A while
ago, I noticed the wording on a TV advert for cosmetics. It said the product
was designed “to correct nature’s imperfections”. Once hooked by what I at
least considered to be quite an insidious tag line, I got to listening to more
adverts for similar products, and most are of the same vain.
I touched
on the power of television earlier in this blog (see January) and here we have
a perfect example. The lady advertising the product(s) has “flawless” skin –
this in itself then insinuates what perfect actually is – the target audience
are no longer in a position to make the decision as to the condition of their
own body as the TV advert has subliminally forced the image onto the world –
what is worse, this image creates a “right” and a “wrong” – so if your skin has
a dent, a lump, a discolouring or whatever, you are “imperfect”.
Additionally,
your confidence is then tested as you go out into the world in which everyone
else has succumbed to the same advertising premise, and inevitably you buy the
product advertised, if nothing else then to conform.
The whole
process is so manipulative and self sustaining surely it must be questionable.
It’s clear
to see the effects, as we only look at ourselves in this way, which clearly
shows which opinions have been influenced and which haven’t. Take these for
example, all trees with lumps, bumps, growths…
…all
stunningly beautiful, and yet if this was someone’s skin, it would be seen in
some sense of pity, perhaps even distasteful. Does nature suffer a lack of
confidence to display such anomalies? No, of course not…then why do we? We are
after all part of nature….perhaps as a species we have forgotten, or perhaps
the TV has made us forget.
No comments:
Post a Comment