The concept of this photo is all about the affect that the media has on
a females self-esteem. Some of the affects can really damage you to the
point where you start to hurt yourself and you become sick. I decided
to make the picture black and white because i think that whole concept
of the media's portrayal of beauty and perfection is a grey area in the
fact that the media does not take responsibility for the consequences.
As you can see, the overall theme of my photo is bulimia. Bulimia. as
well as anorexia, is one of the most significant affects that the media has on a person's self-esteem. I included the toothbrush because that is what it is used to make yourself throw-up after you binge eat. The toilet is a symbol of the media the actual disease, bulimia. Just like the toilet flushes away the dirty water and brings in new water, bulimia gets rid of what you ate (which is what is dirty to the people with the disease) and when youre finally done, its like you're a new person, with new clean fresh water. The listerine next to the toilet represents the media and how it provides you with things to hide the evidence (bad breath due to vomitting). I also, provided the scale to show how no matter how hard you try, you"ll never be good enough. Hence the word, ERROR. The overall concept that im trying to get accorss is that the media portrays perfection and beauty as a standard that is hard to reach and when you try to reach it youre damaging your health and you will always get an error. Because the beauty that the media portrays is not what true beauty is about. Many young adolescent girls are trapped in this image that they HAVE to look perfect, when perfect doesn't even exist. The people that the media shows dont even look that way, it is all airbrushed and changed into what they think is perfection and beauty. The problem with eating disorders and low self-esteem is something that is happening very frequently because of the media, the media needs to take responsibility of what they are
portraying and what the consequences of their actions are. Although, eating disorders is a disease the media does contribute to the self-image that many young girls have of what they should look like.
8 comments:
This photo is very compelling in today’s society because eating disorders in adolescent girls has become the norm. I believe every young girl at some point in her life has looked in the mirror and said, “wow, maybe I should skip dessert tonight” or something of the sort. Sadly, the media is what influences this behavior. If girls looked up to real women, like their teachers and mothers more than Britney Spears or Kate Moss, eating disorders would probably be less of a problem. I like how the picture was taken at an angle, almost to signal the off balance-ness or loss of control. I agree with the message of listerine, and how it makes it so easy to cover up this problem. It is almost as if society turns its nose up from the fact so many girls have eating disorders, because of what is “expected” from young girls today. The fact that the picture is black and white, to me, means that it can affect any person, of age, race, or sex. The “ERROR” in red letters signifies a sense of defeat with it’s harsh red lettering, almost as if saying “you will never win!” Unfortunately, with a disease so hurtful to girls (physically and emotionally) its true. Having an eating disorder will not help you “win” that perfect body, date your dream crush, or have more friends. It will leave you in the hospital or rehabilitation if not caught and stopped early enough.
Your photo is a very worthy critic of eating disorders, and the damage it can do to young women these days. However I think that the Listerine has another meaning that isn’t discussed in the description and that is the meaning of drug use. It is said but rarely known that Listerine can get a person high, I think that the bottle next to the toilet symbolizes both covering up the act of the purge and the potential to give the user an altered state of mind, far from their problems. I like how you have the tooth brush end facing near the bowl; it seems to be symbolic of the actual act of using it as a tool to purge the body. The word error on the scale has another meaning as well. I can mean that the act that the person is doing, that is in trying to lose weight in such a drastic and unhealthy manner is an error and the word being printed in this picture is the body telling the user this very thing.
I think this photo is an amazing representation of how many girls feel the pressure to be thin in today’s society. All girls at some point in their life will feel the pressure placed on females and think “I guess I must be fat since I don’t look like the females in the media.” Putting the toilet and the toothbrush in the picture shows the dangerous lengths some females will go to in order to look the way they want to. It is so sad that eating disorders are so common these days. I also like that there is a scale in this photo, not only because of the word “error” on it, but also because many females become sort of obsessed with the scale. Many females check their weight numerous times a day. The scale becomes part of their everyday life. I like that the photo is taken at an angle because it can symbolize how shaken up this disease can make you feel.
In the photo, “Perfection Error” it’s a picture of Listerine, a tooth brush on a toilet and a scale. It’s a clear depiction of how Media’s pressure of body weight has increased anorexia and bulimia in girls. The scale says error because woman will never be happy with how much weight they’ve lost no matter if they are 80 or 130 pounds. So the number will always be an error to them. The tooth brush on the toilet is just a clear attempt at bulimia/throwing up. And the Listerine show how people try to hide it and cover it up because they are ashamed. Bulimia and anorexia are diseases and are almost always hidden and kept in secret.
This picture speaks a thousand words. This is most likely how girls with eating disorders feel. They try harder and harder to lose weight and feel good about their selves but it never happens.
This picture hits home for me. I actually know a couple people that are very close to me that struggle with eating disorders. The set up is very startling because it is so accurate. The media affects young women more and more everyday. It is a sad reality that many young women will face.
i think the concept of this picture is really good, and the explanation behind it is very good
I don’t know if it was intentional, but the angle of the photo is slightly dizzying, but I think that it adds to the overall effect of the damage of eating disorders. The actual act of purging would make a person, probably female, lightheaded and weak. Society, especially the media, totally controls self-esteem and makes women feel like their bodies are inadequate. It’s important to note that the media isn’t just the only influence on young people to yearn for a perfect body, but parents and peers can also be a huge contributor.
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