Makeovers are the epitome of human/nature and how technology intersects with that. Using botox for plastic surgery, we inject the patient with a localized muscle-paralyzing organism. It is interesting to see that our “perfect-looking” person today is someone that is extremely made up and not even real.
The speaker showed us Dove’s “evolution” film, which showed 20 hours of work done on a model in 75 seconds. It is amazing to see how people are transformed into these “beautiful” people we see on billboards, posters, and in magazines. However “pretty” they may look, this shows us that our natural state of being – our own human nature – may not actually be to look like this, it is actually far from this ultra made-up and photoshopped world.
I loved hearing about the extreme makeover TV show, and what they do to the contestants of the show. Each contestant goes through many procedures of plastic surgery, showing their discontent before, and them being “revealed” afterwards. With plastic surgery, there is a sense of discontent beforehand, and then a sense of revealing your true self afterwards. Is this our true self? The contestants in this TV show are also not allowed to look at a mirror for the duration of the show. They go through enormous psychological distress because of the stress of being so focused on their exterior, but not being able to see it. Is this final product, their appearance in the end, their natural self? Is it the expression of self that they have always wanted? Can we even choose so radically what we want to look like? I understand that we all have at times discontent and insecurity of appearance, but aren’t we all just what we are? Does that need to be changed?