Entry #2: Photoshop's Blurred Lines

As briefly mentioned in the previous post, there exists a fine line between promoting products using completely fantastical imagery and poisoning the standard of beauty in a consumer's mind. This is explicitly displayed in the modern-day beauty and fashion industry. Advertising companies had originally made use of Adobe Photoshop, a picture and graphic editing program, as a means of better communicating the benefits of their products — wearing these jeans will make you feel & look thinner! However, it has become clear that the original intent of this message has become tainted and completely convoluted, whether it be on behalf of the consumer mis-interpreting the use of beautiful, thin models, or whether the fashion & beauty industry purposely intended on changing the definition of beauty through the use of beautiful, thin models remains unclear. Therein lies two problems with this widespread change in social consciousness, the first being that, although the consumer is openly proclaiming their distaste and hurt by the new standard of beauty, they, not only continuously spend billions of dollars on these hurtful, tasteless, and crude brands, but they continually openly reject any form of beauty advertised that doesn't match this disturbing, illusionary standard that exists. This leads to the second problem which is that all beauty & fashion brands and contributors still employ the use of editing software for every single advertisement created because it is expected of them. By producing this delusional, distasteful reality, jobs are created, money is made, and the economy continues to steady. All in all, there exists a vicious cycle of hurt, misunderstanding, and perhaps even misinterpretation between the consumer and the seller.

That being said, my personal opinion sides with those individuals who question the integrity of photoshop. Despite advertising companies employing the use of Photoshop in order to better communicate the benefits of their products, I feel the final advertisement product is so far from the beginning image that they have created a level of personal beauty expectation that is quite literally impossible to achieve. Through research, it becomes clear that featuring an un-edited photograph of a model or product is not an option. It has become an expected norm amongst beauty companies to receive fully edited & perfected versions of photographs from the paid advertising companies. One could even go so far as to say that all models are photoshopped and that only a very minimal portion of the advertising world represents an average person's reality. This being said, it is a matter of opinion whether these mystical realities created by ad campaigns is intended to be interpreted as reality or metaphor – it really depends on the product being sold and the consumer that is being targeted. With this in mind, consumers' best interest should always be kept in mind, especially in the fashion & beauty industry as it has become clear its consumers' personal and worldly expectations of beauty have become so impossibly narrow and negative in large part due to the consistent information thrown at them on a daily basis in the form of print, television, and web ads. Having twisted such a large group of individuals into believing a false reality is dangerous as these negative expectations have begun to trickle down several generations, proving to become an unforgiving culture rooted in hate. Mothers develop poor sense of self, which may lead them to project their negative self-worth upon their daughters, feeding the chain of sadness, anger, and of defeat — in the sense of never being able to achieve a body, face, smile, hair colour that is not real, but merely created on a computer by a man who's paycheque is signed by beauty & fashion industry leaders.

note: it is important to keep in mind that the photograph editors & photoshop specialists are not to be blamed in this situation, as they are given directions and guidelines to follow. In fact, most have very little opinion on the situation and do not emotionally associate themselves with the work produced.

The fashion & beauty industry can only feed the masses what the masses want: beautiful, thin, acne-free individuals with sculpted bodies. The reality of the situation is that we, as consumers, have to voice our opinions about what real beauty is and what real women and men look like. By accepting the standard lies fed to us, we perpetuate the illusionary reality and social expectations that is sadly becoming engrained in Western society. At the end of the day, we financially support the fashion & beauty industry, therefore we control it. It is important to open our minds to advertisements that feature real women and men, with real flaws, as well as open our minds to the truth behind the narrow false reality the fashion & beauty industry creates. If we want them to change, we have to do so first.