In my opinion, Americans tend to think that their appearance is everything and go to great measures to get their desired looks. I also believe that people in society are always trying too hard to make them self look like their ideal celebrity. I feel that men and women have different standards when it comes to appearance and how they view it. I also agree with Nancy Hellmich in her article, “Do Thin Models Warp Girls Body Image?” as she says that girls are becoming skinnier and skinnier as the years go by. I think as society tends to focus on their appearance more, it also becomes more dangerous.
Magazine ad Analysis Today, there are very many advertisements we see on television, in news papers, magazines, or even hear on the radio these days. The advertisements we see today are very competitive towards one another; usually competing to get the viewers attention to persuade them to use or even to buy the products that are being advertised; Most of the times the advertisement has to be very interesting and unique to those who see it to seek their attention. The ad would also have to look attractive for people so that they are interested and attracted to use the product. From what we see as the Midori advertisement in Cosmopolitan magazine, the ad evokes a sense of seriousness, beauty, exoticness and persuasion. The ad’s objective is to persuade viewers to taste the product.
Stereotypes as understood from the definition, goes mostly hand in hand with media; only not the regular meaning of the innocent media we know. Media propaganda is the other form of media that is rather described as media manipulation. Stereotypes can be basic or complex generalizations which people apply to individuals or groups based on their appearance, behavior and beliefs. Stereotypes are found everywhere. Though our world seems to be improving in many ways it seems almost impossible to liberate it from stereotypes.
Therefore, it is not always the media who are the main influence for our ideas about ourselves, it has a lot to do with certain people, whether they are movie stars, designers or models etc, who make a name for themselves and put themselves on a platform to voice their opinions and share them with the world; if they achieve global acceptance, the mass opinion will therefore change. In terms of body image, Monroe was more than comfortable with the way her body looked, however it took a while for others( e.g, the media, the public domain) to accept this; 'Nevertheless prejudices still exists today and only two decades ago a photograph of Marilyn Monroe in a state of nature was traced with difficulty and expensively suppressed when she became a star, as it was thought such a lavish display of her person would
Their were people who told you to be pretty, but strong. Then there was the ideal women who was a perfect entertainer and always dressed properly. The magazines were also littered with what would today be thought of as offensive advertisements for items like vacuums and panty hose. The magazines predominately advised domestic goods and were a way of persecuting women with out them being aware of it. Most magazines were ran and edited by men who decided what should be written and the advertisements used.
Females between the ages of 16 and 26 make up approximately 24 million women as of today (Population clock). This “chick” age bracket represent the group of people that popular media outlets market to that often feature women with bodies that are unattainable for the average woman. These media outlets also focus on what women can do to acquire and please men. The self-esteem of these young girls are also eroding due to the various forms of marketing and advertising tactics they employ because sexy sells. The many celebrities like Miley Cyrus and magazines who all try to portray their idea of a woman, alter and distort their perception of womanhood.
Not all press is good and totally honest. Sometimes stories, even the positive ones, are a little stretched from the truth. Instead of getting the facts of a story we could be given opinions from the writer. Or we could even be given totally false information just because they wanted to make news. For example, the tabloids put out crazy stories of made up things just to get people interested enough to buy their paper.
It seems as if models nowadays or becoming even thinner, while many women are getting heavier, so there is a wide range between the "ideal" body shape and the reality. There needs to be more realistic body types shown across television and fashion magazines. Being big-boned is not fat. The media has brainwashed females-
What being a woman involves according to Heat Magazine (content and adverts): In Heat magazine it is clear to see what being a woman involves according to the magazine‘s content. There are many different ways this is projected; through articles on interests, looks, beauty specials, film and book reviews and through its choice of adverts. In terms of looks, Heat magazine has lots of articles on how famous women feel about their looks and this reflects on the attitudes that its readership has. Women are conscious of their looks and it is talked about regularly in this magazine. In terms of appearance, Heat magazine believes women should be healthy and slim with curves.
By putting ads in magazines to promote healthy weight and self worth, readers are more aware of these unattainable ideals. Though opposers may add that even if people take away commenting on media sites there will still be pictures provoking unrealistic body types. But, though this may be true, not allowing people's negative input on these pictures will be beneficial to boost ones’ confidence. As stated by Kevin Wallsten, a Berkeley graduate focusing on political science says: “anonymous comments are assumed to exert a strong influence over Internet users. The number of effects attributed to anonymous comments is long and varied.