Bridget Jones as a Contemporary Cultural Icon ‘Charlottes weight battle’, “Stars say ‘Stuff The Diet!’”, ‘Lindsay’s Weight Plunges’. Those are the three headlines from 3 consecutive issues of Heat magazine. As I flick through the most recent I am met by yet more headlines. I am greeted in the first two pages with images of a rather ordinary looking Brad Pitt and headlines claiming how the ‘worlds sexiest man has gone from hunky to haggard’. As I delve into the heart of the magazine – I come across photos taken of Charlotte Church from a recent holiday in which she is wearing a bikini. The magazine praises her for not caring and putting comfort first. This is the same magazine which in an issue from the month prior had run a front page hitting story concerning’ Charlottes Weight Battle’ and the constant ‘fight to keep her contours under control. Surely this would pressure any woman to think twice about their eating habits? The influence of the media on women’s perceptions of idealism and beauty cannot be refuted. We as a society are constantly bombarded with images and messages that to be happy and successful we must be thin. It was recently proven that one out of every 4 television advertisements sent out some sort of message about attractiveness. Women are continuously assaulted by the media with images of emaciated ‘stars’ and the message ‘fat is bad’. Actress/model Elizabeth Hurley was reported as saying, when interviewed by Allure magazine- ‘’Ive always thought Marilyn Monroe looked fabulous – but I’d kill myself if I ever got that fat!’’ Marilyn Monroe was 5”5 and weighed 135 pounds. The worst part is the ‘perfection’ women wish to aspire to is growing increasingly and startlingly more un reachable. Twenty years ago the average high fashion model weighed 8% less than the average woman, today the figure is 23% less. Staggeringly, supermodels Niki Taylor and Elle Macpherson meet the Body Mass Index criteria for Anorexia. It could be argued that the media is doing nothing more than
Cultural Analysis Queen Latifah played a big role in the hip hop industry as a female MC, and still is relevant to this day. She influenced millions of people especially in the black community for equality between women and men. She’s an American song-writer, actress, fashion producer, model, female MC, feminist, television producer, record producer, and talk show hostess. The Hip-hop culture began around the 1970’s in Bronx, New York and it was mostly amongst the Black and Latino community at that time. Hip Hop emerged out of an atmosphere of disappointment, anger, hate, discrimination, and disillusionment which; made it easy for the audience to comprehend and enjoy the music not as a song, but as a public personal message for each person to understand.
According to many movie critics and fans, Marilyn Monroe was one of the most talented and well-known entertainers and fashion icons of the twentieth century based on her success as an actress, singer, model, and her remarkable personality. Marilyn Monroe once said, “Fame will go by, and, so long, I’ve had you, fame. If it goes by, I’ve always known it was fickle. So at least it’s something I experience, but that’s not where I live” (Marilyn Monroe 26).
Before the songstress appeared on the pop scene, the name “Madonna” was used in reference to the Christian Mother of God. The original “Madonna” was the symbol of Roman Catholicism and Western Christianity. Madonna the entertainer however proved she was unlike this original female figure. She violated all the innocent icons of religion and femininity and by using the phrase “like a virgin” she began a long string of inserting religious, political and sexual references into the world of pop music.
Marilyn Monroe created a legendary image and was one of the most beautiful women of her time. Today, Kate Upton is almost the same size and some refer to her as “fat.” The ideal image fifty years ago was much more attainable than today’s standard extremely tall and thin models. What has changed in society to make us think this way? Modeling has changed drastically from an image that was curvy and healthy to an image that is very thin and hard to achieve.
Kasey Serdar (2005) argues that only a small number of women can actually fulfill the characteristics of what media defines beautiful. Yet, women are constantly being exposed to the ideal women image. Serdar (2005) illustrates that “models shown on television, advertisement, and in other forms of popular media are approximately 20% below ideal body weight, thus meeting the dia...
Over the past century, women aesthetic appearance has dramatically changed in western civilization. In the beginning of the 19th century the ideal woman was 5’4 tall and weighed approximately 140 pounds. The Roaring Twenties brought along a more boyish looking woman referred to as a flapper. During the 1930’s, women having larger breasts and fuller waists was the image to achieve. The 1940’s and 50’s presented contraptions such as corsets and push- up bra’s for woman to accentuate thier bust lines. A transformation was brought about in the 1960’s that has swept across the nations of the world with thinner models and a brand new doll modeled after these women: Barbie. Twiggy, a British teen model, took the media by storm. She was the skinniest model ever weighting 89 pounds, standing (“The Perfect Woman”). In the 21st century this craze of being excessively thin has dominated the media and ...
