, the damage goes much deeper than that.
Let's do a little experiment, shall we?
On IMDb (the Internet Movie Database) you can search by year of birth; you can click on 1970 and see everybody in the film industry born in that year, ranked in order of popularity. It's an incredibly useful tool if you blog about casting, and an incredibly revealing tool if you're interested to see how Hollywood sees women. Now, these popularity rankings could conceivably change every single day- the algorithm includes clicks and searches among other data- but the concept remains the same. So, let's click and learn, shall we?
While I am typing this post, the data for Hollywood elite turning 50, 40, 30 and the all-important 18 this year is as follows:
Interesting, no? There's a lot of complaint, and rightly so, about the lack of roles available for women in Hollywood. What is disconcerting to me about this data is the fact that there are in fact plenty of roles for women in Hollywood, so long as you're under 30.
Subliminal Message #1: Don't ever turn 31. If you must, hide it by any means necessary: lie about it, have cosmetic procedures done, dress waaaaay too young for your age, wear too much makeup and for Pete's sake, wear Spanx!
You ready for another experiment about subliminal messages about how women should look? Here we go.
Let's look at some famous TV couples, shall we? TV is often heralded as being a little more "real" than movies- you know, we see mom actually folding laundry and cooking instead of just the fantasy land, right? So, let's see how these "more real" couples stack up.
First up, King of Queens (1998- 2007). He's overweight, to say the least. In his stand up routines before making it big, most of his jokes actually were about pizza and why mini muffins are stupid. She's nothing short of a bombshell. Do these two make sense as a couple:
Next example, According to Jim (2001-2009). He's balding, pudgy and pretty all-around average looking. Not to mention the fact that he is thirteen years older than his model-perfect wife. Really?
Subliminal Message #2: Your looks and your youth are the most important things you can ever possibly offer your spouse. Unless you're a man.
Now, we come to the crux of things. The most debilitating subliminal message sent out by the media about women and their appearance. Again, let's explore. This time, we'll explore the ever-present "makeover"sequences in films.
Makeover #1- The Princess Diaries, Anne Hathaway.
Before: curly hair, glasses, sneakers, no makeup.
After: straight, shiny hair, no glasses, high heels, lots of makeup.
Makeover #2: The Devil Wears Prada, Anne Hathaway.
Before: ponytail, baggy clothes, flat shoes, minimal makeup.
After: straight, shiny hair, high heels, tight pants, lots of makeup.
Makeover #3: Grease, Olivia Newton John.
Before: ponytail, full skirts, sneakers, no makeup.
After: super-sexy hair, high heels, very, very tight pants, lots and lots of makeup.
Makeover #4: She's All That, Rachel Leigh Cook.
Before: ponytail, jeans, sneakers, glasses, no makeup.
After: short, shiny hair, high heels, tight dress, no glasses, makeup (and newly plucked brows).
Makeover #5: Miss Congeniality, Sandra Bullock.
Before: ponytail, wide leg pants, flat shoes, no makeup.
After: straight shiny hair, high heels, tight dress, lots of makeup (and an excessive body wax)
See a trend? Not just the fact that these are all tremendously gorgeous women to begin with, I mean. Also, if anybody can think of a movie where a man receives a makeover, let me know.
Subliminal Message #3: Tighter clothes, higher heels, shiny hair, lots of makeup. Allowing any other version of your appearance to show will guarantee you a long, lonely, single life.
The never-ending message of youth and beauty goes much, much further than just the size-4 mentality.You want to see how Hollywood treats "real" people? I wrote a post a while back, all about the instant makeover real life people get when their lives become film fodder. Here's a hint: they're magically younger, thinner, more attractive with straighter teeth and better boobs.
So what's the takeaway from all this? To counter the three subliminal messages, I've concocted three affirmations:
Affirmation #1: You are beautiful. You were made this way (whether you believe in a Creator or something else). You are the miraculous result of the best of both your mother and your father. Your body is capable of giving life to another human being, for crying out loud! Don't bother thinking anything less of yourself.
Affirmation #2: You deserve to be with somebody wonderful. I want to be clear: I'm NOT encouraging a shallow, only-date-or-marry-hot-guys mentality. But, don't buy the movie idea that if you don't settle down right now with the next guy who comes along you will be single forever. It's not true. There's a lot of awesome guys out there. And George Lopez ain't one of 'em. Just saying.
Affirmation #3: Aging is natural and can be done gracefully. If you want examples, look to women like Meryl Streep. Over 60, gorgeous and pretty natural about it. There are certainly natural, healthy ways to keep your skin and body beautiful, even for a long, long time. :)
Gina blogs over at Fantasy Casting, where she spouts her opinion about who should be cast in the movie versions of books. Sometimes she talks about the occasional remake or tv show, and sometimes she blogs for fun for other people. You can contact her here.
