Brandon Webster "Film America the Beautiful"

Recently I had the pleasure of watching the film "America the Beautiful". The film was sort of like a documentary where the film maker traveled across the U.S. and some parts across seas. In the film makers travels he observed the life of a 12 year old runway model and also what people in America believe to be beautiful, and the things they would do to reach these social standards of beauty. What I want to really focus on is the aspect of what beauty is. Most definitions would say that to possess beauty is to have "the quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind, whether arising from sensory manifestations" (dictionary.com). But socially defined, beauty is that perfect, that "have to have it"look as a person. Societies norms for this is very crucial because people are critical and care about how others view them. The film makers goes on to ask girls if they thought they were pretty and why. A lot of the girls said no, and the reason why is because they don't look like the popular people, the celebrities and models. In the film, they break down the production of the look of models and celebrities and how they get them to look so good on camera and in photos. It is no natural aspect they possess that make them look like this perfect example of beautiful, but all of the alterations they undergo to reach this level of beauty. I think the view we have on beauty is unrealistic and as stated by some scholars, "It is an unattainable goal". The reason for this is because even with these alterations, plastic surgery, makeup and weight loss, the world is never going to be satisfied. These standards for beauty in society are forever changing and it is almost impossible to keep up with them.