Plastic Surgery Obsession

Plastic surgery has transformed from a celebrity fad, to an obsession for some. In our society whose dominant ideologies revolve around physical attractiveness, it is expected that those people who are in the spotlight 24/7 should be picking apart their bodies to make themselves “better”. Granted, if you are a celebrity, you are probably already very good looking. But these people face more pressure than noncelebs to have every feature proportionate and youthful looking. As consumers who buy the magazines and watch the gossip TV, we most likely baulk at their actions and ridicule the botched surgeries. However, we are also the people who scrutinize and compare ourselves to celebrities in the first place. The ideology of America that your outside appearance is the most important and can get you farther in life defines our superficial culture. It has been researched that companies are more prone to hire more attractive candidates. Dr. Gordon Patzer, author of Looks: Why They Matter More Than You Ever Expected, found that “Recent studies document that people blessed with good looks earn about 10 percent more than their average-looking colleagues. They are also more likely to get hired and promoted at work” (Mandell, 2010). There are many research studies that have shown that employers favor attractiveness, and that beautiful people have an easier time with getting what they want. With actual research done to show the extent to which we value physical beauty, it should be expected that this is such an obsessive goal for many people. It is ironic that plastic surgery is used as a means to achieve more physical beauty, yet a large percentage of surgeries have negative outcomes. Heidi Montag, an MTV star, decided to get 10 procedures done all in the same day. She totally transformed her body, and has received much criticism for this, and actually looks older than she did before.

So is this culture originating from us, the people? Are we encouraging this bodily deformation? Yes, I believe we are. We value material things like money, possessions, and physical looks above all things. My question is, are these the kind of ideas we want to project upon our future generations and teach our kids that these things are what we should revolve our lives around?

Mandell, L. J. (2010, May 18). Do pretty girls get all the jobs? Retrieved March 27, 2012, 

               from Aol Jobs website: http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2010/05/18/pretty-girls-get- 

              all-the-jobs/

Jersey Shore

MTV is a media network with the reputation of creating pop culture. Young generations tune into the channel for hours everyday to watch new music, celebrity documentaries, and reality shows. One of the most culture shocking shows over the past couple of years has been Jersey Shore. This is a reality show based in Jersey that follows a group of young Italian men and women living in one house together. The label “guido” is now a popular name for fashion forward, metrosexual Italian men and women. There are several ways in which this show has blossomed as an influence on the young American public. 

GTL: Gym, tanning, laundry. A schedule pertinent to everyday life. Young men and women have become more obsessed with pumping iron for washboard abs, achieving fake, orange tanned skin, and of course, doing laundry before they go out to the clubs every night in their flashiest, blinged out shirts. 

Hairstyles: Jersey Shore has taught us that the blow dryer is the most important tool for male hair styling, while a huge bottle of hairspray is most important to the females. Jersey Shore has taught us to tease our hair half a foot high, and gel it into large spikes. However, the Snooki hairstyle has fortunately not taken over as a huge fad among the public. 

Clubbing: The biggest part of the show each week is showing the group out clubbing and partying. They drink excessively, dance on tables, and get in fist fights more than occasionally. The public watches in awe at this unique group of reality TV celebrities and their unreal lifestyle. This show can be seen as a disgrace to American life. We are so obsessed with this portrayed lifestyle that even young kids idolize Jersey Shore! There are so many other media choices but America chooses to tune into this disorder as their entertainment pastime. How many more seasons will Jersey Shore continue before we get bored and need an even crazier show to watch as an outlet from our mundane lives?

The Current "Skinny" Obsession

Another craze sweeping celebrity life is anorexia-like dieting. This is the apparent notion that it is attractive to weigh 90 pounds. This trend has become very common among both young and older celebrities. Celebs who have been toned and healthy in the past now resemble skeletons. 
My victim of criticism is Nicole Ritchie. This picture above depicts perfectly the ugly transformation taking place between many women. Why is this obsession occurring? Self esteem issues are rising with the media portraying beauty as skinny. Super models have always been idolized by many women, and their stick-thin bodies are a large influence them. With the obesity rates climbing in America, this trend may be a reverse reaction to that. Although obesity is common among the public, this emaciated look is now taking over with celebrities. Because the public looks so highly of the celebrity world by purchasing all the gossip magazines and watching E! TV, it is depressing that the normal world now is being told that they should be sickly thin, because their favorite celebrities now are. However, when celebrities get "too skinny" the media criticizes them for that as well. This sends confusing messages to fans who do have body image issues. Girls and women want to have attractive bodies but the media is not giving them the right encouragement. I would say people need to find a healthy medium where they feel good and look good. People focus too much on the number the scale tells them, rather than working hard to build muscle and be fit, which in my opinion is most attractive.
This craze is a harmful one that is bound to continue to have a negative influence on the public, especially young girls. The only way to stop this madness is for the media and celebrities to encourage healthy eating and exercise, and promoting overall active lifestyles. 

Tattoo Craze

This image right here, is a work of art if I have ever seen one. Travis Barker is my first subject of pop culture critique. His obsession with the art of tattoo has brought him onto my page. Barker is A-list celebrity based on his drummer part in several punk rock bands including Blink 182 and Boxcar Racer, and also as a music producer. He is idolized by many people as an unconventional artist, as many artists are. Travis has tattoos across his entire body, up to his neck. Barker does have more visible tattoos than many other celebrities, but the imagery etched across him seems to play a huge role in his reputation. Tattoos are no longer societal taboos. Multiple tattoos generates a sense of free spirit, nonconformism, and edginess. I think many fans find his tattoos very attractive and appealing. This draws fans to a positive attitude towards tattoos and hence makes the hobby more popular. When regular people see their favorite celebrity boasting a new art piece, they might feel more inclined to imitate. Barker is in just the right niche of the celeb industry to give his tattoos good reputation. Musicians can pretty much be tattooed from head to toe without losing appeal to the media. Because he is a famous musician, he already gives off the tone of modern, vogue and trendsetting, which are adjectives that can be synonymous with tattoos. I think this is why fans find his ink so appealing. In any case, Travis Barker’s tattoos are the quintessence of “cool”.