Pop Culture and Its Effect on the Perception of Beauty - Assignment Example

27 June Pop Culture and its Effect on the Perception of Beauty Popular culture is the type of culture in which most people today, regardless of age, gender and status; look upon to stay in trend. It can be observed in music, films, and at some point in the beautification schemes of people and their perceptions of beauty. This paper will try to evaluate the effect of popular culture in people’s perception of beauty. It will explore several materials to support this thesis statement such as photos, literature reviews and some annotated bibliographies. Most people today look up to personalities in the popular culture and they tend to base their actions and decisions on the possible implications it might bring in consideration to the culture they are into. Below is an example of a photo of Lady Gaga, a popular pop star. Source: American music photo set. Based on the lessons we previously had, the photo provided us with offer type of vector such that the picture was displayed for the scrutiny or evaluation by the viewers. This picture was also considered as such because it provides no direct connection with the between the object and the viewer as indicated in the presentation ‘Tools for visual analysis” (7). The perspective, as suggested by the same presentation, is low and with close up social distance such that the image was presented in a way that implied that the viewer is looking up to the object or photo. It projects the photo as more powerful than the viewer (15) and it portrays low saturation of color that suggest unrealistic image (20). Evaluating another picture in light of the elements discussed in the first, the other picture presented below showed Beyoncé as she performed at Madison Square Garden. Source: American music photo set. Photo by David X. Prutting. The photo is an example of a non-transactional vector in which the artist was objectified and subjected to scrutiny. It can also be observed that there is no connection made between the artist and the viewer as indicated by the presentation “Tools for visual analysis”. Like the photo of Lady Gaga above, the picture was also viewed at low perspective (15) but unlike the first, in terms of social distance the photo above pertains to medium shot such that it portrays impersonal distance from artist to viewer. This photo also can be categorized as realistic as balance of color, modulation and differentiation is can be noted. The two photos presented and evaluated earlier is in connection to the popular culture and its role in influencing people’s lives and perspectives in terms of their social role and beauty in particular. Lady Gaga had been a trendsetter in fashion and beauty for several years to date. Her photo featured in this paper and they way it was presented is much more similar to what she portrayed herself in public – deviant and trendsetter. Beyoncé, on the other hand, had been a role model of popular culture for more than a decade now. She depicts talent and beauty that most young people look up to and desired to be. The two personalities in their own ways set the standards for beauty and define what popular culture is. In her study “Britney, Beyoncé and me – Primary school girls’ role models and constructions of the ‘popular girl’”, Barbara Read, discussed how gender and culture shape the values of young girls today into aligning them with what their role models are, like for example Lady Gaga and Beyoncé. According to Read, children’s peer culture play an important role in shaping the way they value things and construct meanings such that the more their friends want to become like their role models, they wanted the same things to happen to them too (2). According to the results of the study, school girls look up to their female teachers primarily as their role models but this can be argued to be normal as teachers are the next best thing they normally look up to. The next school girls’ role models include female singers and performers such as Britney and Beyoncé. Read’s extensive works on the subject lead her to conclude that pop music had been important for pre teen girls in construction of their identity indicated by their interest in unknown or rare songs or bands/singers before anyone else (6). It can be noted from her study that the contributing factors why pop stars are mostly considered by pre-teen girls as roles models were due to their: appearance in order to be judged as attractive and ideal (6); personality since girls wanted to be just the way their idols are such as nice, cool, friendly among others (6); and accomplishments in such a way that the more skilled and accomplished their role models are, they tend to think that they can attain that level of accomplishment too if they stick to the values and activities of their role models (7). In the same light but different context, Naomi Wolf also worked on how the female gender lean to things that influences their perceptions of themselves and how popular culture affected their values and constructions of meanings. She particularly focused on beauty and what is beautiful. Beauty, according to Naomi Wolf, is something that is dictated by politics and conforms to the needs of men and their circle (13). In her book “The Beauty Myth”, she reiterated how popular culture had influenced and changed the perception of beauty and what is beautiful among men and especially among women in relation to their role in society. According to her, women’s perception of beauty conforms to the popular culture, popularized by people such as Lady Gaga and Beyoncé, and supported by multi-million dollar advertisements (4). Among the examples she cited in her book were: women undergoing silicone breast implants, and lesser clothing materials to cover the body (4), as well as the popularity among women of eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia in which they consider as perfectly normal within that context (5). Aside from all of those listed above, the music industry contributed to this confusion such that some of them promoted beauty myths while some like “Unpretty” entertain the idea but suggests otherwise. In her book, Wolf suggested that the beauty myths that are most commonly adhered to and desired by women today to change and upgrade their role and status in society and to catch up with what the world see as “beautiful” is in fact a political idea such that the female beauty is used as a political weapon against women’s advancement (10) and considered as a currency system that is determined by politics. This is supported by the fact that women are valued in terms of their usefulness domestically and correlates to their fertility since it was what men needed in their life (12). In summary, the focus of the photographs and the contexts in which they are laid down influences the behaviour of people. These people who are considered to be the viewers look into the dimension and perspective of the photos as if they can influence them. The photos were evaluated to align with how gender and culture influences the perception of beauty for the pre-teen girls and the full pledged women in our society. It can be noted that culture influences the behaviour of pre teen girls to link their role models to pop stars and icons mainly for their appearance, personality and accomplishments while full pledge women were considered to be under the influence of beauty myths in which men are at the centre and stereotyping and consumer culture prevail (144). This instances left girls and women vulnerable to misconception of gender roles and value of beauty. Works Cited Alkon, A. "The Truth About Beauty." Psychology Today 43.6 (2010): 54-59. CINAHL Plus with Full Text.Web. 25 June 2013. American music photo set. Web. 27 June 2013. Gottschall, Jonathan. "The Beauty Myth Is No Myth: Emphasis On Male-Female Attractiveness In World Folktales." Human Nature 19.2 (2008): 174-188. “Tools for Visual Analysis”. Power point presentation. Lecture Notes. Wolf, Naomi. The Beauty Myth: How Images Of Beauty Are Used Against Women / Naomi Wolf. n.p.: New York : Anchor Books, 1992. Read More