Because of all of the advanced technology that people have at their fingertips and can apply to everyday life, I think that the article "Smile & Say 'No Photoshop'" is very eye-opening to the effects that media is having on the general public. Yes, I understand that all fashion photos that appear on the front cover of magazines are generally going to have some digital enhancement, but editors are now taking things to the extreme. I am shocked by the "hyper-real" form of photoshopping. How can editors think that they are just portraying a futuristic fashion of woman with extremely slender and long necks and stomachs without sending a public message to all women saying this is how their bodies should look? For someone to look like this is physically unobtainable, not to mention kind of disturbing as they seem to be "objects from mars," and therefore I think that the magazine editors should be required to put some sort of warning-label on the photo cover which lets readers know that the photos they are looking at have been drastically altered by photoshop. I also believe it is sad how much photo editing is being used in the media today. Celebrities are figures who a lot of general people look up to and admire. Young girls strive to look and be like celebrities, such as Jessica Simpson and Reese Whitherspoon, so their minds do not take into consideration that their role model who is on the front cover of Teen Magazine, probably does not look like that in real life. What does strike me as interesting, however, is the revolt of some celebrities and photographers who are against so much photo editing. Celebrities' publicists have most of the power to decide whether retouching is done, but what if the celebrity doesn't want any done on his photo? Does she really have a voice in this decision?
Moreover, the role of media on society today is huge. I feel this is wrong because media and magazines thrive as an escape from reality. Earlier in the 20th century, women looked more "happy" and more full of life, and beauty was found within the beholder. Now, models are outrageously thin and a lot of the time do not look happy at all. They appear as they have no life or soul within them but only skin and bones that try so hard to live up to the "beautiful" standards that the media has set. A picture that is real or not photoshopped is viewed today as provocative or shocking. This is an example of how twisted our media is. I hope that the more natural "obtainable" look comes back into fashion soon because I do not want heartless retouching to represent the women of my decade for it is not something I stand for.
