Introduction
Nowadays, beauty standards play a significant role in people’s lives. The advent of technology and increasing exposure to different kinds of media, including phones, television, and magazines, have changed every person’s life irrevocably. The rise of social media and advertisements is a tool that controls human minds and dictates new norms in society. The 2015 documentary The Illusionists focuses on how beauty standards can influence people’s perceptions and create and maintain gender expectations. Thus, while the beauty industry can be seen as harmless, in reality, it not only creates gender stereotypes and unrealistic beauty standards that damage individuals’ health but also destroys other cultural beauty traditions by dictating what constitutes attractiveness.
The Beauty Industry and Unrealistic Standards
The first theme that permeates the documentary is how much influence the beauty industry has and how it can set unrealistic standards for people. The film introduces a brief history of female beauty standards to see the difference and how trends have changed entirely. For example, in Japan and other countries, “a curvy female body symbolized wealth and fertility” (The Illusionists 26:42). However, everything changed in the 1980s when eating disorders, such as anorexia, were promoted (The Illusionists). As was demonstrated, advertisements always show airbrushed models with perfect skin and body since “digitally retouching models to make them appear thinner is a standard practice” (The Illusionists 25:26).
One of the street respondents claimed that “Japanese women are under incredible pressure to have an ideal body just like top models or manga characters” (The Illusionists 2:31). The article by Zola emphasizes that “these belief about “normal” gendered behavior lead [people] to encourage or discourage surmounting or giving in to body limitation” (Zola 175). As a result, being constantly exposed to the images of perfection creates tension in society to conform to the expectations and strive to fit the beauty standards.
The Globalization of the Beauty Industry
However, the documentary goes further and shows the viewers that women and men are subject to judgment, impacting their quality of life. The film illustrates how Westernized trends and beauty standards affect other cultures and their perceptions of beauty. From the beginning, the viewers see that the world has become “a global village,” where the looks and complexion of the individual define the level of their attractiveness and how successful they will be (The Illusionists 0:33). As was mentioned, “there is one of those trends happening, where we are trying to embody this westernized, modernized image because that’s where power comes from” (The Illusionists 1:44). Consequently, the results of these trends is trying to look as “white” as possible.
One of the most popular practices in the East is skin bleaching, which can be seen as a dangerous approach from a medical point of view and a method that erodes local beauty traditions. Through the examples of advertisements, the documentary successfully demonstrates how cultural homogenization can be dangerous. The message from this theme is that it is essential to celebrate diversity and diverse beauty traditions.
The Impact of the Beauty Myth
The last theme that is evident from the documentary is how society sets gender stereotypes and expectations, which concern not only women but also men. On the one hand, the film effectively shows how societal expectations are embedded in women’s minds from a young age, emphasizing that the approach here is based on “getting them young” (The Illusionists 35:47). To demonstrate the point, the documentary provides an episode of the Barbie animated film, where women are shown to be obsessed with clothes and have no priorities besides it.
Although made for children and expected not to have any subtext, the documentary views it as a method to set expectations for women. In addition, an expert emphasizes that nowadays, society nurtures “a generation of men who are disgusted by what looks like an adult woman” (The Illusionists 34:23). Women feel pressured to follow the standards and conform.
However, the same can be applied to the male population. Among the instances outlined were advertisements for razors that effectively remove hair in private parts. After this, an interview with Kate Upton followed, where the actress admitted that she would not date a man with poor hygiene. As was mentioned by Arisika Razak in Rountree’s book, “We think of the sexual parts of our bodies as the most animal parts” (Rountree 82). This demonstrates the beauty myth that is based on the notion that only women are oppressed and held to the standards of beauty. Similarly to women, men are expected to fit specific expectations; if they do not, they are judged.
Conclusion
Hence, while the beauty business may appear to be innocent, it harms people’s health by promoting gender stereotypes and unattainable beauty standards while also destroying other cultural traditions of what is considered desirable. The documentary’s primary issue is the power of the beauty business and how it often holds people to unattainable ideals. The documentary, however, goes a step further and demonstrates to the audience that judgment affects both men’s and women’s quality of life. The movie exemplifies how Westernized trends and aesthetic ideals impact other cultures’ conceptions of beauty. The documentary’s final recurring issue is how society establishes gender norms and expectations. This illustrates the myth of beauty, which holds that only women adhere to the ideals of beauty and are so oppressed.
Works Cited
Rountree, Cathleen. Coming Into Our Fullness: On Women Turning Forty. United States, Crossing Press, 1991.
The Illusionists. Directed by Elena Rossini, Media Education Foundation, 2015.
Zola, Irving Kenneth. “Tell Me, Tell Me.” The Social Medicine Reader, edited by Jonathan Oberlander, Mara Buchbinder, Larry R. Churchill, Sue E. Estroff, Nancy M. King, Barry F. Saunders, Ronald P. Strauss, and Rebecca L. Walker. Duke University Press, 2019, pp.175-181.