http://youtu.be/iYhCn0jf46U
Quixotic- idealistic but not practical
The word quixotic usually refers to something odd or out of the ordinary, such as the sky being red or people flying in the air. Quixotic can also explain the world's perception of women. Women displayed in magazines, movies, television commercials, etc. having flawless complexions and skinny bodies, are the quintessence of what the world sees as an "average" woman. Women all around the world see images of these "normal" or "average" women, and believe they need to change themselves. The reality is that these women in magazines exceed the norm, and probably modify themselves to achieve exceeding the norm. Some examples of this modification are cosmetic surgeries such as plastic surgery, Botox, breast implants, etc. and also photoshop, which can digitally edit anyone to make them look flawless and "beautiful". People, especially teenagers and young adults, go to extremes to change themselves to look "perfect". The media does not focus on true, inner beauty. A beautiful woman ignores what others think, displays confidence, and will not let anything get in her way. This video shows us that our view of beautiful women has been distorted by photoshop and editing, and that maybe the women we see in the media are not what they appear to be. After watching the video, explain your reaction. Were you surprised? Did this change the way you will look at women in ads? Explain in what ways. How do you think this ties back to the word quixotic? Explain your answer in a way not listed in the above explanation.
This video was shown in seventh grade during our human development class. This ad really shows how our beauty is so messed up. Girls of all ages strive to be like the women on the billboards, TV, and magazines. These girls are wasting their time, because no one looks like that. This kind of beauty is fake. A women is beautiful on how she acts towards other people, not by the way you look or take a picture. I feel that this ad should be shown to all girls and women. Everyone needs to know that the beauty in ads is not real. Beauty is what is found inside of you.
ReplyDeleteI think the word quixotic can be accurately applied to this video and videos like it and all media that is being portrayed in our news, magazines and television. It can be very deeply analyzed in a way that people feel about these different things such as pictures of models and people like that. It is what people want to look like and what people think they can look like. It's idealistic, but not practical. It's unrealistically aiming for perfection but in this world, most say that perfection does not exist. It is not humanly possible to look like the people who we see on billboards and in magazines. When I look at ads, I always wonder what these people really look like in real life with no make up on, without any superficial additions. I wish the world knew that someone is beautiful without any help from products that just waste our money.
ReplyDeleteThe problem goes back to our childhoods when we hear about the beautiful princess who meets Prince Charming. That's great! Who didn't love the royal wedding and Kate's dress this year? I know I was up at 4:00 a.m. to watch. The only thing is there are no fairy tales where the girls who are more like Bashful, Sneezy, and Dopey are the princess. They don't get a perfect ending, instead they say goodbye to Snow White and watch her ride away into the sunset. Sure they're happy, but they never get a happily ever after. We think the same way when we see ads on TV. Twenty-five percent of kids consider plastic surgery from the media they see on TV. Our brains are not fully developed until we are twenty-five, but we are willing to permanently change ourselves from the age of five. The sad thing is that companies recognize that weakness, and let us. We waste time, money, and energy on products and treatments. It's easy to understand that we want to change ourselves a little. The latest haircut, cute clothes, and makeup aren't damaging our self-esteem. When we obsess over being perfect is what's dangerous. It starts as an annoyance and grows until we can't stand ourselves and assume that the whole world always notices the same flaw. Maybe you walk funny, have big feet, or large ears. It turns out that what makes people love us is our weird quirks. It's proven that women who try not reveal their quirks are less likely to be asked out on a second date. Who can a guy remember someone special if we are all identical drones? I also saw this video in seventh grade, so I have tried to imagine people in ads with small flaws to avoid feeling lesser to them. Ads are quixotic though. It's our own nature to want to be perfect. It gives us drive. Perfect people are happy in ads, so it would make sense that to be happy we should be happy. If our lives were quixotic I think we would all be bored. People also love drama, tragedy, and comedy. That ridiculous dress someone wore in high school makes prom all the more memorable. Even if it made prom not quixotic. Life can't be perfect no matter how hard we try.
ReplyDeleteI had seen this video before, but it amazes me every time. They completely transform this ordinary woman into the quintessence of beauty. I think this is a perfect example of quixotic, because quixotic means, by definition, "idealistic but not practical". The makeup and beauty industry tries to make you think that this look or figure is the ideal figure, but in reality very few people have that figure. The truth is that model's didn't even have "that" figure. They use photoshop to distort people's natural features to make them like the desirable features. All these industries want you to buy their product so they make it seem as if, you could look this way of you buy their product. But their is a second part to the definition of quixotic which "...but not practical." Although the industries make it seem like this is the figure all young women should have, this isn't practical. Not all women can look like that. Some industries and companies make their models so thin, I don't even think you would want to look like that, but again these distorted images have been in the media for so long that we think the stick skinny, perfect makeup look is realistic when it is not. These images have led to bad effects in our modern day society. The beauty industry is definitely an example of quixotic.
ReplyDeleteMy initial reaction from when I watched this video for the first time hasn't really changed. By the end of the video I'm just surprised at exactly how much that woman's image has been altered. She's dolled up with so much make up and even after all that, they take her image and digitally change it. The result is a woman who isn't even real. The woman on the billboard really is quixotic. She may look like a beautiful woman (Idealistic) but when you look at how much has been done to produce that image you realize that looking like that is not practical. Am I surprised? Somewhat. Companies will do anything in today's society to get more customers and ultimately, money. If they feel the need to put out ads like these, then they will do what they want in order to produce it. This video shows that women in ads like these (not necessarily all women) are just being used. When companies do stuff like this to them, the end result isn't them at all.
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