.jpg)
One of the things mentioned in this unit is girl culture which is expressed in the photo essay. Through the essay I got many different meanings from the pictures but the overall message that I got was how much media has put an effect on the people of today. My picture is expressing the same idea with my five year old niece looking up to the magazine images to see what she needs to look like when she gets older. In my picture i made it a point to make the background a white color to show that she is pure and innocent. Following that i surrounded her with multiple images of females that are in magazines expressing that the media believes you need to be thin, tall, have full and hair with a lot of volume, have big breasts and wear make up to be considered beautiful in todays society. I showed how media is having such an impact in her life by her looking at the picture of the girl with lipstick on so she is trying to learn to put lipstick on to be more like them. Also, if you noticed when she is looking in the mirror she is looking downwards which is showing that she is not happy with who she is because she doesn’t look like the “models”. She is too young to be wearing makeup and feeling negatively about herself which is something I expressed with the high heels that are many sizes too big. In other words my title says it all she is a young girl that isn’t worried about going out and having a good time playing with Barbie dolls but more worried about being older and looking like other people. So my main message is if you have someone young in your family make it a point to show them that no one really looks like that, and they are gorgeous no matter what anyone else says. “A happy girl is the prettiest girl” just remember that!
6 comments:
I agree with what is said for this photograph. I find that this is completely true. Little girls are always messing around in makeup and wearing high heels that are too big for them. They feel that they need to become what they see in the magazines, older and what is seen as beautiful and attractive. She may not realize that is what she is doing but she knows in the back of her mind that she wants to look like that. When she is practicing putting on the lipstick she is saying she isn’t pretty enough and needs to change how she looks to become like those people. The media has such a influence on what women think is attractive. The white in the background does show the innocence but has she becomes older she loses that innocence and will become more and more like what she sees in the magazines. When they wear the shoes that are too big they are stating that she does not fit into the “ideal” woman category. The picture shows these things like said.
The photographer explains a lot of meaning and description about this picture, and I would have to agree with what has been said. The way the background is and with the little girl surrounded by pictures and a mirror shows what the point of the picture is trying to make. Everything that the media shows in magazines, commercials, movies, and billboards is impacted on so many women, even on little girls like the one in this picture. It indicates that the way they need to represent themselves to others is by doing or applying something to their face, or the way they need to dress. This is because of all the media showing that natural beauty is not a way to look beautiful unless you try something they are representing. In the picture, the little girl has put on shoes that are way too big for her and is applying lipstick in order to make herself look beautiful, like the way the women are in the magazines that are surrounding her. Even though it may show that the little girl doesn’t know what she’s doing, she still plays her dress up game because of the way she sees the women in the picture. This proves to her that what they show in the magazine or any media is a way to be considered beautiful in society.
I agree with everything that has been said about this photo. The little girl is trying to appear older than she is; the shoes that are too large symbolize this. As a little girl who remembers playing in her mother’s shoes, I know that it makes you feel pretty, like a woman instead of a little girl. There is this push in society to make young girls look much older than they are. Often times, teenagers look like they are in their 20s instead of 15 or 16. They learn this in early childhood. Girls are concerned with looking pretty. She is surrounded by images in the media that are telling her what she is supposed to look like. The lipstick and make up symbolize her conformity into social norms. Her looking in the mirror is a pretty obvious symbol of her self-reflection. Girls are always keeping an eye on how they look, making sure they look perfect like the pictures in magazines. One thing I have to point out that no one mentioned is that she is wearing a Ravens jersey. Sports are typically a male dominated area, but more and more girls are getting into them. It’s not girly or pink; it’s one of the purple ones. I’m sure her parents are Ravens fans and had her wear it, but it still represents a little bit of deviation from the norm. I know girls that wear their jerseys and feel as though they have to do their hair and makeup even more just to look more feminine. Our society views football as a masculine activity, so women who enjoy it might be ridiculed for not looking pretty enough.
I believe that this photo does an excellent job expressing the way that media portrays little girls to be. At this age the way that little girls act and the things that they do are all learned behaviors. The way that they see little girls dressing on TV, in public, or in magazines all lead them to believe that they are supposed to do the same. I believe that the media has given most little girls no other choice but to grow up way too quickly. They shouldn't be worrying about how their hair and make up look or what they're wearing at this age. They should be wanting to go outside and play with friends and do all of the things that little girls would normally be doing at that age years ago. The way that the media portrays young children to be at this age prevents them from ever living a worry free child hood, which is not fair at all. The social role that young children are being forced to play is getting worse and worse everyday. I believe that children need to know that it’s okay for them to not worry about the way that they look or dress and to just be a kid! It’s not fair for them to miss out on the best years that they will never get back!
I love this picture! It was one of the photos that really JUMPED out at me just because I didn’t have to read the caption to fully understand what was happening here. I really liked the fact that she is wearing a football jersey; it kind of gives her another angle other than just being a “girl”. I agree that the media has a huge impact on people’s perception of themselves and I think that it is huge when a child is affected by the media. The fact that children have the ability to absorb anything they learn while still in their young age is a problem when the media comes into their lives because they see the things that they think people want and they are able to absorb that image with no difficulty. When I look at this picture I also get a sense of her being in the spotlight because everything else around her is blacked out, this makes me feel like she is forced to look a certain way because the spotlight is on her and people feel like they need to look their best when people are looking. I think you did a great job with the symbolization and the use of space in your photo!
-Jess
Brittany did an amazing job at creating a vivid picture of what she was trying to get across in the photo. It is so true that girls see what older woman look like and can't wait to grow up. Since i was little i always wished i would get older faster, i wanted to wear makeup early, and do everything else older girls did and the things i saw on TV and magazines. The pictures of woman are always skinny and "picture perfect" but what is the real definition of "picture perfect"? All woman try and look like the typical model but are still not completely satisfied with their appearance. Girls need to realize that all you need to do to feel good about yourself is to love what you were given.
Post a Comment