Contrapposto

Film, television, and the media are a huge part of our culture. Especially in the modern age of technology, it is impossible for us to avoid being exposed it. It is on our phones, computers, and TV. It is our entertainment, a part of our education, and it serves as a reflection of our society. The problem with media, however, is that has the power in manipulating us to feel certain ways. The most problem of which is the way we perceive our own bodies. Leading media industries such as Hollywood sets. An example of the ideal body that we are expected to have in order to look good and be perceived as handsome or beautiful by society, but, behind the scenes, actors and actresses of Hollywood go to extreme lengths in order to attain that ideal look.

Americans see and read about celebrities all the time, either through online advertisements or through massive popularization on social media such as Instagram and Twitter. Through the internet, we can always keep up to date with what our favorite celebrities are doing or wearing. Celebrities post their outfits of the day on their profiles for their followers to see. If a pop icon begins to advertise a type of shirt or jeans, that item of clothing instantly becomes a trend and due to their popularity everyone wants to dress and look like them. Therefore, people begin to see that everyone around them, in the streets or at school dress alike. For instance, a type of shoes such as stilettos is popular in one generation and not popular the following generation due to the evolving style of popular icons through social media. Popular icons can also change the perspective of body images in the American identity. If most of the celebrities have a certain body image that is widely popular, such as having larger appearing eyes, that body trait will begin to become more popular in the society. More people will pay to look like those celebrities by plastic surgery and different cosmetic procedures. Therefore, if a mass popularity begins to look or appear the same, that trend will become a part of the American identity. For example, in the

Society and the media have an enormous influence on an individual’s concept of beauty and bodily perfection. Even the “beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” many people allow the media’s influence into their lives, which is a dangerous thing to allow (Vogel, 2015). According to David Newman, author of Exploring the Architecture of Everyday Life, society is defined as the “population of people living in the same geographic area who share a culture and a common identity and whose members fall under the same political authority” (Newman, 2010, 18). The people within a society constantly create and add to the pressure already placed on individuals which can severely alter and harm one’s self-esteem. Self-esteem is

In today’s society we have created this sense of identity that we can either reveal and or hide behind that can include either a computer screen, our skin, or even who we want people to think we are. In John Berger’s essay Ways of Seeing, he breaks down the misogynistic view we have on woman by comparing what it is to be naked versus being simply nude. In Neal Gabler’s essay Our Celebrities, Ourselves, the idealized celebrity is brought down to human level and formed into a never ending narrative that categorizes them into the people they are seen as versus the people they actually are. Berger criticizes the disguise a woman must wear as being surveyed by men in the form of art yet Gabblers idea of a disguise is more like a role a celebrity

In the essay “Don’t Look Now: The Male Pin-Up” by Richard Dyer, the author analyzes how male and female models look at the spectator. His argument is that men are always photographed in an active manner, and the women are just there sitting passively. Men do this because they cannot be feminine in any manner or otherwise they face a backlash from society. His goal in this essay is to reveal this cultural phenomenon to the reader by stating what the model’s look represents and the activity of models in images. Throughout this essay I will be analyzing how Dyer explains these concepts to inform the reader.

Everyday people stare at billboards, magazine covers, movies, television, or pictures on the Internet of someone or something that they classify as beautiful. Some things people glance over and other things fascinate them. For example, when Farrah Fawcett’s famous picture of her in her red bathing suit came out; many teenage boys hung that picture in their bedrooms. Their idea of Farrah’s beauty was based strictly her outward appearance.

“Enhancing Your Body Image” (2015) discusses the impact popular culture has on women strive to have Twiggy’s body and men hope to be the tough guy like Clint Eastwood (p.340). People are willing to alter their appearance physically; for example, people try to lose weight or change their personality by playing sports or instruments to find the sense of belonging. Society has a fascination of trying to belong within a social group.

It has a big impact on celebrities. For example Kylie Jenner has battled to have a good reputation in the public eye from time to time. One of the biggest things was when she got lip injections. She denied it for a long time to keep her image satisfied. She tried to keep up with her family name and family look. It was said that “Jenner's older sisters are notorious for their plump features, including doe eyes, round bums and puffy, pouty, lips.”(Lee 1). She also was somewhat ashamed that she had to get lip injections to not be inconsure about herself. Kylie stated that “We have all eyes on us all the time, so, especially for me at my age trying to find myself... it's hard to not let it affect you”(Lee 2). The public puts a lot of pressure on how you should look but you should never belittle your reputation for others satisfaction

Polykleitos' sculpture of Diadoumenos similarly relates to some of the most famous sculptors, like Praxitiles' statue of Hermes & Dionysos, in that they both display contrapposto, use struts for support and to make sure that none of the parts of the sculpture that they are balancing and supporting, dont fall off, since marble is very heavy and can easily break apart in bad weather or with physical contact.

It has always been mankind’s nature to be equal or better than one another; as a society, as a group, or as an individual. We have evolved greatly over thousands of years, however we remain as a society with some bad habits. This is shown in the novel Uglies, model’s participating in annual Victoria’s Secret fashion shows, and the hit T.V show Botched. In today’s modern society, individuals or the majority of people will alter the way they appear or act in order to fit in with present day “Beauty”.

Most of the time our outwards appearance aims at at creating our very own handcrafted message. We want to portray ourselves to the world as a specific image. We choose our outfits, polish our

Image is everything in today’s society appearance of things have become more important that what they really are and these images are being constantly fed to us through the media. Image has both a positive and negative influence on the individual but most people have been drawn into

Almost every night, my parents would tell me to sit up straight when we were eating at the dinner table, and they would say it would help me digest. Also, in high school when I would walk through the halls between classes, many of my friends would compliment me on my posture. I thought it was the strangest thing to compliment someone on. The title “Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are,” brought back these memories; therefore, I was interested to see what Amy Cuddy had to say. Cuddy is a social psychologist and a business professor at Princeton. In the TED Talk “Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are,” Amy Cuddy discusses the reasons to use power posing, and it could affect the mind for better success in our lives.

Everyday, we see hundreds of people. Whether we see them on the street, at work, at school, or on television, people pass through our visual field. Fortunately or unfortunately, we judge these people. It may be intentional, it may be unintentional, or it may be somewhat intentional, but we form opinions about people based on their style of dress.

Social Media has a massive impact on a person’s self-presentation because of the different trends where everyone wants to fit in with society’s expectations of what we should look like. Celebrities are made to be our role models, however, magazines photoshop and make them more toned and a lot slimmer, which makes young people want to make their bodies more like theirs. This then leads to the modern generation becoming self-conscious because they feel they have to fit in and achieve an ideal self that fits in with those around them.