America's next top downfall
By: Alyssa de la Garza
Issue date: 2/3/09 Section: Entertainment
In the entertainment world, all is calm. The industry has fallen into expectant silence in anticipation of Feb.22 and the 81st Annual Academy awards. But, luckily, the media has managed to find perfectly ridiculous crusades to keep them busy in the meantime.
In the last week, Jessica Simpson has had to face thousands of comments-on national television, no less-about something much more personal than her quarterback boyfriend: her weight. As if, of course, our country had nothing better to obsess over.
Instead of taking part in the huge changes sweeping across the nation, we've chosen to focus on a pop star's body image, which we seem determined to annihilate by showing picture after unflattering picture of the woman on stage. Tell me, when did this become breaking news?
Our society, as a whole, is so consumed with the bodies of people we'll never meet in person. What does it matter what they look like? Ideally, they're successful because of their talents.
Crazy idea, right? So, instead of focusing on the fact that Simpson is a gifted artist, we zoom in on the fact that she's looking like a normal person rather than some over-sexualized Barbie doll. Because guess what, people… she is a normal person. The fact that she can sing doesn't make her metabolically different than someone who can't.
The only thing that changes is the public's expectations of her. It's not enough for singers these days to be talented. They have to be able to sing, dance, starve themselves, smile on two hours' sleep, and do it all in heels taller than most men.
Why do we have this obsession with such superficial qualities? It's an incredibly poor commentary on the status of our society when we perpetuate the stereotype that an individual is only worth their looks.
Shows like America's Next Top Model take beautiful women and make everything unique and distinctive about them into something commercialized and fake in the name of billboards and magazine covers.
A fan of the show told me once that they'd let a plus-sized model win. The woman was a size seven, and almost six feet tall. Apparently I'd forgotten that in the world of modeling, anything over a double-zero was plus-sized. How silly of me.
Is this all we have for our children to look forward to? If that's the case, leave me out of it.
In the last week, Jessica Simpson has had to face thousands of comments-on national television, no less-about something much more personal than her quarterback boyfriend: her weight. As if, of course, our country had nothing better to obsess over.
Instead of taking part in the huge changes sweeping across the nation, we've chosen to focus on a pop star's body image, which we seem determined to annihilate by showing picture after unflattering picture of the woman on stage. Tell me, when did this become breaking news?
Our society, as a whole, is so consumed with the bodies of people we'll never meet in person. What does it matter what they look like? Ideally, they're successful because of their talents.
Crazy idea, right? So, instead of focusing on the fact that Simpson is a gifted artist, we zoom in on the fact that she's looking like a normal person rather than some over-sexualized Barbie doll. Because guess what, people… she is a normal person. The fact that she can sing doesn't make her metabolically different than someone who can't.
The only thing that changes is the public's expectations of her. It's not enough for singers these days to be talented. They have to be able to sing, dance, starve themselves, smile on two hours' sleep, and do it all in heels taller than most men.
Why do we have this obsession with such superficial qualities? It's an incredibly poor commentary on the status of our society when we perpetuate the stereotype that an individual is only worth their looks.
Shows like America's Next Top Model take beautiful women and make everything unique and distinctive about them into something commercialized and fake in the name of billboards and magazine covers.
A fan of the show told me once that they'd let a plus-sized model win. The woman was a size seven, and almost six feet tall. Apparently I'd forgotten that in the world of modeling, anything over a double-zero was plus-sized. How silly of me.
Is this all we have for our children to look forward to? If that's the case, leave me out of it.