The Power of Photoshop

What happens when society’s standard of beauty is based on an illusion? In 2013, many magazine covers show stunningly beautiful women who each have perfect features, including big eyes, small waist, perfect nose, thick beautifully colored hair, sharply arched eyebrows, and full lips. This is what women and young girls should look like. These women have become society’s stereotypical idea of beauty. Not only do magazine editors manipulate faces, and necks, and hair, but they also edit body shape. These images do not reflect real people, but rather they are photo-shopped images of perfection; as displayed in the image above.

The right-hand side of the image shows a model before make-up and photo-shop are used to enhance the natural beauty that is already there. Contrastingly, on the left-hand side of the photo, her eyes have been widened, her neck has been lengthened, her lips have been filled, her skin has been airbrushed, her face has been made more oval, and her eyebrows have been darkened and the arch has been enhanced. The image on the left hand side is not a real person, but a distorted image of a person that only exists because of photo-shop.

When society’s standard of beauty is based on an illusion, how are women affected? When young women strive for a caliber of beauty that cannot be naturally reached, their body image and self-esteem is negatively affected, causing monumental issues like anorexia and depression. The National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders states that “the body type portrayed in advertising as the ideal is possessed by only 5% of American females.”

This ideal of what it means to be beautiful is not encouraging women and girls to be healthy and natural, but is taking a toll on their mental and physical health. Young girls cling to their copies of Vanity Fair and irrational dreams that one day they will look like the girl on the magazine.

Not Everyone Can Just Die

This image clearly presents the consequences that may occur after drinking and driving. The focal point of the photo, a woman badly mutilated after a terrible accident, depicts the bodily inflictions possible for either party in a car crash. This representation drives fear into the viewer’s heart as they imagine themselves, or someone they love, being in such a position. The small black and white photo in the bottom left corner offers contrast and highlights the change of identity that has taken place, due to the young woman’s serious disfigurements. Such an idea terrifies people as they realize that regular social interactions and a customary lifestyle would not longer be possible. Furthermore, the statement “Not everyone who gets hit by a drunk driver dies,” raises the question of whether death would be a more desirable outcome. Through shocking imagery, this ad highlights the greatest fears associated with car accidents. 

The Tragic Mistreatment and Confinement of Workers

The rights and liberties of workers are being violated every day. In honor of the millennium development goals, on November 11^th, 2011, an ad that focused on the rights of workers was produced to spread awareness on the issue. The pho
to is very effective in highlighting the urgency of the situation. Miniature men and women are confined in a toolbox; they represent workers around the world. These workers are incredibly small, which shines light on their inferiority compared to the upper class. The toolbox succeeds in expressing the limits and restraints of the workers to the audience as well as how society exploits the working class for their own benefit. The dusty, concrete floor symbolizes the harsh, industrial environment that laborers are regularly subjected to. Its endless grayness displays the grim future that beholds most workers, which is relayed to the audience. This image is effective in communicating its message to the audience—that workers are not objects to be taken advantage of by the elite.

Have A Heart

This striking PETA ad of grafitied Pamela Anderson at first glance seems absurd and provocative but once actually thoroughly examined a deeper, clever message shines through. Pamela Anderson is a widely known actress, model, and former playboy bunny who is usually over-sexualized by the media. This provocative sense that comes with such a celebrity helps the ad dramatically affect anyone who views the image. The idea that a woman, especially one known for her body, is being compared to an animal, specifically the kind that humans as a general population of carnivores feast on daily, reveals that such a celebrity like beautiful Pamela Anderson is physically no different than the cow that was slaughtered for one’s McDonald’s burger. The ad cleverly and simply suggests that eating a Big Mac or any type of meat for that matter is no different than chowing on Anderson’s flesh. Another astounding and convincing aspect of the ad is the caption which reads, “HAVE A HEART, GO VEGETARIAN.” This simple phrase brings up the idea that eating meat makes one heartless, a thought that all humans with any capability of empathy can relate to. The shocking reveal that humans are animals just the same calls for change and redemption. This ad not only delivers its message by shocking the viewers but also carefully plays on their empathy and misconceptions concerning the meat they eat every day.

The Power of Facial Hair

The Dada art movement emerged following the outbreak of World War One, as a sharp rebuke of what the artists deemed “an insane spectacle of collective homicide” and the conditions that lead to such chaos. The movement developed into “anti-art,” revolting against the banal aesthetics and appealing sensibility of what was societally deemed fine work of the time— aiming to shock, to offend and to disconcert instead. Marcel Duchamp’s L.H.O.O.Q. does just this, and is representative of the entire trend away from reason and towards irrationality. With a few strokes, just small additions, Duchamp manages to reduce perhaps the most iconic piece of Renaissance artwork, Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, to nothing more than a farce—exposing the delicacy of greatness, the destructive ability of one man and the meaninglessness of artistic esteem. Duchamp first establishes common, comfortable ground with viewers by using such a well-known piece. The Mona Lisa was considered to be untouchable— the holy product of an era of genius— and by suddenly destroying this painting so blindly revered, this common ground so mindlessly enjoyed, Duchamp proves the icon as breakable and the public conception as subjective to the whims of one man (namely, himself). The effectiveness of L.H.O.O.Q is in its shocking juxtaposition of historically feminine mystique with jarringly masculine touches—symbolic of the Dadaist struggle to walk the line between convention and creativity, between rationality and rage. Compounded with this is the piece’s humorous simplicity, using facial hair to raise fundamental questions about the principals of art. Does the artist have a duty to create beauty? But then, what exactly is beauty? Art should certainly reflect reality to some degree—is this piece not just mirroring the irrationality and ugliness of the war culture then, conforming to the generally accepted purpose even as it seems to rebel? By making a mockery of so-called genius, Duchamp gives the average man the power to answer these questions, to dictate what true beauty and art is. By snatching viewers’ attention, then startling them with such unpleasant changes to the norm, L.H.O.O.Q tears down stale, preconceived standards (represented by Da Vinci’s work) to allow for a new era of true creation.

Political Lies

In this political picture, a man, representing our national congress, promises full funding for special education. However his promise seems empty and unrealistic. The text bubbles showing his message are scattered, full of ellipses, making his words seem meaninglessly strung along. The message is also portrayed by a hollow “man,” a man seemingly soulless, and without any tangible reality to him. All he is now is the cover to congress’ message, only relaying to the public what they want to hear—that congress will help fund special education. The fact that this man delivering the “full funding” memo is hollow represents the empty promise behind congress’ message. Also, because congress is the law making body of the government, it puts into question their reliability based on the phony representative sent to deliver their message.