Photomanipulation in the news

[Doug Nelson]

From Lew Irwin's Studio Briefing:

"Only days after the British edition of GQ magazine admitted that it had altered pictures of Kate Winslet to make her look more svelte, ("This is common practice everywhere, from films to videos. ... Almost no picture that appears in GQ or any other magazine or newspaper, has not been altered in some way," said editor Dylan Jones), Women's Wear Daily has quoted a spokesman for Harper's Bazaar as saying that it substituted fashion director Mary Alice Stephenson's body for Winslet's on its January cover photo of the actress. The earlier GQ admission had raised an uproar among feminists in Britain, with one radio talk-show psychologist urging magazines like GQ to be burned for selling a phony physical ideal to young women. "

So why are they picking on Kate Winslet?

[Stephen M]

Perhaps Kate has a better publicity agent? <g>

Stephen Marsh.

[G. Couch]

Originally posted by Doug Nelson
"This is common practice everywhere, from films to videos. ... Almost no picture that appears in GQ or any other magazine or newspaper, has not been altered in some way," said editor Dylan Jones)...

...and people wonder why there is such a problem with young women and eating disorders. Of course, it's not just women who are harmed. I read an article a few months ago that talked about how more and more men are getting these disorders and they cited the media's portrayal of men as a leading cause.

This kind of thing has really gotten out of hand and media should be blamed for it. When you stand in line at the grocery store you see dozens of magazines with the same perfect image...skinny women with really white teeth and flawless skin. It's to the point where it's just downright silly...like hi-tech propaganda. Everywhere you look the same face and body are staring at you! I guess it sells a lot of makeup, teeth whitener and diet pills. Who decided that emaciated (they say "svelte") should be the one and only standard of beauty?

[DJ Dubovsky]

Did society create the image of perfection or did the media? Hard to say.
Maybe all it took was a shapely female like Marilyn Monroe to come along and take mens attention and women suddenly are trying to be the same. The media mearly takes that perfection and shapes it because that's what men want and sex sells. Have you ever seen a Playboy with fat women? Hugh Hefner would be broke if he did. Sure they have taken that ideal and made it into something unobtainable and false but we buy into it.

I remember when some stars gained wieght like Elizabeth Taylor or Oprah. The comments by the media were beyond cruel. Is it no wonder both men and women are starving for perfection? We're our own worst enemies. To be perfectly honest, I would buy a magazine with beefy bods before buying one with beerbelly bods. It's just the way it is.

No matter how many times someone tells you
Looks aren't everything or
Money isn't everything or
The meak will inherit the earth
Life clearly tells you that's all a crock.

Signed
The Cynic

[Mig]

Do you remember the one about Paula Cole on the cover of some big mag, where they removed the tufts of hair in her armpits? and she was all upset?
The magazine argued they thought the hair was dirt
oh well, where's Paula now?

On the subject of manipulating the pics of these people, it's a no-brainer, they'll do it if they have to. Kate Winslet is probably about 160 lbs+. Beautiful woman anyway.

Here's one of Lucy Liu, which eventually landed in a major mag, like say, GQ, something like that. This one's untouched. But is it real or is it fake?
Real. ('cept the blurred part, which I did to protect the those who might be offended by a woman's nipple)
Mig

[CJ Swartz]

Humans are a fascinating species...

The 16th century brought a high degree of nationalism to England and power to its court. One's costume showed the individual's position, rank and wealth. This ranking was even prevalent in the corsets worn in the French court which was dominated by the famous Italian princess, Catherine de Medici. In Catherine's court, there were strict regulations constraining and correlating women's waist size to their position in court.

snipped from People in corsets - History

Let's see, my place in court (based on my current waist size of #&*^) would be out in the moat...

[G. Couch]

Originally posted by DJ Dubovsky
Did society create the image of perfection or did the media? Hard to say.
Maybe all it took was a shapely female like Marilyn Monroe to come along and take mens attention and women suddenly are trying to be the same.

I do think that in our culture the media determines what is beautiful. Look at different cultures from around the world and you will see a very diverse standard of beauty. What western civilization finds beautiful, another culture might find hideously ugly. So, I do not think there is any kind of "beauty standard" ingrained into our DNA...it's something that society determines, and our society IS media! The irony of the Marilyn Monroe example is that she would be considered fat by today's standards!

In the past 20 years media has become so pervasive that it is now the dominating force in society...replacing things like church, government and business. That in and of itself is not necessarily bad thing, but it does not seem like our media reflects the diversity of our culture. It still caters mostly to white males...probably because that's whose in charge at most companies. CJ's example of 16th century fashion trends really does prove the point that not much has changed...only that now, we are bombarded 24/7 with the same images of "beauty" in an infinite variety of ways. Perhaps we are headed towards the type of society that the movie "Gattaca" portrayed...where everyone genetically engineers their child to a certain standard and those who do not meet that standard become second class citizens.

[pstewart]

Originally posted by CJ Swartz
Let's see, my place in court (based on my current waist size of #&*^) would be out in the moat...

LOL! Thanks for the much needed laugh! LOL!

As for retouching/manipulating photos, why not? Do it because now you can. Such is human nature. I have retouched some of my own photos to take off a few pounds, fix messy hair, and add make up (which I hate to wear) if it's a photo for a special purpose...who hasn't? Anyway, that desire to look better than real is what keeps me in business...thank goodness human nature is what it is!

Phyllis <--afloat in the moat with CJ

[Mike]

Remember when TV Guide had the cover with Oprah's head on Ann Margrets body? Now thats photo manipulation!

The great unanswered question is how faithful to the subject were all the great 16, 17th centuary painters?

Mike

[Mig]

If you've never heard of him, and are interested in this subject matter, of beauty and cultural differences, etc., look for anything on PBS or in the bookstores by Desmond Morris.

Mig

[d_kendal]

Greg and DJ, I really agree with what you've been saying, I know a quite a few girls around my age who are dancers, and it's shocking to see a lot of them starving themselves to try and make themselves look like the image of "beauty" they see in all the magazines these days, which seems to be mostly anorexic models and lots of photo manipulation. it's sad to see girls who are already skinnier than average trying to make themselves even more so, they get sick all the time and lack energy all the time. It's natural for people to try and make themselves look better, but I think it's gotten pretty out of hand, people need to realize that being stick like is generally not a good thing!

- David

[G. Couch]

Originally posted by d_kendal
It's natural for people to try and make themselves look better, but I think it's gotten pretty out of hand, people need to realize that being stick like is generally not a good thing!

Very true! If stick figures are constantly presented as the image of beautiful, it's natural that people, especially younger people, are going to attempt to emulate that. It fufills a very basic social need to be accepted and admired...but is based on a total lie.

[winwintoo]

A long time ago, I was married to a man who had worked as a photographer before I met him. Apparently most of his work was home sittings for cute babies and their proud parents, but he also managed to do some work in the "glamour" end of the business. Then, as now, "glamourous" models didn't always possess the desired dimensions........


.........the solution???

Duct Tape!!!

Take care, Margaret

[CJ Swartz]

"glamourous" models didn't always possess the desired dimensions........the solution???
Duct Tape!!!

-- Margaret

Yeeoowwch! Unzipping it after the photo would smart a little!

[winwintoo]

Yeeoowwch! Unzipping it after the photo would smart a little!

That would be enough for me to want to lose weight so I wouldn't have to endure it the next time

Take care, Margaret