Assignment 5: Are Those Real?

We shouldn't necessarily be worried about life on other planets, global worming, or weapons of mass destruction, but what we should be worried about at times is the mass media. The media puts on a show for everyone to see in which different people play different characters and act out different roles. Do you honestly think that the woman in Home and Garden Magazine is actually a perfect prim and proper housewife with a perfect home and a perfect yard? Do you believe that the woman standing at the bar in Cosmopolitan magazine really goes out in that skimpy outfit looking perfect like she appears on the page in front of you? If you think these pictures portray real life, you are heavily mistaken. The media creates a sort of idealism in which effort is put towards the sales of certain products and services. The pictures that we look at and think about are supposed to do just that: make us think.

Often times pictures in magazines and publications are altered to appear idealistic to the publisher or designer of the image. This is done to maximize the effect the image is supposed to have on its audience. Take a look at this image of Kim Kardashian, a Hollywood celebrity, posing for the cover of Complex Magazine. Complex Magazine describes itself as, "The Men's Guide To Consumer Culture." Having said this, what does a half naked woman with only her bra, underwear, and five inch heals on doing on the cover of this magazine? Promotion is the key to this issue. Kim Kardashian is a new up and coming celebrity and she has been featured on new hit television shows on MTV and VH1 including "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" at 10:00pm. This specific image I believe has been digitally enhanced to give Kim a more toned core and smoother all over appearance. Who can have skin that looks that perfect and thighs that are completely free of cellulose? Not to mention the glow that is radiating from her is almost like she is staring at lights which specifically were made to highlight certain parts of her body. This is a completely acceptable use of alterations because they were not drastic that I know of and they are harmless. It is not like they made Kim look emaciated promoting anorexia because Kim Kardashian is anything but skin and bones. She is a curvy woman who is proud of what she was given and she is not afraid to show that.

Magazines have the final say in an alteration of a photo because they own the photo. In today's world, a lot of things are not what they seem and it takes a deeper look to uncover the truth but a deeper look we will take. What is natural? Most everything has been enhanced only for the sake of a company's benefit or the benefit of the person in the photo. If a publication enhances something and creates an offensive image, that should be forbidden. Also forbidden enhancements should include something that is enhanced which promotes unethical behavior.