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Women imagined in advertising => Gender, sex and society
Kylos:
--- Quote from: yelley on 27 Feb 2009, 20:43 ---
--- Quote from: tania on 27 Feb 2009, 10:47 ---another thing i find interesting is that photoshopping and airbrushing are becoming more and more commonly used in advertisements.
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i trust you have all seen this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYhCn0jf46U
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I don't know if anyone saw the BBC Three documentary series with Dawn Porter. In one of the episodes, Titled 'Dawn Gets Naked', she investigated what we've been talking about here as well as people's ideas about nudity and the female form. She underwent something similar to what happened in that dove advert, and was amazed and disgusted at the results.
The episode ended in her riding around in an open top bus in london either naked, or in her underwear (I forget which) celebrating the female form with one of the un-photoshopped pictures on the side of the bus, encouraging the public to join in, which they did wholeheartedly.
I personally thought this was a wonderful idea, because no matter how much we tell ourselves we're unaffected by advertising and we realise what happens behind the scenes, I still find myself wishing I looked a little like the people on the posters. She just helped bring it into the public eye a little more.
Scenes from the documentary:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fk1xB-YXrX8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4A3ZhKpjOM&feature=related This might be a little nsfw.
est:
--- Quote from: tania on 27 Feb 2009, 10:47 ---another thing i find interesting is that photoshopping and airbrushing are becoming more and more commonly used in advertisements. like, you'll take a photo of someone, and then there is a really intense computer editing process where they then do all kinds of things like make this person's 25 inch waist even tinier than it already is, and enhance their cleavage, and make their legs longer, and so on
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I really like this thread so far. However, I am pretty tired right now so I am just gonna take this one thing to comment on for now. I have seen before/after shots of a couple of ads involving some pretty well known female stars, I think one was actually a model. Can't remember who exactly, but point is that they were already ridiculously gorgeous, right. Then they touched them up as you say, removing the slightest of blemishes (that to me actually makes most people look more natural and more attractive) any stray skin folds from holding limbs in the wrong position, then slimming things up and adding to the bust. It's really goddamned ridiculous. These women are the ones that are already idolised for being remarkably beautiful, yet they still felt the need to tweak.
Oh! I remembered that one was um what's her face. Keira Knightly. I remember this because they gave her a massive rack. I was thinking "Man, everyone knows she doesn't have a massive rack, who the hell do you think you are fooling?" Point being that people were already massively attracted to her without the virtual rack upgrade, so why not show her as she is instead of idealised?
Drill King:
I would just like to make a comment, that the people who make all the Dove beauty revolution commercials. The Pro-age the 'real women' the 'self esteem fund' All of them. They're all made by the same company that creates the Axe commercials. Kind of proving that their company likely doesn't care, just wants to make a buck off of sensitive girls.
tania:
--- Quote from: Darkbluerabbit on 27 Feb 2009, 21:40 ---while the models are pretty, they aren't usually even head turning pretty before some work is done
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this doesn't really have a lot to do with the discussion but i just thought i'd mention - lots of models are actually chosen not on the basis of being ridiculously attractive people (not to say they aren't good looking) but on the basis of having kind of ordinary features which with makeup and hair stylists and clothes you can then make look any way you want. so when you see a model who isn't completely done up and go "oh, she's not really that breathtaking", that's because they aren't really supposed to be, they are supposed to be sort of a blank canvas to be made up instead. very few people have access to thousands of dollars worth of makeup and hair products so that is another reason why people should try not to let pretty models in ads get to them.
tania:
also est your post reminded me of the time i saw debra messing on the cover of cosmopolitan while waiting in line for groceries with boobs photoshopped in and i had basically the same angry reaction because what the hell, she is beautiful enough already and also has a very small chest and is (as far as i know) totally cool with it and who decided that tacky photoshopped breasts were necessary, it is not even a very good photoshopping and everyone knows it is a LIE.
arrgghhffghghhs
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