In
class we reiterated that with postmodernism, people could reinvent themselves.
Throughout the media that suffocates us day to day, we not only come across
people reinventing themselves through images, we see it through the social
media. In class we discussed the example of a photo-shopped Katie Couric, and
how she was ‘altered’ to be more appealing to the general pubic. Her body was
shaped to be leaner, while the structure of her face was more defined. We have
discussed how Lyotards’ theories state that realism “stands somewhere between
academicism and kitsh.” “It provides ‘correct’ images, narratives, and forms
designed as “the appropriate remedy for the anxiety and depression the public
experiences” (41). Something struck me when this quote was displayed on our
in-class PowerPoint. Why would altering a celebrity’s appearance provide this
remedy, for the publics’ anxiety and depression? Wouldn’t it increase these
traits, creating more self-consciousness amongst our society? Below I attached
the Dove Evolutionary Commercial that first came out in 2006. I was first
introduced to this campaign during my junior year of high school, in 2009, and
have since seen it countless times in many of my classes. This campaign was
created to celebrate and make note of the natural physical variations that all
women have, and to encourage females to be confident with themselves and
comfortable with their appearance.
The campaign started in 2003, the well-known video came out in 2006, and
after almost a complete decade later, nothing has changed. This goes back to
Lyotard and his idea of the masses not wanting something if it is different.
Our culture continues to be stuck to this construction of beauty, and remains
infatuated with these repeated visuals. Before I conclude this blog post, I would
like to point out that the Dove video is an example of a bricolage, the notion
that everything seems to come together, which is a term we touched upon in
class. The end product of the video was a construction, and something created
from a variety of materials.
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