Scary pictures

[andrewducker]

I just grabbed this for andyduckerlinks, but then was chatting to flickgc about it and wanted to talk about _why_ it scares me.

It's a photo (and close-ups of that photo) showing the original (of a model posing in a bikini) and the photoshopped version ("perfect" in every way).

When you switch back and forth you tend to go "Agh!" at seeing the version with all the pores, veins, etc.  But if you just leave it on that version for 30 seconds, or go away and come back to it, the model is actually rather pretty.  Certainly prettier than the vast majority of normal human beings (if your tastes go that way, of course).  It's only by comparison to the smoothed version that there's any feeling that this person isn't pretty.

It illustrates fantastically how surrounding ourselves with perfect robotic versions of beauty just leads to dissatisfaction, and spending all our time being presented with the images of hollywood babes just makes it harder to get on with our lives (where, no, you aren't going to get Brad Pitt/Johnny Depp, whoever's popular at the moment).

Comments

Re: Scary pictures

[wolfieboy.livejournal.com]

Just looking at the face, it looks to me like the photoshopped version is rendered rather than someone's actual face. People's faces just don't look like that.

Looking at the rest of them is instructive but not surprising. I'm amused that they had to make her tits larger...

[lilitufire.livejournal.com]

It's quite creepy in some ways. I mean, they even photoshopped her little blong belly hairs out!

Interesting.

[lilitufire.livejournal.com]

blonde even :)

[davidcook.livejournal.com]

Amazing to see the lengths they go to. On the other hand, my impression of the unedited face is that she's spent too long in the sun working on her tan, and has the serious skin damage/aging to show for it.

[birdofparadox.livejournal.com]

they do it to EVERYONE, though. I mean, on the Underworld movie poster, the first release of it had Kate Beckinsale (a lovely, though very tiny woman) with monster Marvel comics breasts.

She was utterly mortified: ~"you have to fix that, because people are going to watch the movie and be tremendously disappointed!"

[themongkey.livejournal.com]

Ah, but then all the dissatisfied people go out and buy things to assuage their feelings of inadequacy, and thus keep the economy ticking.

[channelpenguin.livejournal.com]

Too true. We compare and compete with what we see. (even if you don't personally want to play, nearly eveybody else is comparing *you* anyway, at least fleetingly/subconsciously)

Ageing does nasty job - it's harsh sometime to look at pics of yourself when younger/compare your image in the full length mirror with previous versions.

The effects of money and/or power aside), you tend to end up with a partner(s) about equally attractive as you are yourself - and your raw 'attactiveness rating' will *tend* to decline after a certain age - whilst your own taste may not keep up.

Damn! I'll just have to get rich and powerful :-)

[wordofblake.livejournal.com]

um, I didn't think *either* was pretty. The less airbrushed one looked older and like they were in a darkened room, but neither looked like someone I'd check out on the street

[andrewducker]

I disagree with the attractiveness proposition - while it's true for a chunk of people, I know a fair number of people who are with those both better and worse looking than themselves. The attraction to looks over other attributes also seems to fade, so younger people cluster more around beauty, but older people less so.