The most fashionable, sought after magazines in any local store are saturated with beautiful, thin women acting as a sexy ornament on the cover. Commercials on TV feature lean, tall women promoting unlimited things from new clothes to as simple as a toothbrush. The media presents an unrealistic body type for girls to look up to, not images we can relate to in everyday life. When walking around in the city, very few people look like the women in commercials, some thin, but nothing similar to the cat walk model. As often as we see these flawless images float across the TV screen or in magazines, it ...
As an ever growing topic of debate in modern society, understanding feminism is critical to modern social and political stances. Beyoncé Knowles, a celebrity pop star has been a figure surrounded by debate for those seeking to define modern feminism. By examining her feminism, a great deal can be learned about different stance on modern feminism. As bell hooks defines it in her book, Feminism is for Everybody, “Feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression” (viii). Through this definition, hooks is clear that feminism can be embraced by anyone, male or female, black or white, rich or poor so long as they oppose sexism and its ramifications since opposing sexism does not mean
Self-development has great importance in society because it allows to an individual to further and improve aspects of themselves in order to obtain a better understanding of themself and adapt better in the world that we live in. With this, one can find and make the necessary changes in order to improve aspects of their lives bringing them closer to success and their goal. The self-development of an individual, through the analysis of Marilyn Monroe’s life, shows its major impact in the furtherance of one’s life.
The stage is dark. Thousands of screaming fans wait in agonizing anticipation. Smoke crawls out from the stage, and out struts a confident blonde woman. With the spotlight focused entirely on her, the crowd erupts into deafening applause as she begins her incomparable dance routines. She is an icon. She is Madonna. History has never seen a cultural figure with as much controversy or flair for the dramatic as Madonna, nor will history ever see such a figure. Madonna’s name is recognized by everyone, as is evidenced in a survey taken of fifty people of varying ages (shown below). These facts alone are enough to engrave her name in pop culture history, but the making of an icon does not stop there. Madonna is the quintessential example of an American icon because of her revolutionary changes to both the worlds of music and fashion; her entire life, from her early childhood to her 50th birthday and beyond, has challenged the conventions of society and changed the face of the music industry forever.
Barbra Streisand is one of the most influential people in theatre of all time. She has been in many shows and movies including Funny Girl and I Can Get It for You Wholesale, and has won Academy, Golden Globes, Grammys, Emmys, and Tony Awards. Her voice and charisma has inspired millions to go after their dreams of becoming actresses, actors, and singers.
“The conduct and manners of women, in fact, evidently prove that their minds are not in a healthy state; for, like the flowers which are planted in too rich a soil, strength and usefulness are sacrificed to beauty; and the flaunting leaves, after having pleased a fastidious eye, fade, disregarded on the stalk, long before the season when they ought to have arrived at maturity” (Wollstonecraft 7). This is a view in which several feminists abide with and can relate to; the idea that women have the wrong intentions and goals for their lives, that they are treated like children and are predestined to act like children, instead of adults. Although the Vindication of the Rights of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft was written in 1972, this perception of woman still exists all around the world and is a major topic of debate among feminists. Several aspects of life in modern western society degrade and belittle woman, and although equality is the law in countries such as Canada and the United States of America, TV shows, movies and music tell different. Lana Del Rey is a popular female artist in North America and Europe, she recently released a new album called Born to Die. This album is very controversial among Radical feminists because many aspects of it, such as the lyrics contribute to the belittlement of women.
Audrey Hepburn was a model, actress, and humanitarian. She mostly recognized for being a film and fashion icon in the 1950s-1960s. Although, Audrey was a very successful woman and had a very successful career, she didn’t start out that way. Audrey lived a difficult life and had to work her way to the top. She struggled throughout her childhood and teen years, and was finally able to make a name for herself in her early 20’s.
...th the modern era defining beautiful as having less weight. (WiseGeek, n.d.) Another argument is that thin is a feminist issue and they just use this as a headline grabber because 39.4 million of Americans suffer from obesity and the British NHS survey of Disordered Eating noted 620 hospital treatments for anorexia or bulimia (with some patients registered twice or more) for 2005 to 2006 as opposed to 17,458 for the same period for obesity. They also argue that more material is being saved when models are thinner and clothes look more elegant and drapes effortlessly on skinnier models. Most models and designers argue that models are not supposed to eat and they are meant to be skinny to sell more clothes or make them look more appealing.
The Reasons Why Many People in the Late 20th Century are so Attracted to Celebrities